A clean menu sells better and costs less. Many restaurant owners drag along dishes that sell poorly or generate too little revenue, causing them to lose money without knowing it. With a monthly menu audit, you spot these weak links and make room for profitable dishes.
Why a monthly menu audit matters
Your menu isn't a museum. Yet many restaurant owners treat it like one. Dishes that haven't been ordered in months stay on the menu. Ingredients that have become 20% more expensive don't get a new price. The result: you lose money on dishes where you should actually be making profit.
⚠️ Heads up:
A dish ordered 2 times a week but with 40% food cost costs you more money than a dish you remove entirely.
The 80/20 rule for your menu
In most restaurants, 20% of the dishes account for 80% of revenue. The remaining 80% of your menu often generates little, but still costs time, inventory, and attention. By removing these weak dishes:
- You lower your purchasing costs (fewer different ingredients)
- You increase your turnover (popular dishes sell more often)
- You improve quality (focus on what you do well)
- You make your kitchen more efficient (less complexity)
💡 Example:
Restaurant De Hoek has 24 main courses on the menu:
- Top 5 dishes: 65% of main course revenue
- Dishes 6-12: 28% of main course revenue
- Bottom 12 dishes: 7% of main course revenue
By removing 8 weak dishes, revenue drops 3% but costs drop 15%.
What numbers you need
For a solid menu audit, you need three figures per dish:
- Sales numbers: How many times was this dish ordered?
- Food cost percentage: How much of the selling price goes to ingredients?
- Gross margin per dish: How much do you net per portion?
Most POS systems give you sales numbers. For food cost and margin, you'll need to calculate ingredient costs and compare them to your selling price. It's the kind of thing you only learn after closing your first month at a loss.
💡 Example calculation:
Pasta Carbonara in March:
- Sold: 23 times
- Selling price: €16.50 incl. VAT = €15.14 excl. VAT
- Ingredient costs: €5.80
- Food cost: (€5.80 / €15.14) × 100 = 38.3%
- Gross margin: €15.14 - €5.80 = €9.34 per portion
Conclusion: Low volume, high food cost. Candidate for removal.
The four categories of dishes
Divide your dishes into four groups based on popularity and profitability:
- Stars (popular + profitable): Keep and promote
- Plowhorses (popular + moderate profit): Lower cost price or raise price
- Puzzles (low sales + profitable): Promote more or reuse ingredients
- Dogs (low sales + moderate profit): Remove from menu
⚠️ Heads up:
Never remove more than 20% of your dishes at once. Guests need time to adjust to a new menu.
Practical execution of your audit
Always schedule your menu audit at the same time. The first business day of the month works well. Set aside an hour and work systematically:
- Export sales figures from last month from your POS
- Check food cost of your 10 best-selling dishes
- Identify dishes ordered fewer than 8 times
- Calculate which dishes are above 35% food cost
- Make a shortlist of candidates for removal
💡 Example shortlist:
Candidates for removal in April:
- Salmon tartare: sold 4 times, 42% food cost
- Lamb shank: sold 6 times, 38% food cost
- Vegetarian lasagne: sold 3 times, 31% food cost (too low volume)
Replace these three dishes with one new vegetarian dish with better margin.
Adding new dishes
You don't automatically need to add a new dish for every one you remove. But if you do, make sure the new dish:
- Reuses ingredients you already have in stock
- Has a maximum of 30% food cost
- Fits your kitchen and concept
- Is easy to make during busy times
Test new dishes first as specials before adding them permanently to the menu. That way you see if they appeal to your guests.
How do you conduct a monthly menu audit?
Gather sales figures from last month
Export the sales reports from your POS system. Sort by number of portions sold per dish. Note which dishes were ordered fewer than 8 times.
Calculate food cost of weak performers
Check the ingredient costs of dishes that sold poorly. Calculate the food cost percentage: (ingredient costs / selling price excl. VAT) × 100. Dishes above 35% are candidates for removal.
Make decisions and plan changes
Select a maximum of 3-4 dishes to remove. Plan new menus and inform your team. Give guests 2 weeks to adjust before you stop purchasing the ingredients.
✨ Pro tip
Block out 90 minutes on the 3rd Tuesday of every month to analyze your bottom 15 dishes by sales volume. This routine catches the menu bloat before it kills your margins.
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 often should I adjust my menu?
A monthly check is ideal, but adjust dishes at most quarterly. Guests need time to get used to changes.
What if a dish sells poorly but guests specifically come for it?
Keep signature dishes even if they sell little. But do check if the price matches the costs. Raise the price if food cost is too high.
Do I always need to add new dishes when I remove old ones?
No, a smaller menu often sells better. Only add dishes if you see a clear gap in your offering or if you want to use seasonal products.
What if my food cost is higher due to expensive ingredient prices?
Then you have three options: raise the selling price, replace expensive ingredients with cheaper alternatives, or remove the dish from the menu. Selling at a loss is not an option.
📚 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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