MenuCost for restaurants
Your menu has dozens of dishes. Do you know which ones make money?
A clear cost breakdown for every dish: ingredients, kitchen labour, packaging and overhead. Every pricing decision built on real numbers, not estimates.
- 7-day free trial
- Instant setup
- Unlimited recipes
Example menu from MenuCost's demo restaurant.
Restaurant menus are complex. Most of that complexity goes uncosted.
Most owners cost the main protein and estimate the rest. That estimate is where margin quietly disappears.
Complex dishes are hard to cost
A main with a sauce, a side and a garnish means a dozen ingredients, several prep steps and different staff roles. None of it is visible in a spreadsheet.
Kitchen labour is rarely costed per dish
Head chef, sous chef and kitchen assistant time all go into one plate. Most restaurants hide it in a monthly payroll figure and never see it per dish.
Supplier price rises erode margins
Meat, produce and dairy prices move. Updating every affected dish in a spreadsheet takes too long, so the increase gets absorbed.
Seasonal prices change, staff mix shifts between peak and off-peak, and suppliers change specifications without notice. Without a system that keeps costs current, your menu prices reflect what things cost six months ago.
Example
One lamb shank. Two very different margins.
A restaurant sells its lamb shank for SAR 85. Here is what the owner thought it cost, and what it really costs.
What the owner thought
Only part of the cost was counted.
What it really costs, in MenuCost
Ingredients, chef time, packaging and overhead, all counted.
The owner was losing SAR 5.65 on every plate without knowing it. At 40 plates a day, that is SAR 6,780 a month.
Illustrative example.
Built for the real complexity of a restaurant kitchen
From a 20-ingredient main course to a multi-role kitchen team, every dish's cost stays current as prices and staff rates change.
One number per dish, all four cost layers combined
MenuCost shows your margin at the current selling price, and the minimum price you need to hit your target margin. Always current.
One ingredient library, always current
Every cut of meat, spice and produce item with its supplier price. When your lamb supplier raises prices, update it once and every dish using it recalculates.
Ingredient ManagementKitchen time priced into every dish
Set an hourly rate per role, then prep and cook time per dish. A slow braise by the head chef costs more than a mezze plated by a prep cook, and you'll see it.
Labour Cost ManagementTakeaway and delivery packaging included
Containers, bags, sachets, cutlery sets. A dine-in main and the same dish for delivery carry different packaging costs, and MenuCost costs both.
Packaging Cost TrackingRent, utilities and equipment, shared across every cover
Enter monthly fixed costs once. MenuCost turns them into a per-serving overhead so every dish carries its fair share.
SAR 60,000 a month, 120 covers a day = SAR 16.67 per plate Overhead Cost AllocationStarters, mains and desserts ranked by margin
Find out if your most popular main is your lowest-margin item, or if the dessert you planned to drop is one of your best performers.
Menu Profitability AnalysisA full menu review in minutes
After a supplier price change, see which dishes have dropped below your margin target. Filter by category to review starters, mains and desserts separately.
Menu Cost ReportsAnswer every diner's question correctly
Tag allergens once per ingredient: sesame in tahini, gluten in flour, nuts in a garnish. MenuCost builds the full profile for every dish across all 14 allergens.
Allergen ManagementRunning a restaurant, with and without MenuCost
Without MenuCost
- Main protein costed, labour and overhead invisible
- Prices set from competitor menus or habit
- Supplier increases absorbed without notice
- Menu reviews based on gut feel
- Dine-in and delivery margins look the same
- No view of which sections drive profit
- Allergens on a printed sheet, rarely updated
With MenuCost
- All four cost layers in every dish
- Prices built from true cost plus a target margin
- Update one ingredient, every dish recalculates
- A new margin picture in seconds after any change
- Packaging costed per channel, dine-in and delivery
- Starters, mains and desserts ranked by margin
- 14 allergens tracked, profiles built automatically
What restaurant owners say
"We had been running our lamb shank at SAR 85 for two years. MenuCost showed us the true cost was SAR 52 including chef time and overhead. We repriced it to SAR 95 and no one complained."
"The menu profitability report changed how we think about our menu. Desserts were our most profitable section. We just didn't know it. Now we push them properly."
"Every time a supplier raised prices I'd guess the impact. Now I update the ingredient, open the report, and know exactly which dishes need attention. It takes five minutes."
Our menu has over 60 dishes. How long will setup take?
Start with Bulk Ingredient Import: export your ingredient list from your spreadsheet or purchasing system and upload it, and your library is built in minutes. Each recipe then takes 5 to 10 minutes depending on complexity, so a 60-dish menu can be set up over two or three sessions. Once the ingredients are in place, the first 20 dishes go quickly.
We have dine-in and delivery menus with different prices. Can MenuCost handle both?
Yes. Duplicate the dish to create a delivery version, then give it its own packaging and selling price. The dine-in version carries lighter packaging; the delivery version includes a container, lid, bag and cutlery. MenuCost calculates the true cost and margin of each version, so you can see whether your delivery price covers the extra packaging.
How do we handle a dish that comes in two sizes, like a mixed grill?
Create each size as its own recipe. Both use the same ingredients from your library, with different quantities, and each is costed separately. If the price difference between sizes doesn't cover the extra cost, MenuCost makes it visible so you can adjust.
Can our head chef or kitchen manager have their own access?
Yes. Additional users cost $16.99 a month each, billed annually, and you set each user's permissions as the admin. A head chef can update recipes and quantities, and a kitchen manager can update ingredient costs when supplier invoices arrive, without everyone having full admin control.
MenuCost is built for every F&B operation
Know the true cost of every dish you serve
Price with confidence and protect your margins, starting today.
- 7-day free trial
- Instant setup
- Unlimited recipes