WhatsApp order confirmation template for restaurants

A WhatsApp order confirmation is a utility template: it confirms one customer's order and nothing else. Meta's own utility examples include an order confirmation ("Your order {{order_number}} is confirmed"), so a restaurant version with the order number, items and total is approved as utility and costs about US$0.0034 per message to a US number. Add a discount, an upsell or "order again soon" and Meta files the whole template as marketing, which costs about 7 times more and is not delivered to US numbers at all. Below are three wordings, the version to submit to Meta and what Menuthere sends by default.

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Three order confirmation wordings

Values in double braces change per order. {{customer_name}}, {{order_id}}, {{store_name}}, {{items}} and {{total}} are filled by Menuthere's order flows; type a pickup time in yourself or leave that line out.

1. Short

Header: Order received

Hi {{customer_name}}, we've received your order #{{order_id}} at {{store_name}}. Total: {{total}}. We'll message you again when there's an update.

Button: View order

2. With items

Header: Order received

Hi {{customer_name}}, thanks for your order at {{store_name}}.

Order: #{{order_id}}
Items: {{items}}
Total: {{total}}

Tap View order to follow it.

Footer: Questions? Reply to this message.

Button: View order

3. Pickup

Header: Pickup order confirmed

Hi {{customer_name}}, your pickup order #{{order_id}} at {{store_name}} is confirmed. It will be ready at about {{ready_time}}. Show this message at the counter.

The template to submit to Meta

Meta wants numbered values, an example for each, and a link button whose only variable sits at the very end of the link. This is wording 2, ready to paste:

Name: order_confirmation_items
Category: Utility
Language: en_US
Header (text): Order received
Body:
Hi {{1}}, thanks for your order at {{2}}.

Order: #{{3}}
Items: {{4}}
Total: {{5}}

Tap View order to follow it.
Body examples:
{{1}} = Maria
{{2}} = Luna Taqueria
{{3}} = 1042
{{4}} = 2 x Carne asada tacos, 1 x Horchata
{{5}} = $24.50
Footer: Questions? Reply to this message.
Button (visit website): View order → https://menuthere.com/order/{{1}} (example: https://menuthere.com/order/8f3c2a71)

The View order button points at the order's own page. The part after /order/ changes per order, which is why it is the button's one variable.

Why it stays utility (and what turns it into marketing)

Since April 9, 2025, Meta approves a misfiled template as marketing instead of rejecting it, so check the category on the approved template before you wire it into a flow. More: how to word a WhatsApp order confirmation to keep it a utility message and can I add a discount to my WhatsApp order confirmation.

What it costs per send

Meta's USD rate card effective October 1, 2026, read on October 20, 2026. Meta bills your own WhatsApp Business account; Menuthere adds no markup. Check any other country in the WhatsApp cost calculator.

What Menuthere sends by default

The Order placed flow is one of six order flows. It starts switched off; turn it on in Sales channel → WhatsApp → Flows. Its default message is a chat message, not a template:

A chat message is delivered only inside the 24-hour window. For customers who order on your website without writing to you first, add a Condition on window_open and, on the closed branch, a Send template step with the approved template above. The template's values can carry the flow's own values, so in wording 2 {{1}} takes {{customer_name}}, {{2}} takes {{store_name}} and {{3}} takes {{order_id}}.

Worked example: a Brooklyn pizzeria with 900 online orders a month

The pizzeria takes 900 orders a month on its Menuthere store. About 540 come from customers who tapped its WhatsApp link and said "Hi" first; 360 ordered straight on the website.

The same 900 confirmations to UK numbers would cost 900 × US$0.022 = US$19.80. Adding a coupon line would make the template marketing: to US numbers it would then not be delivered at all, so the 360 website customers would get no confirmation.