How to make an app for a restaurant

In a busy restaurant, orders get lost between the table, the kitchen and the counter. An app where the waiter adds dishes to a table, the kitchen sees what to cook next and the counter makes the bill keeps the evening rush in one place.

Updated 2026-11-09

Who uses the app

Usually the restaurant's own staff: waiters, the kitchen and the counter, each on their own phone. Because they all need to see the same orders, connect your own Supabase database. If you want regular customers to order parcels from the app, that also needs the database, and Razorpay for online payment.

The screens a restaurant app needs

• Tables: All tables with their status: free, ordered, food served or bill asked, and the running total of each
• Take order: The menu by category with a search box; the waiter taps dishes, adds notes like 'less spicy' and sends them to the kitchen
• Kitchen: New dishes to cook, grouped by table and time, with a button to mark each one ready
• Bill: The table's dishes, quantities, tax and total, with a bill PDF to print or share on WhatsApp
• Menu: Add or change dishes, prices, veg or non-veg, and switch off a dish when it runs out
• Parcels: Takeaway and phone orders with the customer's name, phone and pickup or delivery time
• Sales: Today's total, cash and UPI split, and the dishes sold most this week

Features worth asking for

• Table-wise orders that the waiter can add to as the meal goes on
• Kitchen notes on each dish, such as no onion, Jain or extra spicy
• A dish marked 'finished' disappears from the waiter's menu at once
• Bill as a PDF to print or send on WhatsApp, with the restaurant's name and FSSAI number
• Cash and UPI marked on each bill for the day-end count
• Parcel orders with a WhatsApp message to the customer when the food is ready
• Menu labels in Hindi and English for staff who read Hindi

Where the data lives

Waiters, the kitchen and the counter all use their own phones, so connect your own Supabase database from the chat; it has a free plan. If customers order parcels and pay online in the app, connect your own Razorpay account too, and the money goes to you.

How to make it with AppCub, step by step

1. Decide what the app does. List the screens you need, for example: Tables, Take order, Kitchen, Bill, Menu.
2. Describe it to AppCub. Paste the request below, changed to your own business and details.
3. Check the plan. AppCub shows the screens and features it will build. Change them in the chat until they are right; seeing the plan is free.
4. Try it on your phone. The app runs live next to the chat. Scan the QR code to install it, and ask for changes.
5. Share it. Share it as a web link, an APK file, or publish it on Google Play from your own developer account.

Copy this request, change the details to match your restaurant, and paste it into AppCub:

AppCub also has a page about a restaurant menu app: see it here.

Tips for a restaurant app

• Start with tables, take order and kitchen. Add parcels and sales reports once the staff are used to it.
• Give AppCub your table numbers and your menu categories exactly as the waiters say them, so the app sounds like your restaurant.
• Try a full lunch service with test orders on a slow weekday before using it on a Saturday night.
• Ask AppCub to make the buttons large; waiters tap with one hand while carrying plates.
• If you charge GST, give AppCub the rate and how your bill shows it; check one bill with your accountant.

What it costs

• Describing your app and seeing AppCub’s plan for it is free.
• A new app usually takes 60 to 110 credits. Start with the 2-day trial for ₹99 (150 credits, enough for one app and a few changes) or the one-time App Pack for ₹499. Starter is ₹1,599 a month for 700 credits.
• Google Play needs a paid plan (it includes the Play Store bundle and your app’s signing key) and your own Google Play developer account, a one-time US$25 fee to Google.
• Work that fails or is rolled back costs no credits.

See all plans

Good to know

• AppCub doesn't connect to billing machines, Zomato or Swiggy, so online-platform orders stay in their own tablets. There is no live rider tracking; for that kind of delivery fleet, AppCub is not the right tool.
• AppCub builds Android apps. You can also share the app as a web link that opens on any phone; for the iPhone App Store, AppCub’s team can do it for you.

Questions

Can waiters take orders on their phones with a restaurant app?

Yes. Ask for a take-order screen by table; with a Supabase database connected, the kitchen sees the order on its phone as soon as the waiter sends it.

Can the app print a KOT or bill on my thermal printer?

AppCub doesn't connect to billing machines. The app can make the bill as a PDF that you print from the phone or send on WhatsApp.

Will Zomato and Swiggy orders come into the app?

No. AppCub doesn't connect to Zomato or Swiggy. You can add those orders by hand on the parcels screen if you want one total for the day.

Can customers order and pay from the app?

Yes. Ask for a customer menu with a cart and a pay button using your own Razorpay account; connect Supabase and Razorpay from the chat first. The money goes to your account.

How do I give the app to my waiters?

Share it as a web link that opens in any phone browser, or as an APK file to install. A Google Play listing is possible too with a paid plan and your own developer account.

What does a restaurant app cost to make on AppCub?

Seeing the plan is free. Building starts with the ₹99 two-day trial or the ₹499 App Pack; a new app usually takes 60 to 110 credits, depending on its size.

Read next

• How to make a website for a restaurant
• See the restaurant menu app page
• App for a bakery
• App for a biryani shop
• App for a cafe
• App for a cake shop
• App for a catering service
• App for a cloud kitchen
• All guides: food and restaurants
• All app guides by business