Guide
Pricing, beyond multiplying by three.
Cost tells you the floor. It does not tell you the price.
In short
Start from your plate cost to find the floor, then set the price against what the dish is worth to the customer and what comparable places charge. Pricing purely on a food cost multiple overprices expensive ingredients and underprices cheap ones, which is why a well-priced menu has varying margins by dish rather than a uniform percentage.
Updated 28 August 2026
Cost gives you the floor, not the price
Work out the true plate cost including every component and the trim you throw away. That tells you the lowest price that makes sense. It does not tell you the right price, because customers do not pay based on your costs. They pay based on what the dish is worth to them relative to the alternatives.
Why a uniform multiple misprices the menu
Multiplying every dish by the same factor produces a steak priced beyond what the room will pay and a pasta priced below what it would happily carry. Cheap-ingredient dishes can usually take a higher margin because the customer is buying the dish rather than the ingredients. Expensive-ingredient dishes often need a thinner margin to sell at all.
- Low-cost, high-appeal dishes: carry a higher margin
- Expensive-protein dishes: thinner margin, they anchor quality
- Sides and drinks: usually your best margins, price them deliberately
Cash margin matters more than percentage
A dish at 70 percent margin returning six euro is worse for you than a dish at 60 percent returning nine. Percentages are useful for comparison and cash is what pays the rent. When you have to choose which dish to promote, promote the one that puts more money in the till, not the one with the prettier ratio.
Check what the market carries
Look at what comparable places nearby charge for comparable dishes. Not to match them, but to know where you sit. Being ten percent above the local norm is fine if the offer justifies it and dangerous if it does not, and you should at least know which you are doing.
The honest limitation
Price changes affect volume in ways you cannot fully predict, and the effect differs by dish. Change a few prices at a time rather than repricing the whole menu at once, and watch the units sold for a few weeks. Repricing everything simultaneously means you learn nothing from the result.
Questions, answered straight.
Not covered here? Just ask us.
Should I use prices ending in 95?
The evidence is mixed and the effect is small in restaurants. Rounder pricing tends to suit higher-end rooms and charm pricing suits value formats. Pick one convention and be consistent.
How often should I reprice?
Review quarterly, change when input costs have genuinely moved. Frequent small changes annoy regulars more than an occasional clear adjustment.
Should online prices match the dining room?
For your own channel, usually yes. For marketplaces, many operators price higher to cover commission, subject to what their contract allows.
What about drinks?
Price them separately and deliberately. Drinks usually carry the best margins in the business and are often priced by habit rather than by decision.
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