That 45-dish menu you're so proud of might be bleeding money faster than you think. More dishes typically equals more ingredients, chaotic purchasing decisions, and profit margins that vanish into thin air. Numbers don't lie—and they'll show you exactly which dishes deserve to stay.
Why fewer dishes can mean more profit
Each additional dish drains your resources. Beyond ingredient costs, you're dealing with:
- Extra inventory that spoils before you can use it
- Multiple suppliers demanding your attention
- Extended prep sessions
- Purchasing headaches
- Precious refrigeration space wasted
Most restaurants pull 80% of their revenue from just 20% of their menu items. That remaining 80% of dishes? They're expensive distractions masquerading as variety.
💡 Example:
Restaurant with 40 dishes on the menu:
- Top 8 dishes: 75% of revenue
- Remaining 32 dishes: 25% of revenue
- But: 32 dishes require 60% of purchasing time
Result: tons of effort for minimal return
Step 1: Analyze your sales figures
Pull data from your last 90 days. You'll need:
- Units sold per dish (straight from your POS)
- Total revenue per dish (quantity × selling price)
- Food costs per dish (what ingredients actually cost)
- Gross profit per dish (revenue minus ingredient costs)
Rank every dish by total gross profit over those 3 months. Your real moneymakers will rise to the top.
💡 Example calculation:
Steak (3 months):
- Sold: 120 units
- Price: €32.00 incl. VAT = €29.36 excl. VAT
- Revenue: 120 × €29.36 = €3,523
- Ingredient costs: €9.50 per unit
- Total costs: 120 × €9.50 = €1,140
Gross profit: €3,523 - €1,140 = €2,383
Step 2: Identify the losers
Hunt for dishes showing these red flags:
- Food costs exceeding 40% (profit killers)
- Under 2 weekly sales (customers aren't interested)
- Negative gross profit (you're paying customers to eat)
- Specialty ingredients (used nowhere else on your menu)
One of the most common blind spots in kitchen management is keeping dishes that seem profitable per unit but contribute almost nothing to your bottom line over time.
⚠️ Note:
Low-volume dishes can still earn their keep if they deliver high margins with minimal effort. Focus on total gross profit contribution, not just popularity.
Step 3: Calculate the impact of removing dishes
For each potential cut, crunch these numbers:
- Annual revenue loss: Weekly average × 52
- Annual ingredient cost savings
- Time saved on purchasing and prep
- Refrigeration space recovered
💡 Calculation example:
Dish you want to remove:
- Sales: 1 per week × 52 = 52 per year
- Price: €24.00 incl. VAT = €22.02 excl. VAT
- Lost revenue: 52 × €22.02 = €1,145
- Ingredient costs: €11.50 per unit
- Saved costs: 52 × €11.50 = €598
Net effect: -€547 per year (but you'll reclaim valuable time!)
Step 4: Test with a seasonal menu
Don't make permanent cuts immediately. Test the waters first:
- Launch a seasonal menu featuring only your top performers
- Mark underperformers as "temporarily unavailable" for 8 weeks
- Track: reduced kitchen stress? Faster purchasing?
- Monitor: are customers choosing higher-margin alternatives?
You'll often discover that customers simply pivot to other menu options, and your total revenue barely budges.
✨ Pro tip:
Target dishes selling fewer than 8 times monthly that require specialty ingredients used nowhere else. You'll slash purchasing complexity while barely denting revenue.
The 80/20 rule in practice
Thriving restaurants typically maintain:
- 15-25 total dishes on their core menu
- 5-8 appetizers
- 6-10 main courses
- 4-6 desserts
- Rotating daily specials for excitement
This strikes the perfect balance—enough variety to satisfy customers, streamlined enough to execute flawlessly.
💡 Success story:
Bistro trimmed from 45 to 22 dishes:
- Revenue dipped 8% initially
- Food costs plummeted from 34% to 29%
- Purchasing time: 3 fewer hours weekly
- Waste: 40% reduction
Final outcome: €15,000 additional profit annually
How do you simplify your menu step by step?
Collect 3 months of sales figures
Pull from your POS system: number sold per dish, revenue per dish. Calculate gross profit by subtracting ingredient costs from revenue.
Sort by profitability
Rank all dishes by total gross profit over 3 months. This shows you the real winners and losers, not just popular dishes.
Identify candidates to remove
Look for dishes with food cost above 40%, less than 2 sales per week, or that use unique expensive ingredients you don't use anywhere else.
Test with seasonal menu
Mark losers 'not available' for 2 months instead of removing them permanently. Measure the impact on revenue, workload and purchasing time before making a final decision.
✨ Pro tip
Target dishes selling fewer than 8 times monthly that require specialty ingredients used nowhere else. You'll slash purchasing complexity while barely denting revenue.
Calculate this yourself?
In the KitchenNmbrs app you can do this in just a few clicks. 7 days free, no credit card.
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Frequently asked questions
How many dishes should I have on my menu at most?
Most restaurants thrive with 15-25 dishes total. This provides sufficient customer choice while keeping operations manageable and inventory costs reasonable.
What if customers complain about missing their favorite dish?
Test removals by marking items 'temporarily unavailable' first. Customers usually adapt and order alternatives. If complaints persist, you can always restore popular items.
Should I remove popular dishes that aren't very profitable?
Try reducing costs first—cheaper ingredients, smaller portions, or different suppliers. If that fails, consider a price increase before removing the dish entirely.
How do I calculate if a dish generates enough profit?
Food costs under 35% are typically solid, but focus on total monthly gross profit. A 40% food cost dish selling 100 units often outperforms a 25% food cost dish selling just 10 units.
What's the smartest order for removing dishes?
Start with items using unique, expensive ingredients found nowhere else on your menu. This delivers maximum savings in purchasing time and inventory management.
How frequently should I review my menu performance?
Analyze sales data and profitability quarterly. Seasonal changes, food trends, and supplier price fluctuations require regular menu adjustments to maintain profitability.
📚 Sources consulted
- EU Verordening 852/2004 — Levensmiddelenhygiëne (2004) — Official source
- EU Verordening 853/2004 — Hygiënevoorschriften voor levensmiddelen van dierlijke oorsprong (2004) — Official source
- EU Verordening 1169/2011 — Voedselinformatie aan consumenten (2011) — Official source
- NVWA — Hygiënecode voor de horeca (2024) — Official source
- NVWA — Allergenen in voedsel (2024) — Official source
- Codex Alimentarius — International Food Standards (2024) — Official source
- FSA — Safer food, better business (HACCP) (2024) — Official source
- BVL — Lebensmittelhygiene (HACCP) (2024) — Official source
- Warenwetbesluit Bereiding en behandeling van levensmiddelen (2024) — Official source
- WHO — Foodborne diseases estimates (2024) — Official source
Food Standards Agency (FSA) — https://www.food.gov.uk
The HACCP standards shown in this application are for informational purposes only. KitchenNmbrs does not guarantee that displayed values are current or complete. Always consult the FSA or your local authority for the latest regulations.
Written by
Jeffrey Smit
Founder & CEO of KitchenNmbrs
Jeffrey Smit built KitchenNmbrs from 8 years of hands-on experience as kitchen manager at 1NUL8 Group in Rotterdam. His mission: give every restaurant owner control over food cost.
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