Favouritetable

Favouritetable is a restaurant management and dining system for handling bookings, tables, capacity, payments and marketing. Its booking diary receives reservations made through a restaurant website, Google listing or social profile, and updates availability in real time. Staff can use table management, a visual floor plan, capacity tools, a waiting list, guest management and reports. The system also supports menu pre-orders, takeaway, collection, delivery and contactless order-and-pay at the table. Marketing options include CRM, customer segmentation, email and SMS campaigns, re-targeting and guest review management. Favouritetable says subscription plans carry no booking commission and allow unlimited bookings. Its free FT Free plan permits up to 30 online bookings per month, but requires it to be the sole booking provider and to be integrated with the website; other terms apply. FT LITE is £69 per month excluding VAT, and higher listed plans include multi-site and unlimited-user options. It works on web-enabled devices, with UK-based support by phone, email, chat, documentation and training.

Favouritetable combines booking management with dining operations and marketing tools. The free plan has booking and exclusivity conditions, while paid options add capabilities such as table management and multi-site support.

Favouritetable is aimed at cafés, coffee shops, bars, pubs, restaurants, restaurant groups and hotels. It may suit operators looking to manage bookings alongside table planning, ordering and guest marketing.

Favouritetable brings reservations, dining operations and guest marketing into one system for cafés, bars, pubs, restaurants and hotels. It is best suited to operators who want bookings connected to service and ordering workflows. Its strongest case is breadth; the free tier’s low booking cap and exclusivity requirement make it a limited long-term option.

Overview

Guests can reserve through a venue’s website, Google listing or social profiles, with bookings entering a live diary and availability updating in real time. Favouritetable says subscription plans have unlimited bookings without commission, which may appeal to venues that prefer a predictable monthly cost over booking fees.

The platform also covers menu pre-orders, takeaway, collection, delivery and contactless order-and-pay at the table. That range could reduce the need to manage separate tools, but access to important capabilities depends on the plan: the £69 entry tier has one user, while table management and a visual floor plan begin with FT Pro at £129 per month.

Key features

Reservations and service

The booking diary is accompanied by table management, a visual floor plan, capacity optimization, guest management and reporting. Waiting-list management, deposits or prepayment and automated reminders are supported. Those functions suit restaurants handling changing covers and table turnover, though the lower-priced plans do not provide the complete service-management set.

Ordering and marketing

Ordering covers pre-orders, collection, delivery and contactless ordering and payment at the table. FT Online Ordering packages menu pre-ordering with collection and delivery management, capacity management, inventory, payments, customer communications, promotions and reports. The marketing tools extend to CRM, customer segmentation, email and SMS campaigns, retargeting and guest review management; FT Ultimo specifically includes email, SMS and WhatsApp marketing.

Integrations, data and support

Named integrations and partners include TISSL, Lightspeed, Stripe, Mailchimp, SquareMeal, Facebook, Reserve with Google, Deliverect, Stuart and First Table. Software partners can integrate through Favouritetable’s API or their own. The company says customers own and can export guest data, and the pricing page includes a GDPR compliance opt-in.

UK-based support is offered by phone, email, online chat, documentation and training, with a 24/7 free support line. The product works on web-enabled smartphones, tablets, laptops and desktops, alongside Android, iOS and web platforms.

Pricing

FT Free costs £ Free for life* and allows up to 30 online bookings per month. It includes a web-based reservations diary and onboarding, with no contract, but requires Favouritetable to be the sole and exclusive booking provider and requires website integration; other terms apply. The cap and exclusivity condition make it a poor fit for a busy venue or one that needs another booking provider.

FT LITE is £69 per month, excluding VAT, for one user and unlimited commission-free bookings. It is positioned for smaller cafés, coffee shops, bars and restaurants, but gives up the multi-user and table-planning features of higher plans. FT Online Ordering costs £99 per month, excluding VAT, adding ordering, capacity management, inventory, payments, communications and reports.

At £129 per month, excluding VAT, FT Pro adds unlimited users, multi-site support, table management, a visual floor plan and capacity optimization. It is aimed at medium-size single-site pubs and restaurants, though multi-site support may also matter to operators growing beyond one venue. FT Ultimo costs £199 per month, excluding VAT, and adds waiting lists, pre-orders, email, SMS and WhatsApp marketing, CRM and EPOS integrations; its stated audience is large single-site restaurants and small groups.

FT Flex has no monthly fee and charges from £2* per cover for unlimited bookings. It includes a web-based diary and onboarding, is contract-free, and is subject to terms. It may suit venues with variable booking volume that want to avoid a recurring fee, but the per-cover charge makes the cost dependent on covers. The FT Free and FT Flex asterisked terms apply.

Platforms

Favouritetable supports Android, iOS and web. Its web-based system is described as working on any web-enabled device, including smartphones, tablets, laptops and desktops.

Who it's for

Small cafés, coffee shops and bars can consider FT LITE if one-user booking management is enough. Venues seeking ordering and inventory tools have a clearer fit with FT Online Ordering, while operators that need floor planning, multiple users or multi-site support should look at FT Pro or above. FT Ultimo is the more suitable tier for larger restaurants or small groups that need its broader marketing and integration package.

Favouritetable is less compelling for venues that need a substantial free allowance, want to keep another booking provider alongside FT Free, or need table management at the lowest paid price.

Pros and cons

• Pros: Subscription plans have unlimited commission-free bookings, avoiding a per-booking charge on those tiers.
• Pros: Booking, ordering, table operations and marketing capabilities span several parts of restaurant service.
• Pros: Web, Android and iOS support, plus a stated 24/7 free support line, suit venues using different devices and needing round-the-clock assistance.
• Cons: FT Free is limited to 30 online bookings monthly and requires exclusivity as the booking provider plus website integration.
• Cons: FT LITE allows only one user and does not include the table-management and floor-plan features introduced at FT Pro.
• Cons: Paid prices exclude VAT, and FT Flex’s per-cover charge means its total cost varies with bookings.

Alternatives

For a broader comparison of reservation tools, see Restaurant Reservation Software.

CentralPlanner may suit readers looking for a freemium option with a free trial and a Starter plan that allows 50 reservations per month. Eat App offers a free plan for 100 guests monthly and a paid Lite tier with unlimited guests and 200 WhatsApp messages, so it is worth comparing if that allowance matters.

Resos offers a Basic plan with 350 bookings per month and a 30-day period for paid add-ons before they are billed separately. simpleERB has a free trial with 250 covers and no credit card or commitment, which makes it a potential option for a limited trial before choosing a service.

Anolla provides free basic online table reservations with paid features activated as needed. Tableo has an Organise plan billed annually with unlimited bookings and three user accounts, a relevant comparison for venues prioritizing those allowances.

OpenTable GuestCenter is a paid alternative with a Basic plan at $149.00 per month, a one-year standard contract that auto-renews annually, and availability only in the US. Reservation.Tools is another paid option, with its Basic plan described for fewer than 200 reservations per month.

Verdict

Favouritetable is a strong fit for restaurants and hospitality groups that want reservations connected to ordering, table operations and guest marketing, with unlimited commission-free bookings on subscription plans. Choose it when that operational breadth justifies a VAT-exclusive monthly fee; look elsewhere if you need a generous free tier, multiple users at the entry price or table management without moving to a higher plan.