Free tool

Restaurant Menu Suggestor

Format + cuisine → optimized starter menu with dish roles, section structure, and menu engineering tips. 25-cuisine menu bank adapted for QSR to fine dining.

Format
Veg

Menu focus

What food are you serving? Format is how you operate; cuisine is what you cook.

Optimization tips

Menu-engineering moves for this format and cuisine.

Menu engineering70/30 rule: ~70% of revenue should come from ~30% of your SKUs. Mark signature and star dishes clearly on the menu.
Menu engineeringAnchor pricing: your highest-priced main should be 1.8–2.5× your median main — it makes mid-tier items feel like value.
Menu engineeringIngredient overlap: design so your top 5 ingredients appear in 60%+ of dishes. Fewer vendors, lower waste.
Menu engineeringSection caps: don't exceed 8–10 items per section at launch. A smaller, consistent menu beats a sprawling one.
Menu engineeringReserve 2–3 menu slots for seasonal/festival swaps — don't rebuild the whole menu every quarter.
Menu engineeringAttach rate: every main should have a natural beverage or dessert upsell. Train staff on one-line upsells.
Format tipCasual dining needs anchor items (thali, platter, chef's special) priced 2× median main.
Format tipBread/beverage attach drives margin — train servers to suggest naan/roti with every gravy.
Format tipKeep one premium anchor (mutton, seafood, tasting plate) to lift average ticket.
Cuisine tipBeverages should be 50%+ of revenue — design menu around coffee, not food.

Ingredient overlap wins

Shared prep keeps waste and SKU count down.

  • Coffee beans + milk across all espresso drinks
  • Pastry display shared across croissant, muffin, brownie
  • Eggs used in benedict, pancakes, waffles, and baking
  • Bread base for sandwiches, toast, and club sandwich
Equipment essentials
  • Espresso machine
  • Commercial grinder
  • Display fridge for pastries
  • Panini press / sandwich station

Your starter menu

Live
Dishes recommended
28
Casual Dining · Café / Bakery (single-concept) · target 35–55
Veg / non-veg26 / 2
Avg prep time4 min
Food cost band28–36%
Fit warning
Café / Bakery is usually a single-concept brand — Café is the typical format. Try suggested format →
Cuisine note
Dairy + flour + coffee bean FX exposed.
Price these dishes →

Beverages

DishRoleVegPrice bandPrep
CappuccinoSignatureVeg₹120–2003m
LatteStarVeg₹140–2203m
Filter CoffeeAnchorVeg₹80–1504m
Cold BrewProfitVeg₹150–2502m
Smoothie BowlProfitVeg₹180–3005m
EspressoTrafficVeg₹80–1502m
Iced LatteTrafficVeg₹140–2203m
Masala ChaiAttachVeg₹60–1204m
Fresh JuiceAttachVeg₹100–1803m

Starters

DishRoleVegPrice bandPrep
Chocolate CroissantProfitVeg₹100–1802m
Bagel with Cream CheeseProfitVeg₹120–2204m
CroissantTrafficVeg₹80–1502m

Mains

DishRoleVegPrice bandPrep
Avocado ToastSignatureVeg₹200–3506m
PancakesStarVeg₹180–3008m
Eggs BenedictAnchorNon-veg₹250–40010m
Club SandwichProfitNon-veg₹180–3008m
Pasta AlfredoProfitVeg₹220–36012m
WafflesTrafficVeg₹180–3008m
Veg SandwichTrafficVeg₹120–2206m
Caesar SaladAttachVeg₹180–3006m
Granola BowlAttachVeg₹160–2804m

Desserts

DishRoleVegPrice bandPrep
Cheesecake SliceStarVeg₹150–2802m
TiramisuAnchorVeg₹180–3202m
Red Velvet Cake SliceProfitVeg₹120–2202m
Banana Bread SliceProfitVeg₹80–1502m
MuffinTrafficVeg₹80–1502m
Chocolate BrownieAttachVeg₹100–1802m
Cookie (3 pcs)AttachVeg₹60–1201m
Price these dishes →Check viability →Menu engineering in product →

Casual Dining · Café / Bakery (single-concept) starter menu

Opening a casual dining with a café / bakery (single-concept) menu? Start with 28 curated dishes adapted for this format — target food cost 28-36%. Rent + labour + interior depreciation are the big three.

Related: Café / Bakery menu pricing · viability score · cost to open

More free calculator tools

Run the next number while this one is fresh.

Related reading

Common questions

Other free tools

Browse all calculators →

All free tools
Casual Dining Café / Bakery (single-concept) starter menu — 28 dishes | Forkcast