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Buyer's guide · UK and Ireland · facts checked 16 October 2026

How to choose a restaurant booking system in the UK and Ireland

There is no single best system, only the one that fits how your guests find you and how your evening runs. This guide sorts the systems by kind, gives you the questions that separate them, and then describes each one — including ours, and where ours is the wrong choice.

Skip to the systems

Every fact about another company comes from its own pages or a dated announcement, linked at the foot of this page. We print none of their prices.

Four kinds of system

Most of the difference between booking systems is decided before you look at a single feature: by what kind of business is selling it to you.

A diners' marketplace, with software attached

The company runs a website or an app where people look for somewhere to eat, and sells the restaurant the software behind its listing. Part of what you pay is for being found, and that part is often charged per guest the marketplace sends.

Reservation software on a subscription

You pay a monthly plan for the book, the tables and the guest records. Bookings come from your own website, the phone and the door. Plans are often tiered by volume or by features, with add-ons.

A guide or portal beside the software

Some software companies own a consumer guide as well, where your venue can be promoted to diners. You are not paying per guest, but the guide is part of the reason to choose that supplier.

Booking inside the till

Some EPoS suppliers sell a booking module with the till. One supplier and one bill. If your bookings must live in the till, ask its supplier what it offers before you look any further.

Six questions that separate them

  • Where do my bookings come from today, and what does each source cost me on this system — my website, the phone, walk-ins, a marketplace?
  • How long is the contract, when does it renew, and how much notice does it need?
  • What is in the plan, and what is an add-on I would pay for every month?
  • Can it take a deposit or a card guarantee, and through whose payment account?
  • Does it need to talk to my till, and does it?
  • If I leave, can I take my guest list and my future bookings with me?

The systems, A to Z

Listed alphabetically, which says nothing about which is better; that depends on your answers above.

Access Collins, with DesignMyNight

What it is. Venue booking and table software from The Access Group, formerly Collins by DesignMyNight, sold beside DesignMyNight, the group's guide where diners book tables and buy tickets in many UK cities and Dublin.

How it charges. A monthly subscription per site from a published starting price; setup, integrations and add-ons may cost extra.

Tends to suit bars and venues that sell nights out as well as tables: tickets, a virtual queue with SMS updates, deposits and pre-orders. UK and Ireland.

Collins and DesignMyNight compared with Slotora

OpenTable

What it is. A diners' network, on the web and in an app, with reservation software for the restaurant behind it. Part of Booking Holdings.

How it charges. Two plans, each a monthly base fee, plus a fee for each seated guest who found you through its network; nothing per guest on your own website, phone or walk-in bookings. A yearly contract that renews unless cancelled 30 days before.

Tends to suit restaurants that want to be found by diners who have never heard of them, with deposits, POS integration and ticketed experiences in one system. UK and Ireland.

OpenTable alternative · OpenTable vs Slotora, row by row

ResDiary

What it is. Booking and table management software for busy operators, owned by The Access Group since July 2023, with venues promoted on DesignMyNight.

How it charges. Four monthly tiers that differ mainly by the bookings included, no commission from any source, paid add-ons, and usage charges on deposits and payments.

Tends to suit restaurants that need deposits, pre-orders and a connection to an EPoS or a hotel system: it lists more than 70 integrations. UK and Ireland.

ResDiary alternative · ResDiary vs Slotora, row by row

SevenRooms

What it is. A platform for restaurant sales and guest retention — reservations, a guest CRM, marketing automation — owned by DoorDash since June 2025.

How it charges. Three tiers on a monthly subscription, each priced on request, with paid add-ons.

Tends to suit restaurants that want bookings from many channels (its pages name DoorDash, Deliveroo, Google, Instagram and Yelp) and automated marketing. UK; none of its pages we read mention Ireland.

SevenRooms compared with Slotora

TheFork

What it is. A diners' app and marketplace with a loyalty-points scheme, and TheFork Manager, the restaurant's software. A Tripadvisor company whose sale to American Express was announced on 15 June 2026.

How it charges. Tiers on request; a fee per guest on bookings from TheFork, Tripadvisor and partners, and none on bookings from your own website, Instagram or Facebook.

Tends to suit restaurants that want marketplace diners and Tripadvisor bookings, and groups (its top tier has multi-venue features). UK; we found no evidence of it selling to Irish restaurants.

TheFork compared with Slotora

And Slotora, including where it does not fit

Reservation software on a subscription, for one venue: a booking page at your own address, a floor plan drawn to scale, and a host-stand screen for walk-ins, phone bookings and the waiting list, in a web browser on any tablet or phone. Ordering, a kitchen display, the bill and payments, stock and the rota run in the same system. £99 a month per location for the first 100 paying restaurants in the UK, then £149, plus VAT where applicable; billed monthly after a 3-day trial. In Ireland, €179 a month per location, in euro.

  • The early-access list is open now, and it is told the opening day first.
  • Not for you if you want diners to find you through a marketplace: it has none, and passes on no bookings from Google, Instagram or anyone else.
  • Not for you if bookings must reach your till, or if you want reviews, vouchers or campaigns. Events are in, free or paid at booking through your own Stripe account once it is connected, and so are private-dining enquiries.

What the price includes · Every feature, one page each · Early access

Leaving Quandoo?

Quandoo stopped taking new bookings and closes for good at the end of 2026. It is not in this guide, because there is nothing left to choose; these pages cover the move instead.

Questions about this guide

So which is the best restaurant booking system in the UK?

The one whose model matches where your guests come from. A restaurant that lives on discovery is served by a marketplace; one whose tables fill from its own name and its regulars may not need one. We do not rank, because a ranking would hide exactly that.

Why are the other systems' prices missing?

This site prints no other system's prices — Slotora's own are on the pricing page. Several of the others are priced on request anyway, and the ones that publish figures can change them; each card links to the pages where the current terms are.

Is Slotora for Irish restaurants too?

Yes. Ireland is one of the countries this site is written for, and Irish restaurants are billed in euro, at a price set for Ireland. Join the early-access list and we'll write as soon as you can open your account.

Sources, read 16 October 2026

Every fact about another system on this page comes from these pages. Where a page was dated, the date is its publication date.

Access Collins and DesignMyNight

OpenTable

ResDiary

SevenRooms

TheFork