Adelaide, Australia
As hospitality operators continue to wrestle with rising overheads and stretched front-of-house teams, a growing number of restaurants are turning to DineLine, an AI-powered phone-ordering system that answers calls, takes takeaway orders in natural language, and sends them straight to the kitchen. Early adopters say the technology is reshaping how they handle one of the busiest and most disruptive parts of service: the ringing phone.
DineLine lets customers place takeaway orders by phone using conversational AI. The system learns a venue's full menu and remembers the orders of regular customers. Operators can be set up and running in a day. If an item is on the menu, the system can sell it. Pricing is charged per hour while a venue is open and is free while closed, so the system can still take pre-orders and answer questions after hours. There are no ongoing commissions.
“One of the biggest challenges is managing our overheads”
For Frank Hannon-Tan, Co-Proprietor of Amalfi Pizzeria, the appeal started with the economics of running a busy kitchen.
“Running a restaurant is a complex business. One of the biggest challenges of managing Amalfi is managing our overheads — labour, power, food costs. We are always looking for ways to run the business more effectively,” he said.
The phone, he noted, is a hidden cost.
“One of the challenges is the time that it takes for somebody to stop what they are doing, answer the telephone and take that order.”
What sold him was how little friction the system introduced.
“One of the most attractive features of DineLine is the set-up process — incredibly easy. Just take a photo of the menu, upload it, and that is it. If the information is on the menu, the system can sell it.”
He was equally direct about the cost model:
“It's a per-hour charge for every hour you're open; however, it's free when your business is closed to take pre-orders and give information about your business. And there are no ongoing commissions.”
“It's really done in five minutes”
Staff at Amalfi have seen the difference at the point of sale, particularly during peak periods when multiple calls land at once.
“When customers phone through, there isn't really a wait period. Multiple customers can phone through, and in the case where the customer is undecided, it can actually send off a copy of the menu to the customer, and the customer can then place the order — and it's really done in five minutes,” a member of the Amalfi team said.
The team sees a broader shift coming for the industry.
“DineLine in this industry is a game changer. It allows people to really access menus quicker, it allows staff to feel more focused, feel more supported and more knowledgeable at the point of sale when dealing with customers, because it's all automated for them. I think it's just something that is gonna take the restaurant industry by storm. Anybody who has a restaurant should really look at investing in DineLine AI — it's something that can really take your business to the next level.”
“It blew my mind”
Rocco DeAngelis, Founder of Rocco's Pizza, came to DineLine with a problem familiar to every pizzeria.
“What we realised was, every time the phone rang, we'd either be too busy to answer it, or a junior that wasn't as busy wouldn't want to answer it because they're young and a little bit shy still,” he said.
DeAngelis began working directly with the DineLine team.
“We said, ‘You know what would help us — getting something that can answer the phone.’ We told the developers, ‘Look, there is an opportunity, and I reckon a lot of restaurants would go for this.’”
In trials, orders flowed straight through.
“As we've trialled it, we can see that orders go straight to a tablet from someone making a phone call from either their home or in the car, and we just print them out like any other ordering system. They can even pay for their takeaway before they arrive via a link.”
A standout benefit was accessibility for non-English-speaking customers.
“It even makes it so much easier for people that are calling and whose first language isn't English to put an order through in their own language.”
His verdict was blunt:
“It blew my mind. It really exceeded our expectations.”
Availability
DineLine is available to restaurants now, with a two-week free trial.
“Give it a go, play around with it, and see if it works for you,” Hannon-Tan said.
About DineLine
DineLine is an AI-powered phone-ordering platform built for the restaurant industry. It answers calls, takes takeaway orders in natural language, learns each venue's menu and its regular customers, and sends orders directly to the kitchen. With multilingual support, fast setup, $3.50 per-hour pricing while open, free after-hours, and no ongoing commissions, DineLine is already servicing restaurants from Bondi to Brunswick across Australia.