You’re setting up your restaurant website and you search for “restaurant reservation plugin.” Dozens of results appear — booking widgets, table managers, calendar systems. But before you install one, ask yourself a question that could save you months of frustration: does your restaurant actually need reservations, or does it need ordering?
The answer changes everything about which plugin you should install. In this guide, we’ll cover the best WordPress restaurant reservation plugins, explain when you actually need one, and show you the modern alternative that most restaurants should be using instead.
What Does a Restaurant Reservation Plugin Actually Do?
A reservation plugin adds a booking form to your WordPress website. Customers select a date, time, party size, and optionally leave their name, phone number, and special requests. The booking is saved in your WordPress dashboard, and both you and the customer receive a confirmation email.
That’s it. A reservation plugin handles table bookings — when a customer is coming and how many seats they need. It does not handle:
- Showing your menu online
- Taking food orders
- Processing payments
- Delivery or pickup ordering
- Toppings, sizes, or customizations
- QR code ordering at the table
This distinction matters, because most restaurants searching for a “reservation plugin” actually need an ordering system — not a booking calendar.
Do You Need Reservations, Ordering, or Both?
Before choosing a plugin, identify what your restaurant actually needs from its website:
You Need a Reservation Plugin If…
- You’re a fine dining restaurant where every table is reserved in advance
- You frequently have wait times and need to manage a queue
- You host events or large parties that require advance booking
- Your only goal is to let customers book a table — they’ll order in person from a physical menu
You Need an Ordering Plugin If…
- You want customers to see your menu and place orders online
- You offer delivery, pickup, or both
- You want dine-in customers to order from their phone (QR code at the table)
- You want to accept payments online
- You want customers to customize their orders (toppings, sizes, special requests)
- You want to reduce server workload and speed up table turnover
You Need Both If…
- You’re an upscale restaurant that takes reservations and wants to offer online ordering for takeout
- You want customers to book a table and pre-order their meal before arriving
In our experience, 80% of restaurants that search for a reservation plugin actually need an ordering plugin. Casual restaurants, pizzerias, burger joints, cafes, fast food, bakeries, food trucks — none of these typically take reservations. They need a menu, an ordering system, and a way for customers to pay.
Best WordPress Restaurant Reservation Plugins (If You Truly Need Bookings)
If you’ve confirmed that table reservations are what you need, here are the most popular WordPress options:
1. Five Star Restaurant Reservations
The most widely used free reservation plugin on WordPress.
- What it does: Adds a booking form where customers select date, time, party size, and contact info. Bookings appear in your dashboard with accept/reject controls.
- Free version includes: Basic booking form, email notifications, booking management, custom scheduling
- Premium adds: Custom fields, payment deposits, MailChimp integration, export to spreadsheet
- Limitations: No menu display, no food ordering, no QR codes, no delivery/pickup. Purely a booking calendar.
- Price: Free core / $77+ per year for premium
2. Simply Schedule Appointments
A general-purpose appointment booking plugin that some restaurants repurpose for reservations.
- What it does: Calendar-based booking with time slots, capacity limits, and automated reminders
- Pros: Clean UI, Google Calendar sync, SMS reminders
- Limitations: Not designed specifically for restaurants — no party size field by default, no table management, no menu integration
- Price: Free core / $99+ per year for premium
3. Alex Reservations
A more advanced restaurant-specific booking system.
- What it does: Visual table layout, floor plan management, automatic table assignment based on party size
- Pros: Proper table management (not just time slots), waitlist, visual floor map
- Limitations: Steeper learning curve, no menu or ordering features, premium only
- Price: $59+ one-time
4. OpenTable or Resy Widget (Embedded)
Not a WordPress plugin per se, but many restaurants embed an OpenTable or Resy booking widget on their WordPress site.
- What it does: Adds a third-party booking widget to your website
- Pros: Large user base (customers already have OpenTable accounts), integrates with host stand systems
- Limitations: Per-cover fees ($1–2.50 per seated diner from online bookings), your customer data belongs to the platform, limited customization, no menu or ordering integration
- Price: Per-cover fees add up fast — 50 covers/day = $50–125/day in fees
The Problem with Reservation-Only Plugins
Here’s the reality that most “best reservation plugin” articles won’t tell you: a reservation plugin alone doesn’t make your restaurant money. It manages a calendar. That’s useful for fine dining, but for the vast majority of restaurants, the website needs to do much more.
Consider what happens after a customer books a table through a reservation plugin:
- They arrive at the restaurant
- They sit down
- They wait for a server to bring a menu
- They browse the menu
- They wait for the server to return
- They place their order verbally
- The server writes it down (or enters it into a POS)
- They wait for their food
Steps 3 through 7 are where most restaurants lose time, make errors, and miss upsell opportunities. A reservation plugin doesn’t touch any of these steps. An ordering system does.
The Modern Alternative: QR Code Table Ordering
Instead of a reservation plugin, most restaurants should be looking at QR code table ordering — a system where dine-in customers scan a code at their table, view the full menu on their phone, customize their order, and submit it directly to the kitchen.
This replaces steps 3–7 above with a single action: scan, browse, order.
How It Works with FoodMaster
FoodMaster is a WordPress plugin that turns WooCommerce into a complete restaurant ordering system — including built-in QR code table ordering. Here’s the flow:
- You set up your menu — items with photos, descriptions, prices, categories, sizes, and extra options (toppings, add-ons)
- You enable dine-in ordering and set the number of tables
- FoodMaster generates a unique QR code per table — each linked to your menu with the table number embedded
- You print and place the QR codes on each table
- Customers scan, browse, customize, and order — all from their phone, no app required
- The order arrives in your kitchen tagged with the table number
No reservation needed. No server needed for the ordering step. No miscommunication. And every order includes the extra options and customizations that servers might forget to mention — which increases your average order value.
Reservation Plugin vs. QR Table Ordering: Direct Comparison
| Reservation Plugin | QR Table Ordering (FoodMaster) | |
|---|---|---|
| What it does | Books a table for a date/time | Full menu browsing + ordering at the table |
| Menu display | No | Yes — categorized, with images and descriptions |
| Food ordering | No | Yes — with sizes, toppings, and customizations |
| Payment | Deposit only (some plugins) | Full payment via Stripe, PayPal, cash, etc. |
| Server workload | No change — still take orders verbally | Reduced — orders go directly to kitchen |
| Order accuracy | No change | Higher — customer enters their own order |
| Upselling | None | Built-in — extra options shown on every item |
| Delivery + Pickup | No | Yes — same system handles all order types |
| Average order value | No impact | Increases 15–25% (digital upselling effect) |
| Customer data | Name, phone, email | Full order history, preferences, email |
| Works without wifi | N/A (booked in advance) | Requires customer’s mobile data or restaurant wifi |
What FoodMaster Gives You That Reservation Plugins Don’t
If you choose FoodMaster’s ordering system over (or alongside) a reservation plugin, here’s the full feature set you get:
Complete Online Menu
Your full menu displayed on your website with three layout options — Accordion (collapsible categories), Side Menu (fixed navigation), and Sticky Tabs (scrolling tabs). All mobile-responsive, all styled automatically with your restaurant’s color scheme.
AJAX Add-to-Cart
Customers tap a menu item, a modal popup opens with the product image, description, variations, extra options, and quantity controls. They add to cart without leaving the menu page. No page reloads, no friction.
Three Order Types in One System
Delivery, pickup, and dine-in — all managed from one plugin. Customers choose their order type at checkout. Each type has its own settings for timing and fees.
QR Code Per Table
Unique QR codes generated for each table in your restaurant. Orders are tagged with the table number. No third-party QR generator needed.
Working Hours Enforcement
Set your opening hours with support for break periods. When you’re closed, customers see a message with your next opening time — no wasted orders, no confusion.
23+ Restaurant Color Schemes
Choose from professionally designed color palettes for every restaurant type — Pizzeria, Sushi Bar, Steakhouse, Coffee Shop, Fine Dining, and more. The entire site is styled automatically: menu, cart, checkout, buttons, headers, and footers.
Built on WooCommerce
Full access to WooCommerce’s ecosystem: payment gateways (Stripe, PayPal, cash), order management, email notifications, reports, and thousands of compatible extensions.
Can You Use Both? (Reservations + Ordering)
Yes. If your restaurant genuinely needs table reservations (fine dining, high demand, event bookings), you can run a reservation plugin alongside FoodMaster. They serve different purposes and don’t conflict.
A practical setup for an upscale restaurant:
- Five Star Restaurant Reservations — handles table bookings on your “Reserve a Table” page
- FoodMaster — handles your online menu, takeout/delivery ordering, and QR dine-in ordering on your “Menu” page
Customers who want to book a table go to one page. Customers who want to order food (dine-in, pickup, or delivery) go to another. Both plugins work independently on the same WordPress site.
That said, most restaurants that install a reservation plugin eventually realize they get far more value from the ordering system. Reservations manage when customers arrive. Ordering manages what they buy — which is where your revenue comes from.
Real Scenario: How a Casual Restaurant Saved Hours Per Week
Consider a typical casual Italian restaurant with 20 tables. Before switching to QR ordering:
- 2 servers covering the floor during lunch, 3 during dinner
- Average time from seating to order: 8–12 minutes (waiting for menu, browsing, waiting for server to return)
- Average 3 order errors per shift (mishearing, forgetting modifications)
- Servers mention extra options (add garlic bread, upgrade to large pasta) about 40% of the time
After adding QR table ordering with FoodMaster:
- Same 2–3 servers, but now handling food delivery and customer service instead of order-taking
- Average time from seating to order: 2–3 minutes (scan, browse, order)
- Order errors dropped to near zero — customers enter their own selections
- Extra options shown on 100% of orders (digital menu always displays them)
- Average order value increased 18% — because every customer sees the extras
The restaurant didn’t need a reservation plugin. They needed an ordering system that worked at the table.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a free WordPress restaurant reservation plugin?
Yes. Five Star Restaurant Reservations has a free version that handles basic table bookings with email notifications. It’s the most popular free option. For more advanced features like payment deposits, custom fields, and integrations, you’ll need the premium version ($77+/year).
Can FoodMaster handle reservations?
FoodMaster is designed for ordering, not bookings. It handles dine-in ordering (QR code at the table), delivery, and pickup. If you need advance table reservations, pair it with a dedicated reservation plugin like Five Star Reservations. Both work independently on the same WordPress site.
What’s the difference between a booking plugin and an ordering plugin?
A booking plugin manages when customers come (date, time, party size). An ordering plugin manages what they buy (menu items, customizations, payment). Most casual restaurants need ordering, not booking. Upscale restaurants may need both.
Do I need a reservation system if I have QR table ordering?
For most restaurants, no. QR table ordering handles the dine-in experience far more completely than a reservation plugin. Reservations are only necessary if you have limited seating and frequently turn away walk-ins — typically fine dining, popular brunch spots, or restaurants in high-traffic areas.
Can customers order before they arrive?
Yes. With FoodMaster’s pre-order scheduling, customers can place a pickup or delivery order for a future date and time. For dine-in, they’d order at the table after arriving. If you want customers to pre-order meals before arriving for a reservation, you’d share your menu link in the reservation confirmation email.
What about OpenTable? Should I use that instead?
OpenTable is a third-party platform that charges per-cover fees ($1–2.50 per seated diner from online bookings). For a busy restaurant seating 100 covers per day, that’s $100–250/day in fees — $3,000–7,500/month. OpenTable also owns the customer relationship and data. If reservations are essential to your business, a WordPress-based plugin gives you the same functionality without the per-cover fees and with full data ownership.
Which restaurants should NOT use a reservation plugin?
Restaurants that operate on a first-come-first-served basis don’t need reservations. This includes most: pizzerias, burger joints, fast food restaurants, food trucks, bakeries, coffee shops, ice cream shops, casual diners, delis, and takeout-focused restaurants. For all of these, an ordering plugin like FoodMaster is what you need.
The Bottom Line
A WordPress restaurant reservation plugin solves one specific problem: managing table bookings. If that’s what your restaurant needs — because you’re fine dining, frequently fully booked, or hosting events — then a plugin like Five Star Reservations does the job well and affordably.
But for the vast majority of restaurants, the real question isn’t “how do I take reservations online?” It’s “how do I take orders online?” And the answer to that question is an ordering system with QR table ordering, delivery, pickup, a full digital menu, and payment processing — all in one plugin.
That’s what FoodMaster does. No per-order commissions, no monthly fees, no third-party data ownership. Just your menu, your orders, your customers.
Ready to set up online ordering? Read our complete guide to creating a food ordering website with WordPress — you’ll be live in under 30 minutes.
Already have a reservation plugin? Learn how to add QR code table ordering alongside it for the complete dine-in experience.