Topic · 4 guides
Menu pricing & engineering
What to charge, which dishes earn their place on the menu, and how to raise a price without losing the room.
Contribution Margin Beats Food Cost Percentage
Why food cost percentage systematically points at the wrong dish, with worked examples showing how percentage-chasing costs a restaurant real money.
· 3 min read
How to Price a Menu Item: Markup vs. Margin
The formula for pricing a dish from plate cost and target margin, the markup/margin confusion that underprices menus, and the three adjustments before a price goes on the menu.
· 4 min read
How to Raise Menu Prices Without Losing Regulars
Which dishes to raise, by how much, when to do it, and how to communicate it — plus the break-even volume math that shows how much room you actually have.
· 5 min read
Menu Engineering: The Four-Quadrant Matrix
How to build a menu engineering matrix from a POS product mix report — with a full worked example on a 12-item menu and the specific action for each quadrant.
· 4 min read