After a month with your new menu, you want to know which dishes work and which don't. Most restaurant owners chase popularity metrics, but profitable operators dig deeper. You need data on both sales volume and profit margins to identify your real winners.
The 5 dishes you always need to check
Target your evaluation on these categories for immediate insights:
- Your 3 top-selling dishes - do they actually make money?
- Your priciest dish - can you defend that price point?
- Your budget option - does it draw customers or kill margins?
- Fresh additions - how do they stack up against projections?
- Seasonal offerings - have ingredient costs shifted?
💡 Example evaluation:
Restaurant De Keuken after 1 month on new menu:
- Ribeye (€38): 45 sold, 28% food cost - winner
- Salmon (€26): 78 sold, 38% food cost - too expensive to source
- Pasta (€16): 120 sold, 22% food cost - perfect
Action: find new salmon supplier, promote ribeye more
Sales figures vs. profitability
A dish can pack the house but drain your bank account. From analyzing actual purchasing data across different restaurant types, these patterns emerge consistently:
- High sales + low margin: Bump the price or source smarter
- Low sales + high margin: Push harder or reposition the dish
- Low sales + low margin: Cut it from the menu
- High sales + high margin: Your goldmine - protect this dish at all costs
⚠️ Watch out:
Don't get fooled by raw sales numbers. A dish sold 20 times at €35 beats a dish sold 50 times at €12 every time.
Food cost check per dish
Calculate real food costs for each dish after 30 days of service:
- Total all ingredient costs (don't forget garnish, sauces, cooking oil)
- Divide by selling price minus VAT
- Multiply by 100 for your percentage
💡 Food cost calculation:
Steak menu €32 incl. VAT:
- Selling price excl. VAT: €32 ÷ 1.09 = €29.36
- Ingredient costs: €9.50
- Food cost: (€9.50 ÷ €29.36) × 100 = 32.4%
Excellent food cost for a steak
Signals that a dish needs adjustment
Keep an eye out for these red flags during evaluation:
- Food cost exceeding 35% - you're pricing too low or portioning too big
- Under 5 sales weekly - it's hogging valuable menu real estate
- Kitchen keeps sending it back - flavor or plating problems
- Servers avoid mentioning it - too complex or confusing to explain
- Ingredients spoil consistently - turnover's too slow
Actions after your evaluation
Based on what you discover, here's what you can do:
- Price adjustment: If food cost hits 35% or margins are razor-thin
- Portion control: If high food costs come from oversized servings
- Supply chain changes: Different vendor or alternative protein cuts
- Marketing push: High-margin dishes that need more visibility
- Menu elimination: Items failing on both sales and profit
💡 Real-world example:
Café Het Plein discovered after evaluation:
- Carpaccio: popular but 41% food cost
- Action: reduce portion from 100g to 80g, keep price same
- New food cost: 33% - problem solved
How do you evaluate your dishes systematically?
Gather sales and cost data
Note for each dish: quantity sold, selling price, and total ingredient costs per portion. Also check how many ingredients were thrown away or spoiled.
Calculate food cost percentage
Divide ingredient costs by selling price excl. VAT and multiply by 100. Anything above 35% needs action, below 25% is excellent.
Analyze popularity vs. profitability
Make a list of your top 5 best-selling and top 5 most profitable dishes. Dishes on both lists are your golden geese.
Determine actions per dish
Popular but not profitable: raise price or lower costs. Profitable but not popular: promote more. Both poor: remove from menu.
✨ Pro tip
Focus your 30-day evaluation on dishes occupying premium menu positions - top right corner and center spots. These high-visibility areas should feature items with both strong sales and margins above 65%.
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 evaluate my dishes?
After one month for new dishes, then every 3 months for the entire menu. Also do interim evaluations during seasonal changes or major supplier price changes.
What if a dish is popular but unprofitable?
First try to lower costs by sourcing cheaper or reducing portions. If that doesn't work, gradually raise the price by €1-2 at a time.
Should I account for seasons when evaluating?
Absolutely. Ingredient prices fluctuate significantly by season. A dish can be profitable in winter and unprofitable in summer due to more expensive produce.
How many dishes should I remove from the menu at once?
Maximum 2-3 dishes at a time. Customers need time to adjust to changes. Too many at once can cause confusion and disappointment.
What if my best-selling dish isn't profitable?
This is a common problem. Raise the price gradually or reduce the portion size. Customers are often willing to pay more for their favorite.
Should I factor in prep time when evaluating dishes?
Yes, especially for labor-intensive items. A dish with 25% food cost but requiring 45 minutes of prep might be less profitable than a 30% food cost dish taking 10 minutes. Calculate your hourly kitchen labor costs and add them to the equation.
📚 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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