Menu pricing gets treated like an art when it should start as math. The art comes after — once the numbers are right, you still have to price in a way that feels honest to the guest. Here's the order we actually use.
Start with your target food cost percentage.
Most full-service restaurants aim for food cost somewhere in the 28–35% range, depending on concept and price point. Decide your target before you price a single dish, not after.
Cost the plate, completely.
Every component, including garnish, sauce, and the oil it was cooked in. It's tedious and it's exactly where most menus quietly lose margin.
Price against the room, not just the recipe.
A dish can be perfectly costed and still be the wrong price if it doesn't match your projected average check. If your revenue model assumes a $75 per-person average, your menu has to actually get a table there — through pricing, portioning, and what you put next to the entrées.
Build in labor, not just ingredients.
A dish that takes twelve minutes of skilled labor to plate costs more than its ingredients suggest. High-labor items need pricing (or menu placement) that accounts for that.
Re-check quarterly, not yearly.
Ingredient costs move. A menu priced correctly in January can be quietly losing money by summer if nobody re-checks it.
The short version: pricing is a financial model wearing a menu's clothing. Get the model right first — the menu will follow.
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