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How to price a set lunch menu

The price of a set lunch menu does not come from costing the dearest dish or averaging the menu. It comes from the cost weighted by what people actually order, and from accepting that one dish will cost you twice what another does. Skip the weighting and you lose money precisely on your busiest days.

Published on Β· reviewed on

The arithmetic-average mistake

The usual approach is to cost the starters, cost the mains, average each group and add them up. The problem is that the average assumes every dish is ordered equally, and it never is: if you have a salad and croquettes as starters, the croquettes take seventy per cent.

The average comes out fine on paper and badly in the till, because the real cost is set by the dish that goes out most, not by the average of the list.

The right sum: weighted cost

You weight each dish by the percentage of times it is ordered. You need two pieces of data you already have: the costing of each dish and how many times each has been ordered. One week of service is enough to start.

Set lunch menu Β· 60 covers in one service
STARTERS                cost   % ordered   weighted
  Mixed salad          €1.80      20 %       €0.36
  Homemade croquettes  €2.60      55 %       €1.43
  Soup of the day      €1.20      25 %       €0.30
                                            ─────────
                                              €2.09

MAINS                   cost   % ordered   weighted
  Grilled hake         €4.90      30 %       €1.47
  Stew of the day      €3.20      45 %       €1.44
  Roast chicken        €2.80      25 %       €0.70
                                            ─────────
                                              €3.61

Bread, drink and dessert                      €1.90
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Weighted cost of the menu                     €7.60

Price €15.00 inc VAT β†’ €13.64 ex VAT
Food cost: 7.60 Γ· 13.64 = 56 %   ← far too high
At €17.00 β†’ €15.45 ex VAT β†’ 49 %

What food cost a set menu can carry

Higher than the a la carte, and that is normal: the set menu sells on volume and its job is filling the room at lunchtime. Between 40 % and 50 % is usual, against the 25–35 % of the main menu.

But above 55 % the set menu stops standing on its own, and only makes sense if it brings in people who come back in the evening or drink beyond what is included. That has to be checked, not assumed.

The drink, which is where it gets decided

In many set menus the difference between making money and not is which drink is in the price. A menu with water and a soft drink included is nothing like one with house wine included, and the second gets advertised the same way as the first.

Worth working out both versions before deciding. And if you do include wine, weight that too: not everybody orders it, and whoever does not raises your average margin.

The dish that eats the whole margin

There is always one: the dish costing twice what the others do that is also the one that goes out most. The hake in the example costs 75 % more than the chicken and takes 30 % of the orders.

There are three ways out and none of them is leaving it as it is: rotate it so it is not on every day, move it to the a la carte at its own price, or offset it by putting a cheap dish next to it that also sells. What does not work is waiting for people to stop ordering it.

  • Rotate the expensive dish instead of having it permanently.
  • Put it on the a la carte at its own price and take it off the set menu.
  • Pair it with a cheap alternative that also appeals.
  • Redo the weighting every time you change the line-up.

How often to redo the sum

Every time you change the line-up and, in any case, every three months. The price of fish and oil moves several times a year, and a menu costed in January on October prices loses money with nothing to show for it anywhere.

What you do not need is to redo it all: updating the costing of the three or four dishes that go out most is enough, because those are what move the weighting.

Frequently asked questions

What exactly is a menΓΊ del dΓ­a?

A fixed-price lunch, normally starter, main, bread, a drink and dessert or coffee, served on weekdays. In Spain it is an institution rather than a promotion: many venues fill their entire lunchtime on it, which is why getting the price right matters so much.

Is the VAT on a set lunch menu the same as on the a la carte?

Yes. It is a hospitality service, so it goes at the reduced rate, drink included when consumed on the premises. We cover it in detail in the article on VAT in hospitality.

Can I have one price to eat in and another to take away?

You can, and it is common. What matters is that the difference is justified by real cost β€” the container, above all β€” and that the price is clear before ordering.

What if I have no data on how often each dish is ordered?

Start by counting by hand for a week. Five services already give you a proportion good enough to weight with, and after that the POS gives it to you without effort.

Is a set menu worth having if it leaves little margin?

Depends what you have it for. If it fills the room at lunchtime and absorbs fixed cost you were paying anyway, yes. If it also forces you to add staff and does not fill, the answer is usually no.

How many dishes should I offer?

As many as you can cost and keep fresh. More options mean more wastage and more weightings to watch; three of each is usually where adding one more stops paying.