setmenu.com

What It Is

SetMenu is a pre-ordering platform for the hospitality sector provided by the UK-based Hospitality Ordering Solutions Limited. It is positioned for group dining scenarios. The platform helps restaurants, bars, multi-site restaurant groups, hotels, and private catering operators bring guest invitations, menu selections, allergen collection, order consolidation, and kitchen preparation information into a single workflow after a group booking is made—reducing spreadsheet maintenance, follow-up phone calls, and manual errors.

Key Features and Integrations

The workflow is fairly straightforward: once a group booking is created, the system sends a branded email to the lead booker, who then invites guests; guests choose their menu items and enter notes and allergen information; the venue’s back office receives full guest details, menu choices, prep lists, and service information. The official website also highlights automated reminders, quick menu uploads, customer data collection, detailed reporting, and support for stock forecasting. In terms of integrations, SetMenu explicitly supports booking platforms such as OpenTable and SevenRooms, and also mentions CRM systems, menu management tools, and guest feedback systems. It also integrates with the Tenkites menu management system to display dishes accurately and help with food-regulation compliance.

Pricing and Deployment

The official website does not publish specific pricing. It only states that flexible pricing is available, including pay-as-you-go and SaaS options, and that you need to contact the company for a full quote. There is no visible free plan or self-service trial entry point; the main conversion path is booking a 15-minute demo. Based on the description, SetMenu is a cloud-based SaaS product and provides a SetMenu Manager Portal. Self-hosted deployment is not mentioned.

Pros and Cons

The main advantage is its focused use case: it can significantly replace manual spreadsheets and phone-based coordination, especially for peak group-dining occasions such as the Christmas season, banquets, weddings, and corporate events. It can also collect data for each individual diner, rather than only the lead booker. The drawbacks are that the website does not disclose common procurement details such as pricing, APIs, webhooks, granular permissions, or data security certifications. For small single-location restaurants without much group-booking pressure, its value may be less obvious than that of a general reservation or POS system.

Who It’s For and Access from China

SetMenu is better suited to restaurant groups, hotel banquet teams, and catering operators in the UK and overseas that already use ecosystems such as OpenTable and SevenRooms. Access from China, RMB payments, a Chinese-language interface, and local compliance are not disclosed. Before purchasing, buyers should verify network connectivity, payment methods, and customer-support time zones. Possible alternatives in China include the reservation and group-dining capabilities of Meituan/Dianping, as well as local restaurant SaaS and banquet management systems.