# Zest uses text concierge to recommend and book restaurant tables

> Zest's text concierge recommends restaurants, checks availability and books tables through OpenTable, Resy and SevenRooms.

- Status: reported (One outlet, not independently verified yet.)
- Topic: Products
- Published: 2026-11-03T13:09:04+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-03T13:09:04+00:00
- Web page: https://ai-news.ikangai.com/story/zest-uses-text-concierge-to-recommend-and-book-restaurant-tables/
- Seen in: Forward Future (Matthew Berman)

Zest, a restaurant discovery app, has added a text-based concierge. It recommends restaurants, checks availability and books tables through OpenTable, Resy and SevenRooms. TechCrunch's Sarah Perez reported that the feature launched on a Thursday. Users reach it by texting (212) 470-6067. The company tested the concierge for the previous month but held the public launch until booking was ready, according to TechCrunch.

The recommendations draw on data Zest gathers from users' credit cards. Users can optionally link a card, and the app imports transactions through the financial services company Plaid. Zest says it uses only food and drink transactions to build a personal map and lists. Its FAQ says the agent sees where and when a user ate, is read-only, and never shows how much was spent. Without a linked card, the agent still works but has less to draw on. TechCrunch reported that the company was founded in November 2024 with $1.8 million in pre-seed backing from Alexis Ohanian at 776 and Steve Jang at Kindred Ventures. Founder and CEO Mario Gomez-Hall argued that the text interface changes what the product is: "The agent is the product now," he said. He added that it can answer from a user's history and friends' history, rather than needing weeks of conversation to learn their taste.

The concierge can also be added to a group chat. There it blends the members' tastes, runs an in-thread vote to settle indecision and books a table without anyone leaving the conversation. Users can ask for recommendations based on cuisine, occasion, dietary restrictions or neighborhood. They can also ask practical questions, such as how busy a place is, whether it has Wi-Fi, or to see the menu. TechCrunch said that in its own tests the AI worked fairly well, offering new places that matched its tastes and fit conditions such as time of day and party size. It also noted that finding an open table is something other apps have offered for years. Still, there is a convenience factor in texting back and forth about options and getting available booking times in the same thread.

The money question is less settled. Zest's FAQ says the service is free, with "No paid features, no subscription." Gomez-Hall nonetheless told TechCrunch that "Booking and ordering are the first revenue lines." He said Zest books tables through OpenTable or Resy today, with food ordering still coming. That statement names two booking services, not three. The reporting does not establish whether SevenRooms bookings were live at launch. The Zest page does not explain how booking or ordering transactions would be priced or who would pay for them. According to TechCrunch, the company is also considering extending beyond restaurants into recommendations for businesses and shopping.

## Why it matters

Text-based booking agents that connect to major reservation platforms show how consumer AI can complete transactions, not just answer questions.

## Original source

- [Text Zest • Restaurant picks based on where you actually eat](https://www.textzest.com/)

## Further reporting

- [Zest's new AI agent finds restaurants and books reservations over text | TechCrunch](https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/30/zests-new-ai-agent-finds-restaurants-and-books-reservations-over-text/)

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