WhatsApp message templates for restaurants
Updated October 20, 2026
This is a free library of 12 WhatsApp message templates written for restaurants: 9 utility templates for the life of an order and 3 marketing templates for bringing customers back. Each page gives three copy-ready wordings, the exact template to submit to Meta (numbered {{1}} values with examples), the category Meta will put it in and why, what one send costs in five markets, and which Menuthere flow sends it. Utility templates are the cheap ones: about US$0.0034 per message to a US number on Meta's rate card effective October 1, 2026. Marketing templates cost about 7 times more in the US and Canada rate band, and Meta does not deliver them to US phone numbers at all.
In short
- Utility = about one customer's own order or booking, with nothing promotional in it. Order confirmations, delivery updates, refunds and order-specific feedback requests are Meta's own utility examples.
- Marketing = anything that sells: offers, holiday messages, "we miss you", cart reminders. Mixed content (an order update with a coupon) is marketing too.
- Templates are only needed outside the 24-hour window. Inside it, a plain chat message goes through. A customer who ordered on your website and never wrote to you is outside it.
- In the US, WhatsApp can send order updates but not promotions; use email for offers.
- Generate any of these in the WhatsApp template generator: pick a message, edit it, and copy the version for Meta with its checks and cost.
The 12 templates
| Message | Meta category | What sends it in Menuthere | Cost per send to a US number |
|---|---|---|---|
| Order confirmation | Utility | Order placed flow (View Order button) | US$0.0034 |
| Order accepted / being prepared | Utility | Order accepted flow | US$0.0034 |
| Ready for pickup | Utility | Order food ready flow | US$0.0034 |
| Out for delivery | Utility | Order dispatched flow (Track Order button) | US$0.0034 |
| Delivered / order complete | Utility | Order completed flow (Reorder quick reply) | US$0.0034 |
| Order delayed | Utility | You, from the WhatsApp inbox | US$0.0034 |
| Order cancelled / refund | Utility | Order cancelled flow | US$0.0034 |
| Review request | Utility | Any order flow, with the review link added | US$0.0034 |
| Table booking and pre-order reminder | Utility | Order placed flow (a booking is an order); reminders from the inbox | US$0.0034 |
| Abandoned cart | Marketing | Abandoned cart flow (Menuthere's own template) | Not delivered |
| Win-back (we miss you) | Marketing | Comeback messages | Not delivered |
| Offer or holiday message | Marketing | Broadcasts | Not delivered |
US cost from Meta's USD rate card effective October 1, 2026 (North America utility rate). Marketing templates are not delivered to numbers with a +1 dialing code and a US area code.
Utility or marketing: how Meta decides
Meta reads the words, not the label you pick. Since April 9, 2025, a template you submit as utility that Meta judges to be marketing is approved as marketing rather than rejected, so you only find out from the category on the approved template and from the bill.
| The template… | Category | Example in this library |
|---|---|---|
| Reports on one customer's own order, booking or payment, and nothing else | Utility | Order confirmation, out for delivery, order cancelled |
| Asks for feedback on one specific order or visit | Utility | Review request |
| Adds a coupon, a "come back soon" offer or a credit to an order update | Marketing | Meta lists "delivery delay with account credit" as a marketing example |
| Reminds someone about a cart they left | Marketing, even if they asked for it | Abandoned cart |
| Promotes, greets or re-engages | Marketing | Win-back, offers and holidays |
Says too little to judge (only {{1}}, or "Congratulations!") | Marketing | Avoid: write the full sentence |
More on the line between the two: what is the difference between marketing and utility messages and why Meta changed my utility template to marketing.
What a template is allowed to contain
Every template in this library is written inside Meta's published limits. The generator checks the same limits as you edit.
| Part | Meta's limit | How the library uses it |
|---|---|---|
| Header (text) | 60 characters, 1 value, no bold or italic marks | Short status line such as "Order received", no values |
| Body | 1,024 characters; can't start or end with a value; values numbered in order | 1 to 6 values per template, always with words around them |
| Footer | 60 characters, text only | "Reply STOP to unsubscribe" on every marketing template |
| URL buttons | Up to 2; label 25 characters; one variable, at the end of the link | View order, Track order, Rate your order, Complete my order |
| Name | Lowercase letters, numbers and underscores | e.g. order_confirmation_short |
| Review | Meta decides, which "can take up to 24 hours" | Submit a day before you need it |
Menuthere's own template editor allows up to 3 buttons per template: quick reply, URL or phone.
Worked example: the template set for a 1,000-order-a-month takeaway
A delivery-and-pickup restaurant with 1,000 orders a month, most customers ordering on its website. It sets up four utility templates for the order steps that matter, plus one marketing template for a monthly offer.
| Template | Sends per month | US numbers | UK numbers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Order confirmation | 1,000 | 1,000 × US$0.0034 = US$3.40 | 1,000 × US$0.022 = US$22.00 |
| Out for delivery (600 delivery orders) | 600 | US$2.04 | US$13.20 |
| Ready for pickup (400 pickup orders) | 400 | US$1.36 | US$8.80 |
| Order delivered / complete | 1,000 | US$3.40 | US$22.00 |
| Monthly offer to 800 opted-in customers (marketing) | 800 | Not delivered: use email | 800 × US$0.0635 = US$50.80 |
| Total Meta fees | US$10.20 | US$116.80 |
The same message plan costs over 11 times more in the UK, which is why UK restaurants usually keep to two or three order updates and let the tracking page do the rest. Menuthere charges no per-message fee on top; WhatsApp automation is part of Pro at US$39 a month.
How to use a template from this library
- Pick the message on its page and choose one of the three wordings, or open it in the template generator.
- Edit the words to sound like you. Keep values such as
{{customer_name}}where the text changes per customer. - Submit it. In Menuthere, open Sales channel → WhatsApp → Templates, press New template, paste the name, category, body, example values and buttons, then Submit for review. Outside Menuthere, paste the same parts into WhatsApp Manager.
- Use it where a plain message would not arrive. In a flow, add a Condition on
window_openand a Send template step on the "closed" branch. In the inbox, press Template when the header says the window is closed.
Before you send any of them
- Get permission first. WhatsApp's Business Messaging Policy (updated September 23, 2026) lets you message only people who gave you their number and agreed to hear from you. Its best practice is a separate opt-in for each kind of message, so ask about order updates and offers separately. See should I ask customers separately about order updates and offers.
- Respect STOP. In Menuthere, a customer who replies STOP is added to the broadcast blocklist and left out of broadcasts, comeback messages and cart reminders. See opt-outs and the blocklist.
- Price by the customer's country, not yours. Meta charges by the recipient's country calling code. A UK restaurant messaging a tourist's US number pays the North America rate.
Related
- WhatsApp order tracking for restaurants: the six order messages and the no-app tracking page
- Help: Message templates and the 24-hour window
FAQs
Are these WhatsApp templates free to use?
Yes. The wording is free to copy and edit, and the template generator needs no sign-up. Sending them is not free: Meta charges your WhatsApp Business account for each delivered template, about US$0.0034 for a utility message to a US number.
Which WhatsApp templates does a restaurant need first?
Start with an order confirmation and an out-for-delivery or ready-for-pickup template. Those cover customers who ordered on your website and never wrote to you, because a plain message does not reach them outside the 24-hour window.
Is an order confirmation a utility or marketing template?
Utility, as long as it only confirms that customer's order. Add a discount, an upsell or a request to order again and Meta treats the whole template as marketing.
Can I send WhatsApp marketing templates to customers in the US?
No. Meta does not currently deliver marketing templates to WhatsApp users with US phone numbers. In the US, WhatsApp can send order updates but not promotions; use email for offers.
How long does Meta take to approve a template?
Meta says review can take up to 24 hours. Submit new templates a day before you need them, and expect a rejected template to show its reason on the template's row in Menuthere.
Does Menuthere add a fee per WhatsApp message?
No. Meta bills your own WhatsApp Business account at its published rates and Menuthere adds no markup. WhatsApp automation, templates and broadcasts are part of the Pro plan at US$39 a month.
Sources (7)
- WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy (only contact people who gave their number and opted in; respect every opt-out; best practice: separate opt-in per message category), last updated September 23, 2026: https://whatsappbusiness.com/policy/ (accessed 20 Oct 2026)
- Meta for Developers, Templates overview (names: lowercase alphanumeric and underscores): https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/templates/overview (accessed 20 Oct 2026, via the earlier Wave 2 facts file
docs/tools/research/whatsapp-templates.md) - Meta for Developers, Template categorization (utility = non-promotional and specific to or requested by the user; mixed content = marketing; examples by category; utility submitted but judged marketing is approved as marketing since April 9, 2025): https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/templates/template-categorization (accessed 20 Oct 2026; the page shows no date)
- Meta for Developers, Template components (text header 60 characters and 1 parameter; body 1,024; footer 60; up to 10 buttons; URL buttons up to 2, label 25, one variable appended to the end of the URL): https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/templates/components (accessed 20 Oct 2026)
- Meta for Developers, Template review (rejection reasons: mismatched braces, non-sequential parameters, too many parameters for the length, template starts or ends with a parameter, duplicates; decisions can take up to 24 hours): https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/templates/template-review (accessed 20 Oct 2026)
- Meta for Developers, Pricing on the WhatsApp Business Platform (per delivered message, by category and the recipient's country calling code; utility in the customer service window billed as regular from October 1, 2026; 1,000 free service messages per business number per month): https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/pricing (accessed 20 Oct 2026)
- Meta for Developers, Per-user marketing template message limits ("WhatsApp does not currently deliver marketing template messages to WhatsApp users with United States phone numbers", defined as +1 with a US area code): https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/templates/marketing-templates/per-user-limits (accessed 20 Oct 2026)