A small menu signals quality: the kitchen masters every dish, the ingredients are fresh, and guests can tell what your restaurant stands for. On top of that, many guests are simply overwhelmed by a long menu: they flip through it, hesitate and end up ordering what they already know. A short selection makes the decision easy. In this article you'll learn in four simple steps which dishes pay off for you and how to slim down your menu with purpose.
Why a big menu costs money
- More stock, more spoilage: Every dish needs its own ingredients. What rarely gets ordered ends up in the bin sooner.
- More stress in the kitchen: More recipes mean more prep, more mistakes and longer training.
- Slower orders: Guests take longer to decide – and that costs time at the table.
Step 1: Collect the numbers for each dish
For every dish you need three values: how often it sells, what the ingredients cost (food cost) and the price excluding VAT (net price). From these you calculate the contribution margin:
Contribution margin = net price − food cost
The contribution margin shows how many euros each dish contributes to rent, staff and profit. An example with four dishes:
| Dish | Net price | Food cost | Contribution margin | Sales/week | Total margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pasta carbonara | €12.00 | €2.90 | €9.10 | 60 | €546 |
| Schnitzel | €16.50 | €4.60 | €11.90 | 50 | €595 |
| Beef fillet | €29.00 | €12.50 | €16.50 | 12 | €198 |
| Vegetable curry | €12.50 | €2.40 | €10.10 | 8 | €81 |
| Total | 130 | €1,420 |
By the way: the beef fillet has the most expensive ingredients, but earns the most per plate. For your profit, what counts is the euros left over – not the percentage.
Step 2: Sort dishes into four groups
Ask two simple questions for every dish:
- Is it popular? Does it sell more often than average? In the example: 130 sales ÷ 4 dishes = 32.5.
- Is it profitable? Is its contribution margin above average? In the example: €1,420 ÷ 130 sales ≈ €10.90.
This gives you a simple menu matrix with four groups:
Stars
popular · profitable
Example: schnitzel. Keep the quality and place it prominently on the menu.
Plowhorses
popular · less profitable
Example: carbonara. Raise the price slightly or adjust sides and portion.
Puzzles
rarely ordered · profitable
Example: beef fillet. Place it better, describe it more attractively, have staff recommend it.
Dogs
rarely ordered · less profitable
Example: vegetable curry. Remove it or rethink it.
Step 3: Shrink the menu and design it better
- Cut with good judgment: If the curry is your only vegetarian dish, improve it rather than remove it.
- Reuse ingredients: Dishes that share ingredients reduce stock and spoilage.
- Use the best spots: Put stars and puzzles at the top of a category or highlight them visually.
- Describe appetizingly: “Baked in a wood-fired oven” sells better than a plain list of ingredients.
Step 4: Adjust regularly
Purchase prices and guest preferences change. Repeat the analysis about once a quarter and ask your team too: kitchen and service staff often know exactly which dishes cause problems or are missed.
Checklist
- Collect sales, food cost and net price for each dish
- Calculate the contribution margin
- Sort dishes into stars, plowhorses, puzzles and dogs
- Remove or improve the dogs
- Highlight stars and puzzles on the menu
- Repeat the analysis every three months