Restaurant Guides
Restaurant Guides & Resources
Practical guidance to help restaurant owners and operators understand food costs, pricing, profitability and the numbers behind their business.
- Simple explanations
- Practical examples
- Free calculators
Topical map
Explore Restaurant Topics
Restaurant resources organized by the numbers you're trying to work out, each linked to the calculators that cover it, and to a guide where one exists.
Food Costs
Understand food cost, food cost percentage and the numbers behind ingredient and menu pricing.
Menu Pricing
Learn how food cost, markup and target margins can influence restaurant menu pricing.
Profitability
Understand restaurant revenue, operating costs, profit and break-even calculations.
Labor & Operations
Explore restaurant labor costs, seating capacity and other operating calculations.
Why use our guide?
Practical Restaurant Guide
Clear Formulas
Understand the formulas behind common restaurant calculations.
Real Examples
See calculations explained with simple, practical examples.
Free Tools
Use the related RestoCalculator tools to calculate your own numbers.
How guides and tools connect
Learn It. Calculate It.
Learn the numbers in our guide, then apply them to your own restaurant with our calculators.
Best place to start
Start With Food Cost
Food cost is one of the most useful numbers for understanding the relationship between ingredient costs and menu prices. Our guide explains the food cost formula, shows how to calculate food cost percentage and walks through a simple example.
The formula
Food Cost divided by Menu Price × 100 = Food Cost %
Example: $4.50 ÷ $15.00 × 100 = 30% food cost.
The tools
Restaurant Calculators
Once you know the formula, use these free calculators to run it on your own restaurant's numbers.
Food Cost Calculator
Use Calculator 02Menu Price Calculator
Use Calculator 03Restaurant Profit Calculator
Use Calculator 04Restaurant Break-Even Calculator
Use Calculator 05Restaurant Labor Cost Calculator
Use Calculator 06Restaurant Tip Calculator
Use Calculator 07Restaurant Table Capacity Calculator
Use CalculatorThree steps
How RestoCalculator Works
Choose a Topic
Start with a restaurant guide or calculator based on the number you want to understand.
Learn the Formula
Read the explanation and example to understand what the number means.
Calculate Your Numbers
Use the free calculator to apply the formula to your own restaurant.
Good to know
Frequently Asked Questions
What restaurant topics does RestoCalculator cover?
RestoCalculator provides practical resources around food costs, menu pricing, restaurant profitability, labor costs, break-even analysis and other restaurant calculations.
Is the restaurant guide free?
Yes. The guide is available to read for free.
Does the guide include calculators?
The guide explains the concepts and formulas, while the related RestoCalculator tools let you calculate your own numbers.
Where should I start?
Food cost is a useful starting point because it connects ingredient costs with menu pricing. You can start with the Food Cost Guide and then use the Food Cost Calculator.
Are the calculator results accounting or legal advice?
No. The tools provide calculations and estimates based on the information entered. They are not a substitute for professional accounting, tax, legal or regulatory advice.
Explore Free
Restaurant Tools
Learn the numbers, then calculate them instantly with RestoCalculator's free restaurant tools.