Start with a recipe card for every dish
A recipe card, often called a technological map in Uzbek and Russian kitchens, lists what goes into a dish, how many grams of each item, how it is cooked and what the finished portion weighs. Without it, each cook portions differently and your price becomes a guess.
The card does two jobs. It keeps the plate consistent across shifts, and it lets you calculate what the dish costs you. If your cafe has no cards yet, begin with the handful of best sellers rather than trying to document the whole menu at once.
Dish costing: where the money disappears
Food cost is the value of every ingredient that goes into one portion. The most common mistake is pricing the clean, trimmed product. You buy meat with bone and fat, carrots and onions with peel, and only part of it reaches the plate. Apply the purchase price to the weight you actually paid for, then add the losses.
Items that owners often leave out:
- trimming losses: peeling vegetables, boning meat, removing bones;
- cooking losses: rice absorbing water in plov, meat shrinking when fried;
- oil, spices, sauces, bread or non that arrive with the dish;
- the salad or side included in a set;
- packaging for takeaway and delivery orders;
- spoilage, returned dishes and staff meals.
Overheads: what makes up the price besides food
Ingredients are only part of the price. The rest has to be spread across your dishes: salaries for cooks, waiters and the manager, rent, gas, electricity and water, plates and cleaning supplies, taxes, Click and Payme or card terminal fees, advertising and delivery aggregator commissions if you use them.
This is why a healthy share of food cost differs from place to place. If you pay high rent in central Tashkent, food should take a smaller slice of the price than in a canteen on the outskirts or in a regional town. Work the target out from your own cost structure instead of borrowing it from a friend who runs another restaurant.
Market and concept: your costs set only the floor
A cost-based price with overheads is the floor you cannot go below. The ceiling comes from the market: what similar places charge, who your guest is and which dishes people compare most carefully.
Plov, shashlik, lagman and tea are items everyone has a price in their head for, so any gap shows immediately. A signature dessert or house sauce has nothing to be compared with, so you can build in more margin there. Avoid copying the cafe next door: it has different rent, different suppliers and a different flow of guests.
Menu engineering: decide with sales data
Once prices are calculated, look at the menu on two axes: how often a dish is ordered and how much profit each portion brings. That gives four groups.
What to do with each:
- popular and profitable: the core of the menu, give them prominent placement and protect quality;
- popular but low profit: review the recipe, portion size or raise the price carefully;
- profitable but unpopular: move them to a visible spot and have waiters recommend them;
- unpopular and low profit: candidates for removal.
Drinks, desserts and combo offers
Drinks, desserts, sauces and extra sides often carry more margin than main dishes. When a waiter suggests tea, lemonade or dessert, both the average check and the profit go up, so these items deserve as much thought as the hot menu.
Business lunches and sets can fill quiet hours, but price them from the combined cost of every dish inside. Remember that some guests would have ordered more expensive items from the regular menu, so a combo can take away part of your revenue.
How to revisit prices without losing guests
Prices of meat, vegetables and fruit move through the year. Update purchase prices in your recipe cards and recalculate food cost regularly, not once a year. Raise prices gradually, starting with dishes whose cost grew the most, and pair the change with a menu refresh.
If you want help turning costing, positioning and pricing logic into one working system, markdev can support you with marketing strategy for your venue. Tell us about your task and we will talk through where to start.
FAQ
What is restaurant menu pricing in simple terms?
It is setting the price of each dish so that it covers ingredients including losses, a fair share of all other costs and a profit, while staying clear to guests and in line with the market.
Does a small cafe need recipe cards?
Yes. Without them you cannot cost dishes accurately or keep portions consistent. Start with your best sellers and extend to the full menu over time.
How often should I recalculate food cost?
Regularly, and right away when purchase prices change noticeably, especially for seasonal produce and meat. Once a year is usually not enough.
Can I simply match my competitors' prices?
Competitors are a reference, not a basis for the calculation. Their rent, suppliers and traffic differ from yours. Work out your own floor first, then compare with the market.
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