Menu engineering

Beyond buzzwords

Menu engineering isn’t about spreadsheets for their own sake—it’s about making it easier for guests to say “yes” while making it easier for the kitchen to serve fast, consistent, and delicious plates at a healthy margin.

When the data behind the menu is right, you’re free to be creative because you know which dishes fund the magic and which ones need a loving rewrite to earn their keep.

What to measure without losing the magic

Look at contribution per item, how often guests choose it, and how complex it is to prep and plate during peak times, then layer in waste rates so the picture is honest, not idealized.

With those four angles, you can promote the true stars, reformulate “puzzles” that sell slowly or cost too much, and retire items that fight you no matter how hard you push.

Writing a menu that helps the guest help you

Use warm, clear language that highlights local sourcing and texture cues, keep add‑ons sensible, and place high‑margin favorites where eyes naturally land so guests discover them without a hard sell.

Design sections around how people really decide—quick bites, sharables, mains, comfort classics, plant‑forward—so it’s easy to build a meal that fits the moment and the check you’re aiming for.

Make the kitchen the hero of the story

Favor builds the line can execute fast with minimal handoffs, standardize plating with simple visuals, and ensure your printer or KDS fires tickets in a way that feels smooth at 7:30 p.m. on a Saturday.

Then set a weekly rhythm to review sales mix, margin, and any guest feedback so you can keep what works and gently repair what doesn’t before it becomes a bigger problem.

A kinder way to iterate

Pick one category per week to optimize, test a small change, and give the team time to own it before moving on, so improvements feel cumulative rather than chaotic.

Over a quarter, these tiny steps add up to a menu that’s truer to your brand and kinder to your bottom line, without losing the dishes people come in for.