Menu & Pricing
29 practical guides to help you make better decisions about menu & pricing.
How to Run a Limited-Time Offer at Your Restaurant
A step-by-step plan for profitable restaurant LTOs — picking the item, pricing for margin, setting the run length, and promoting it without discounting.
How to Raise Menu Prices Without Losing Customers
Raise menu prices without losing customers: how much you can move, which items to touch first, how to time it, and the math that tells you if it worked.
Dynamic Pricing for Restaurants: Should You Try It?
Airlines and rideshares change prices by the hour. Can restaurants? Here's when dynamic pricing works, when it backfires, and a safer way to start.
How to Add Brunch to Your Restaurant
Adding weekend brunch can be the cheapest revenue you ever add - or a shift that quietly loses money. Here's how to price it, staff it, and prove it works.
Creating a Kids' Menu That Makes Money
A kids' menu isn't a loss leader — done right it lifts your average table check and turns families into regulars. Here's how to build one that actually earns.
Beverage Menu Strategy for Higher Checks
Drinks carry the fattest margins in your restaurant. A deliberate beverage menu strategy can lift average check by several dollars a guest. Here's how.
Using High-Margin Items to Boost Profit
High-margin items quietly carry your bottom line. Learn how to find them, feature them, and sell more of them to boost restaurant profit without raising prices.
Upselling Techniques for Servers
The right upsell raises the check and the guest's experience at once. Practical upselling techniques for servers that feel like great service, not a pitch.
The Right Number of Items to Put on a Menu
Most restaurants carry too many menu items. Learn the ideal menu size by concept, why fewer items make more money, and how to right-size yours.
Menu Redesign: When and How to Do It
A menu redesign can lift profit per guest when it's done right. Learn the signs you're due for one and a step-by-step process to redesign yours.
How to Test a New Menu Item Before Launch
Never add a dish to your menu on a hunch. Learn how to test a new menu item with specials, small batches, and real numbers before you commit.
How to Price Drinks and Cocktails
Drinks are your highest-margin sales. Learn how to price cocktails, beer, wine, and non-alcoholic drinks using pour cost so every glass makes money.
How to Price a Prix Fixe or Tasting Menu
A prix fixe locks in check size and simplifies the kitchen. Learn how to price a fixed or tasting menu on blended food cost so every seat is profitable.
How to Handle Allergens and Dietary Labels on Menus
Allergen and dietary labels protect guests and grow sales. Learn how to label the 9 major allergens, mark dietary options, and train staff to answer safely.
How to Analyze Which Menu Items to Cut
Cutting the wrong dish costs sales; keeping the wrong one costs margin. Learn a simple data-driven process to decide exactly which menu items to cut.
Digital Menus and QR Codes: Pros and Cons
QR-code and digital menus save print costs and update instantly, but they carry real tradeoffs. Weigh the pros and cons and decide what fits your restaurant.
Writing Menu Descriptions That Increase Sales
The right menu description raises perceived value and pushes guests toward your best dishes. Learn the formula, sensory words, and mistakes that cost you sales.
Psychology of Menu Pricing and Layout
Menu psychology quietly steers what guests order. Learn how pricing format, layout, and eye-path tricks lift average check without raising a single price.
Managing Menu Costs When Prices Rise
When ingredient costs climb, you have more options than just raising prices. Learn the levers to protect margin without driving guests away.
How to Set Prices for Daily Specials
Daily specials should sell out slow inventory and protect margin, not just move plates. Learn how to price specials so they profit and test future menu items.
How to Run a Menu Profitability Analysis
A menu profitability analysis ranks every dish by profit and popularity so you know what to feature, fix, or cut.
How to Price Catering and Large Orders
Catering isn't just your menu times ten. Learn how to price large orders to cover labor, packaging, delivery, and risk while staying competitive and profitable.
How to Introduce a Seasonal Menu
A seasonal menu lowers food cost, keeps regulars curious, and creates marketing moments. Here's how to plan, cost, and launch one without chaos in the kitchen.
How to Add or Remove Items From Your Menu
A step-by-step process for deciding what to add, what to cut, and how to test menu changes without hurting sales or confusing your kitchen and guests.
Calculating Contribution Margin per Menu Item
Contribution margin shows the real dollars each dish adds to your bottom line. Learn the formula, how it beats food cost percentage, and how to use it.
Bundling and Combo Pricing Strategies
Combos and bundles raise average check and move high-margin items when priced right. Learn how to build bundles that guests love without giving away profit.
Menu Engineering: The 4-Quadrant Method Explained
The 4-quadrant menu engineering method sorts every dish by popularity and profit. Here's how to classify Stars, Plow Horses, Puzzles, and Dogs — and act on each.
How to Design a Menu That Sells
Menu design guides what guests order and how much they spend. Here's how to use layout, pricing psychology, and descriptions to steer diners toward your best items.
How to Price Your Menu for Profit
How to price a restaurant menu for profit — the food-cost formula, contribution margin, competitor and value checks, menu psychology, and when to raise prices.