HappyChef, the reservation system founded by Thibault Van de Sompele in Essen, Belgium, analysed 27,048 online reservations at 34 Belgian restaurants, made between 1 October 2025 and 30 September 2026. The result stands out: 36.5% of all online reservations arrive during service, between 12:00 and 14:00 or between 18:00 and 21:00. Another 12.5% are made from 21:00 onwards, when most kitchens are cleaning down.
The Phone Rings At The Worst Possible Moment
For a restaurant without online booking, that is a problem. Exactly when guests most want to secure a table, the chef is at the stove and the floor team is carrying plates. A call that goes unanswered between two plates is often a booking that ends up with a competitor the next day.
The data also shows how restaurant teams work. Reservations that staff enter after a call, an email or a walk-in are most often keyed in at 17:00: the hour before dinner, when someone is still free to answer. Guests choose their own moment, and it is rarely 17:00.
Booking Online Is Already The Norm
A wider sample of 37,644 reservations at 38 restaurants shows that 73% of reservations are made online by the guest, through a booking page, a website widget or Reserve with Google. Month after month that share stays between 73% and 78%. Couples book online most often (78%), while groups of nine or more still prefer to call (21% online). The full figures and method are in the HappyChef Datahub.
| Moment | Share | What is happening in the restaurant |
|---|---|---|
| Lunch service (12:00 to 14:00) | 13.5% | Kitchen and floor in full swing |
| Dinner service (18:00 to 21:00) | 22.9% | The busiest moment of the day |
| From 21:00 | 12.5% | Cleaning down, phone often off |
What This Means For The Chef With The Book
For the independent restaurateur still working with a paper book, the lesson is simple: guests can keep calling, but anyone who wants to book at 19:30 or 23:30 should be able to do so straight away. A booking button on the website and the Google profile catches those guests without anyone having to put down a pan.
- Start for free. HappyChef's Start plan is free forever, with unlimited reservations, a table plan and confirmation emails. No payment card is needed and the account is ready in two minutes.
- Fewer no-shows. Restaurants that send confirmations and reminders over WhatsApp saw 26% fewer no-shows (HappyChef data, July 2026).
- Everything in one view. Covers, occupancy and open tables on a tablet, computer or phone, even when the booking came in at midnight.
Extremely user-friendly: everything you look for in a booking platform, made as simple as possible.
At Horeca Expo In Ghent
HappyChef will be at Horeca Expo at Flanders Expo in Ghent from 15 to 18 November 2026, on stand 4029. Restaurateurs can have their own booking page set up there and see what an evening of online reservations looks like in the dashboard.