How to Price Menu Items Using the Restaurant 30/30/30/10 Strategy
To price a menu item with the 30/30/30/10 strategy, work out what one plate costs you, divide that cost by your target food-cost share (30% under the rule), and round to a sensible menu price. If a dish costs €4.00 in ingredients and waste, 4.00 ÷ 0.30 gives about €13.33, which you might list at €13.50. Then compare the result with what similar restaurants near you charge, and adjust.
The rule splits each euro of sales roughly into 30% for food, 30% for labour, 30% for overheads and 10% for profit. It is a rule of thumb, not an accounting standard, and your real numbers will differ. This guide is the practical companion to our explainer, The 30/30/30/10 Rule Explained, and every figure below is a hypothetical example.
Step 1: Work out the true cost of one plate
Add up everything that goes on or into the plate, at the price you actually pay suppliers, for the quantity in one portion. Take a hypothetical chicken dish: chicken €1.90, potatoes €0.35, sauce €0.60, vegetables €0.55, and oil, herbs and garnish €0.25. That comes to €3.65.
Now add an allowance for trimming, waste and mistakes. If you set it at €0.35 here, the plate cost becomes €4.00. Don't forget the items guests never think about: bread that goes to the table, a free side, cooking oil. If you buy by the kilo, divide by the usable yield, not the weight on the invoice, and recalculate whenever supplier prices move.
Step 2: Choose a target food-cost percentage
Under 30/30/30/10, food gets about 30% of sales. Treat that as a starting point, not a law. A pizzeria with cheap ingredients may comfortably aim lower, while a seafood restaurant with expensive produce may struggle to reach 30% at prices guests accept.
Say it plainly: this is a rule of thumb, not an accounting standard. Your own rent, wages and profit goals may not fit the 30/30/30/10 split, so check your actual totals, ideally with your accountant, before relying on any percentage.
One practical point: be consistent about VAT. Decide whether your costs and your target are calculated before or after VAT, and compare like with like every time.
Step 3: Turn plate cost into a menu price
The formula is simple: menu price = plate cost ÷ target food-cost percentage. For the chicken dish, €4.00 ÷ 0.30 = €13.33. Rounded to €13.50, the real food-cost share is 4.00 ÷ 13.50 = 29.6%. If you had chosen a 35% target instead, €4.00 ÷ 0.35 = €11.43, which rounds to €11.50 (34.8%).
Round to a price that looks natural on your menu. Rounding up slightly is fine; rounding down again and again quietly eats your margin. At €13.50, the €9.50 left after ingredients has to cover labour, overheads and profit, and that is the number worth keeping in mind.
Step 4: Sanity-check the price against your local market
The formula tells you the price your costs need, not the price guests will pay. Look at the menus of comparable restaurants nearby, with similar food, location and atmosphere, and see where your price sits. Guests also judge by portion size, setting and service, not only by the number.
Here is a hypothetical case. A pasta dish costs €1.80, so the formula says €6.00, but guests nearby happily pay around €10.50. List it at €10.50 and the food-cost share is 17.1%. A steak costs €9.50, so the formula says €31.67, but suppose guests balk above about €26. List it at €26 and the share is 36.5%.
Neither dish hits 30%, yet if both sell in equal numbers the blend is (9.50 + 1.80) ÷ (26.00 + 10.50) = 11.30 ÷ 36.50 = 31.0%, close to target. The target applies to the menu as a whole, not to every single dish.
Step 5: Adjust when the numbers and the market disagree
If a dish can't reach your target at a market price, you have options: trim the portion, swap an expensive ingredient, simplify the recipe, pair it with a higher-margin side or drink, or keep it deliberately as a crowd-pleaser that brings guests in. If none of those work and it sells poorly, remove it.
Review prices when supplier costs change and when the season changes, and avoid repricing everything at once so you can see what happens to sales. A digital menu helps here: with ChargeM3 you can edit prices in minutes with no reprint, and the analytics dashboard shows order trends and best-sellers, so you can see which dishes guests actually choose.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the 30/30/30/10 strategy for pricing a menu?
It is a rule of thumb that splits sales into roughly 30% food cost, 30% labour, 30% overheads and 10% profit. For pricing, it means aiming to set each dish so that ingredients cost about 30% of the menu price. It is a guideline, not an accounting standard.
How do I calculate a menu price from food cost?
Divide the plate cost by your target food-cost percentage. For example, if a dish costs €4.00 to make and you target 30%, 4.00 ÷ 0.30 is about €13.33, which you can round to €13.50. The figures in this example are hypothetical.
Should every dish have the same food-cost percentage?
No. Some dishes, like a steak, cost more relative to what guests will pay, while others, like pasta, cost less. The 30% target works best as an average across the whole menu, weighted by how much of each dish you actually sell.
Is the 30/30/30/10 rule an accounting standard?
No. It is a simple rule of thumb that restaurant owners use to sanity-check their numbers. Real rent, wages, supplier prices and profit goals vary, so confirm your actual cost structure with your accountant before relying on it.
How often should I review my menu prices?
Review them whenever supplier prices change, at each change of season, and after checking which dishes sell best. Change prices gradually rather than all at once, and keep an eye on sales afterwards.
Ready to modernize your restaurant?
See a live demo of the menu experience or check the full pricing details.
Questions? Get in touch
[email protected] · +359 88 401 1730 · Sofia, Bulgaria
Related articles
- Digital Menus for Restaurants: Hidden Costs You Should KnowThe costs that sit outside a digital menu's monthly price, from QR stands and setup time to wifi, extra fees and contract terms.
- The 30/30/30/10 Rule for Restaurant Menu Planning ExplainedA plain explanation of the 30/30/30/10 rule: the four cost buckets, why operators like it, and where this rule of thumb breaks down.
- Free vs Paid Digital Menu Creators: Which Is Right for You?When a free menu creator is enough, what a paid platform adds, and the questions to ask before choosing either.
Read this article in Bulgarian