How to Check Which Menu Dishes Sell and Make Money
A successful menu is not just about selling more dishes. It is about selling the right dishes at the right price while keeping guests happy.
How to Check Which Menu Dishes Sell and Make Money
When I review a restaurant menu, I do not look only at which dishes sell the most. I also want to understand how much money each dish brings to the business.
A popular dish is not always the most profitable. Some dishes sell very well but have a high ingredient cost. Others may make more money per plate but receive very few orders.
This is why understanding menu performance is important for a Head Chef.
A good menu should offer food that guests enjoy while helping the restaurant make money.
We can understand this better by looking at two things. How often a dish sells and how much money remains after its ingredient cost.
This is the basic idea behind Menu Engineering.
Start With Your Menu Sales
The first thing I normally look at is the sales report.
Most restaurants use a POS system that shows how many portions of each dish were sold during a certain period.
I prefer to review at least one full month of sales. This gives us a better picture than looking at only a few busy days.
Imagine two dishes on the same menu.
Chicken Curry sells 120 portions in one month. Beef Steak sells only 30 portions.
From this information we already know that Chicken Curry is more popular.
But we still do not know which dish contributes more money per plate.
For that we need to look at the selling price and recipe cost.
Understand How Much Each Dish Makes
Every dish has a selling price and an ingredient cost.
The difference between these two numbers is called the Contribution Margin.
It shows how much money remains from one sale after the recipe ingredient cost.
The formula is simple.
Selling Price − Recipe Cost = Contribution Margin
For example, imagine we sell Chicken Curry for $20. The ingredients cost $6 per portion.
That leaves $14 per dish.
Now imagine we sell Beef Steak for $35 with a recipe cost of $18.
That leaves $17 per dish.
Beef Steak makes more money per portion before other operating expenses. But Chicken Curry sells much more often.
This is why we need to look at both sales volume and contribution margin together.
The contribution margin is not the restaurant's final profit. Labour and other operating expenses still need to be paid.
Compare the Dishes on Your Menu
Here is an example of four dishes sold during one month.
All amounts are in USD. These are example figures rather than actual restaurant sales.
Chicken Curry has a good contribution margin and sells well.
Beef Steak makes more money per plate but sells fewer portions.
Vegetable Noodles has a lower margin per plate. However, it still contributes a good amount because many guests order it.
Seafood Pasta has the lowest sales in this example.
Before deciding what to change, I would also check the total contribution from each dish over the month.
Chicken Curry brings in $1,680 in total contribution. Beef Steak brings in $510.
Even though Beef Steak earns more per plate, Chicken Curry contributes much more overall because of its sales volume.
Decide What Needs to Change
Once we understand the numbers, we can start making better menu decisions.
A dish that sells well and has a good contribution margin may not need much attention. We should focus on keeping its quality consistent.
A popular dish with a low margin may need a closer look at its recipe cost or selling price.
For dishes with a good margin but low sales, we might improve the menu description or make them easier for guests to notice.
If a dish has low sales and a low margin, we should review whether it still deserves a place on the menu.
But I would never remove a dish based on numbers alone.
Some dishes are important to the restaurant's concept. Others provide choices for guests with different dietary needs.
We should also consider preparation time and food waste. A dish that sells only a few portions may require ingredients that are rarely used elsewhere.
These details can affect the whole kitchen operation.
Review the Results After Making Changes
Menu Engineering is not something we do only when creating a new menu.
Guest preferences can change over time. Ingredient prices may increase and some dishes may become more popular during different seasons.
I prefer to review menu performance regularly with the F&B team.
When we change a recipe or selling price, we should follow up on the results.
A higher selling price may improve the margin per dish. But it will not help much if guests stop ordering it.
The goal is to find a balance between guest satisfaction and menu profitability.
Final Thoughts
As a Head Chef, we need to understand more than how much a dish costs to prepare.
We also need to know how often it sells and how much it contributes to the business.
A menu sales report helps us see what guests are ordering. Recipe costing helps us understand what each dish contributes.
When we use both together, we can make better decisions about our menu.
A successful menu is not just about selling more dishes. It is about selling the right dishes at the right price while keeping guests happy.