Comment-to-DM for restaurants and cafés: full setup
Friday, 19:40. Your post about the new autumn dish is doing well, and the comments are rolling in: "Menu?", "Do you take bookings for 6?", "Open on Monday?", "Any vegan options?". Every one of those people is choosing where to eat tonight. And everyone who could answer them is plating, pouring or running food.
By the time someone has a quiet minute to reply, many of those guests have booked somewhere else. Comment-to-DM closes that gap. Someone comments a keyword, and your account sends them a private message with the answer and one next step, while the kitchen keeps cooking.
In short:
- Restaurants get the same handful of questions under nearly every post.
- Three flows cover most of them: menu, reservations, and specials or events.
- Each DM answers and then points to one next step, usually a booking.
- Allergies, complaints, large groups and private events always go to a person.
Which questions to automate, and which to keep
A simple test: automate a question if the answer is the same no matter who asks.
| Automate | Keep with your team |
|---|---|
| The menu, or this week's menu | Allergies and specific dietary questions |
| Opening hours and address | Complaints or a bad experience |
| How to reserve a table | Large groups and private events |
| Today's special, this week's event | Catering requests |
| Delivery and takeaway options | Anything that needs judgment |
| Gift cards | Anyone who is upset |
The left column is where your time leaks away. The right column is where your time is worth the most.
Never let an automated message answer an allergy question. "Is this nut-free?" needs someone who knows today's kitchen. Instead, add a line to every food DM such as "Allergies or a big group? Just reply here and our team will answer." That sends the hard questions straight to your inbox.
The three flows most places need
Flow 1: the menu
The most frequent question, and the least fun to answer for the hundredth time.
- Keyword:
MENU - First DM: the menu link, tonight's hours, and a nudge toward a table.
Flow 2: reservations
For posts showing the room, the terrace or a busy Saturday.
- Keyword:
RESERVE - First DM: your booking link and one question about the occasion.
A note on the word: BOOK feels natural, but keyword matching checks whether a comment contains the word, so BOOK also fires on "Facebook" or "cookbook". RESERVE is safer. Likewise, TABLE hides inside "vegetable". More on that in comment keyword examples by industry.
If you don't use an online booking system, ask for the details instead: "Reply with the day, time and number of guests, and we'll confirm." A person in your team picks it up from the inbox.
Flow 3: specials and events
For the post about Thursday's jazz trio, the new tasting menu or a cooking class.
- Keyword: the event in one word, such as
JAZZ - First DM: date, time, what's included, the link, and one question.
Start with these three. They cover most of what people ask.
Copy-paste setup: a ramen bar's weekend special
Here is a complete flow for a small ramen bar posting its new weekend bowl.
- Caption, first line: "The black garlic tonkotsu is back this weekend. Comment MENU and I'll DM you the full menu."
- Trigger: comment keyword
MENU, on this post (or all posts, if you use the same answer everywhere) - First DM:
Hey {{first_name}}, here's our menu: https://yourramenbar.com/menu
We're open Friday and Saturday until 23:00, Sunday until 21:00. Reserve a table here: https://yourramenbar.com/reserve
Allergies or a group of 8+? Just reply here and the team will answer.
- Public reply variants:
Sent, check your DMs,{{username}} the menu is in your inbox,Just sent it, see you soon,In your DMs now - Tag:
menu-weekend
On Instagram comment DMs, {{first_name}} reads "there", because Instagram only shares the commenter's handle. "Hey there" still sounds friendly, so the line works either way.
The public reply does more than it seems. Everyone reading the comments sees that asking actually gets an answer, which brings more comments. Picking at random from several variants keeps it from looking like a copy-paste wall. If you want to know what the DM itself should say, the 2-part sales DM breaks it down.
Stories and DMs can send the same answer
Restaurants often get their daily questions in stories and direct messages rather than in comments.
Story replies. Post today's special with "Reply MENU for the full menu". When someone replies to the story with that word, a story reply trigger sends them the same answer. See story reply automation for the details.
DM keywords. Some people skip the comments and just message "menu?". A DM keyword trigger answers them the same way, so the answer is consistent wherever they ask.
Everything else. For messages that match no keyword, a default reply can let people know when your team usually answers. Instagram auto-reply covers how to write one that doesn't feel cold.
So one well-written MENU message can cover posts, stories and your inbox. This works on Instagram professional accounts, and comment triggers also work on Facebook Pages.
Setting it up in one afternoon
- Scroll through your last 20 posts and write down every question in the comments.
- Pick the three that come up most. For most places: menu, reservations, hours.
- Choose one keyword for each, checking that none of them hide inside common words.
- Write each DM in two parts: the answer, then one next step.
- Write four or five public reply variants.
- Put "Comment MENU and I'll DM you the menu" in the first line of your next post, and on the image if you can. These caption CTA formulas give you more ways to phrase it.
- Comment the keyword from a second account and check exactly what arrives.
What to do with the contacts afterwards
Everyone who commented MENU or RESERVE told you something: they're thinking about coming in.
Tag them by what they asked about, such as reserve-terrace or event-jazz. When you plan the next jazz evening, you can see who was interested in the last one. When those people message you, someone from your team can reply personally, and a short line from the owner reads very differently from another automated message.
The automation won't chase people who never replied, and that's a good thing for a restaurant. Your regulars want to hear from a person.
Summary
Restaurants answer the same few questions every day, usually at the busiest moment. Three keyword flows for the menu, reservations and events answer them privately and consistently, each with one next step toward a table. Allergies, complaints and groups stay with your team. The free plan on the pricing page is enough to run all three flows on one account.
FAQ
Can a restaurant use comment-to-DM without an online booking system?
Yes. Let the DM ask for the day, time and number of guests, and have someone confirm from the inbox. The automation answers the question instantly, and the booking is handled by a person.
Will it reply to every comment on my posts?
No. It only replies to comments that contain your keyword, on the posts you chose. Ordinary comments like "looks delicious" are left alone.
What if the menu changes every week?
Send a link to a menu page you update, rather than writing the dishes into the DM. The flow stays the same, and the link always shows the current menu.
Is it allowed by Instagram?
Yes, when it runs on the official API. Chat33 connects through Meta's login, never sees your password, and sends one private reply per comment, the way Meta's rules allow.
Instagram comment-to-DM for restaurantsKeyword triggers on posts, stories and DMs, random public replies and tracked links, on the official Instagram API.