Menu engineering
Plate cost, pricing and the menu matrix.
OpenKnowledge · F&B
The F&B knowledge base.
How a restaurant is conceived, specified, served and measured. Written from the creation of more than 67 restaurant concepts.
In this section
Wine and beverage pricing
Multipliers, the glass and the pour.
OpenKitchen and back-of-house design
Flow, areas, temperatures and the service spine.
OpenFood hygiene standards
Temperatures, HACCP and the daily audit.
OpenRestaurant Revenue Management 101
Seat-hours, duration and table mix.
OpenAudits and checklists
Opening, closing and the pre-service briefing.
OpenThe concept brief
The brief is written before the design begins. A room designed first acquires a concept by accident.
Twelve things a restaurant concept must settle before anyone draws.
- 01The idea, in one line a guest would repeat
- 02The guest and the occasion: who comes, when, and why
- 03Cuisine and the shape of the menu: number of dishes and price points
- 04Meal periods and opening hours
- 05Seats, table mix and the area each seat needs
- 06Average check, covers and revenue by meal period
- 07The kitchen: stations, equipment, and whether the guest sees it
- 08The bar and the beverage list
- 09Service style and sequence of service
- 10Design language, light and sound
- 11The team: numbers, skills and the roster
- 12Opening budget and the financial model
Seat areas to plan with, net per cover: all-day dining 2.0 m² in a city hotel and 3.0 in a resort, speciality restaurant 2.5, fine dining 2.8, bar 3.5. Allow a kitchen of 1.2 to 2.0 m² for each restaurant seat it serves.
The standard recipe
A recipe is a specification.
It lets a second cook produce the same plate as the first, and lets the owner know what that plate costs. Every dish on the menu has one, and it carries eight things.
- Name, code and date costed
- Yield and portion size
- Each ingredient with its purchase unit, trimming yield and quantity
- Method in numbered steps, with times and temperatures
- A photograph and a description of the plate
- Allergens
- Holding temperature and shelf life
- Cost per portion and the selling price
Excelsior keeps costed recipe collections for Thai, Chinese regional, North Indian, Italian regional and hotel comfort cooking. Each recosts itself when ingredient prices change. They are shared with clients.
A model sequence of service
Dinner, à la carte.
| Step | Standard |
|---|---|
| Arrival | Greeted at the door within 30 seconds, by name where there is a reservation. |
| Seating | Escorted to the table. Chairs drawn. Menus presented open. |
| Water and drinks | Water offered within 2 minutes of sitting. Drinks order taken within 3 minutes and served within 5. |
| The order | Taken when the menus are closed. Allergies asked for, every time. The order repeated back. |
| First course | Served within 15 minutes of the order, to every guest at once. |
| Clearing | Only when every guest at the table has finished. |
| Main course | Served within 15 minutes of clearing. A check-back within two minutes or two bites. |
| Dessert and coffee | The table crumbed. Dessert menu offered. Coffee served with or after dessert, as the guest prefers. |
| The bill | Presented within 3 minutes of the request, checked for accuracy before it reaches the table. |
| Farewell | Thanked by name. Coats and transport arranged. The table reset within 5 minutes. |
A model. Set your own times, then measure them. Shorten the house’s waits, never the guest’s meal.
Numbers to watch
- Food cost and beverage cost
- actual against the theoretical cost of what was sold
- RevPASH
- by hour, by day
- Seat occupancy
- in the hot hours
- Average check
- by meal period
- Covers per labour hour
- kitchen and service separately
- Guest score
- and the three most frequent complaints
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