Restaurant Food Cost Percentage Calculator

The metric behind every menu pricing decision

Food cost percentage shows what share of a menu item's price goes toward ingredients - restaurants target a specific range to leave enough margin for labor, overhead, and profit after ingredient costs are covered.

Worked example

For a dish costing $4.50 in ingredients, priced at $15 on the menu:

Food Cost = (4.50 / 15) x 100 = 30.0% (Favorable - within common target range)

Food Cost %	Assessment
Under 30%	Favorable
30-35%	Typical industry target
Above 35%	High - review pricing or sourcing