🍽️ Restaurant Food Cost
Know your food cost before the plate hits the table.
Calculate plate cost, food cost percentage, ideal menu price, batch recipe cost, and the monthly savings hiding in a one-point margin improvement.
Single item food cost
Use this when you already know the ingredient cost for one plate or item.
Most operators model 28–35%, then adjust by concept.
Example: 34% → 32% is a 2-point improvement.
Batch recipe costing
Add ingredient lines, enter the yield, and price the recipe by serving.
Food cost benchmarks
- Under 25%: strong margin, often bar snacks or premium pricing.
- 28–35%: common working range for many restaurants.
- Over 38%: usually needs a price, portion, or vendor review.
Where profit leaks
Unpriced garnishes, inconsistent portions, prep waste, vendor creep, and old menu prices quietly wreck margins. Plate costing finds the leak before the P&L screams at you.
Operator move
Run your top 20 sellers through this calculator. If three high-volume items are badly priced, fixing those beats rewriting the whole menu like a lunatic.
Want a second set of eyes on the numbers?
Ohio Hospitality AI can review your menu pricing, missed-call leaks, and labor ratios, then point you at the fastest profit fix first.