Good pub food doesn't need a long menu. The pubs that do food well usually serve a short list of dishes people already want, cooked consistently, from a kitchen that can keep up when the bar is three deep. Here are ideas that work in a small pub kitchen, and how to run them.
Start with the classics
Most pub menus are built around dishes customers expect to see:
- Fish and chips, the best seller in many pubs.
- A burger, with one or two variations rather than six.
- Pie of the day, which uses up what's in the fridge and can change weekly.
- Sausage and mash or bangers with onion gravy.
- A ploughman's, which needs no cooking at all.
- Scampi, chilli or a curry for the regulars who come in every week.
Six to eight mains is plenty. A shorter menu means less stock, less waste and quicker tickets.
Bar snacks that sell with drinks
Snacks sell to people who came in for a drink and didn't plan to eat:
- Scotch eggs, pork pies and sausage rolls.
- Loaded fries or chips with a dip.
- Nachos to share.
- Pork scratchings and nuts, which need no kitchen at all.
Put them on the bar menu and near the till, and let staff add them to a round in one tap.
Sunday roast
A Sunday roast can fill a pub at a quiet time of the week. Keep it to two or three meats and a vegetarian option, and decide in advance how you'll handle running out: many pubs take bookings for roasts so they know how much to cook.
Specials and seasonal dishes
A specials board lets the kitchen try new dishes, use seasonal produce and use up stock without reprinting the menu. Keep specials to two or three and drop the ones that don't sell.
Vegetarian, vegan and allergen needs
Every menu should have at least one vegetarian and one vegan main that isn't an afterthought. Allergen information for each dish must be available to customers, so keep it written down for every dish and every special, and make sure staff know where to find it.
Pricing the menu
For each dish, work out the cost of the ingredients per plate and set a price that leaves room for wages, energy and waste. Many pubs aim for food costs of around 30% of the selling price, but check your own numbers. Your till's sales report will show which dishes sell and which you can drop.
Keeping the kitchen running on a busy night
- Send orders straight to the kitchen from the bar or the table, rather than on paper slips.
- Mark items sold out as soon as they run out, so nobody orders them.
- Show the table number on every ticket so food goes to the right place.
- Let customers order from the table with a QR code, so the bar isn't the only way to order food.
Where Café QR fits
Café QR's pub and bar EPOS sends food from the bar or the table to a kitchen screen or kitchen printer, and QR table ordering lets customers order food and drinks from their table. Each dish can carry its allergens, items can be marked sold out, and the sales report shows what sells.