The Four Categories on Your Menu
Dishes that sell well and earn well are your stars: keep them visible on the menu and leave them as they are. High sales with low margin are your plowhorses: there is usually profit to be found in purchasing or portion sizes. Low sales with high margin are puzzles that deserve a better spot on the menu or a stronger description. Low sales and low margin are dogs, mostly generating work without profit, and that is the group you want to phase out.
Why This Only Works With POS Data
Margin per plate means little without volume. A dish with 14 euro margin that sells four times a week contributes less than a dish with 6 euro margin that sells forty times. KitchenOps connects with POS systems like unTill, tracks sales per dish and compares them with the food cost at that moment.
Adjusting Without Overhauling the Menu
Usually not much needs to change. A different supplier for one ingredient, a portion size that matches actual plate waste, or moving a dish a few spots up the menu often does more than a complete redesign. The system shows which change delivers the most.
Look Per Location
With multiple venues, the same dish rarely performs the same everywhere. You can see per location what works, so you can fine tune the menu location by location instead of making the same decision everywhere.
Frequently asked questions
What exactly is menu engineering?
Systematically assessing every dish on popularity and profit contribution, then adjusting price, portion size, purchasing or menu placement accordingly. The goal is more margin without the guest noticing anything except a better menu.
Do I need a POS integration for that?
For sales volume, yes. KitchenOps connects with POS systems like unTill. Without an integration you can still see food cost and margin per dish, but you will miss how often something actually sells.
How often should I recalculate my menu?
If food cost updates automatically, you do not need to recalculate anything: you get an alert as soon as a dish drops below your target margin. A quarter is a good rhythm to review the menu as a whole.
Does this also work for lunch, drinks and catering?
Yes. Each menu can be viewed separately, so you can see whether the lunch menu is actually contributing or mostly just creating work.
Updated: 2026-08-09