How do you calculate restaurant food cost percentage?

Divide your food purchases for a period by your food sales for the same period, then multiply by 100. For example, $8,000 in weekly purchases against $28,000 in weekly sales is a 28.6% food cost.

What is a good food cost percentage for a restaurant?

It depends on concept. Quick service and fast food should run 15–25%. Sit-down and casual concepts run 20–30%. Only high-end restaurants should be nudging 30–35% — and only when menu prices support it.

How do you calculate food cost for a menu item?

Divide the total ingredient cost of the plate by its menu price, then multiply by 100. A sandwich with $2.40 of ingredients sold at $9.50 has a 25.3% item food cost and a $7.10 gross margin.

Free Restaurant Food Cost Calculator

Overall Food Cost %

YOUR WEEKLY OR MONTHLY NUMBERS — SAME PERIOD FOR BOTH

Your concept

🥯

QSR / Fast Food

Target 15–25%

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Sit-Down / Casual

Target 20–30%

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High-End

Target 30–35%

Food purchases ($)

Everything that came in the back door — invoices for the period

Food sales ($)

Food revenue for the same period (exclude alcohol if possible)

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Your Food Cost Percentage

0%Target: 15–25%50%

Menu Item Margin

COST OUT A SINGLE PLATE

Total ingredient cost of the plate ($)

Every ingredient, at portion size — including the garnish and the to-go container

Menu price ($)

Item Food Cost

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Gross Margin

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Operator note

Before adding any ingredient to your menu, ask: do I need it, can I use it in other dishes, and what happens to food cost and sales if I cut it? An ingredient used in one dish twice a week is a liability.

This calculator shows you the snapshot. RC COGS shows you the bleed.

Actual vs. theoretical food cost, variance by ingredient category, and margin on every menu item — tracked weekly, automatically. The average untracked operation loses $488/week to variance.

See RC COGS — Pro Plan →

How It Works

How to Calculate Restaurant Food Cost Percentage

Divide your food purchases for a period by your food sales for the same period, then multiply by 100. If $8,000 came in the back door last week and you sold $28,000 in food, your food cost is 28.6%. Simple math — the discipline is doing it every week and knowing what the number should be for your concept.

Why Your Target Depends on What You Run

Quick service and fast food should be at or under 15–25%. Sit-down and casual concepts run 20–30%. High-end restaurants should be the only ones nudging 30–35% — and only when menu prices support premium ingredients. A sandwich counter running 34% doesn't have a food cost; it has a problem.

The Number This Calculator Can't Show You

This tool calculates your actual food cost. What it can't show is your theoretical food cost — what you should have spent based on your recipes and sales mix. The gap between those two numbers is where over-portioning, waste, and receiving errors hide. That comparison is what RC COGS tracks automatically, every week.

Keep Reading

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