r/restaurant

it's my first time working at a hotel after coming from strictly restaurants, and I've never experienced anything like this...

we got a new executive chef sometime in the last 7-8months. they (F&B directors/exec chef) decided to roll out a new menu, but did not inform or train the kitchen staff on anything despite the menu being in the works for at least a month.

the night before the menu went live, I saw one of the sous chefs round up the kitchen crew, and left a single copy of the new menu. no matrix, no photos, absolutely nothing.

so here I am, after Easter weekend and I'm just thinking.....is this some type of tactic? why sabotage your own staff? I'm assuming it's some corporate BS... new chef, new menu, just trying to look good but seriously ?

it's just so bizarre. where's the pride in your food?

I'm only 21 and like 1 year before my dad and his friend partnered for an open lawn family garden and restaurant concept, They planned pretty well but last moment changes made things complicated, it's been 1 year and still we don't have a proper team, manager or anyone good to run our business, we can't get people, We had a meeting last month, they said before giving our restaurant to someone who will run it quit efficiently, why not just try one more time, they handed everything on me, they said try last time, if we couldn't figure out this, we're handling this to other management. I just need help to set up my business, I'll share the restaurant link, check the setup and if someone is really a neighbour who can help.

Been having this conversation with friends recently when we try to meet up at a local restaurant bar for food and drinks. More times than not the TVs are just turned to random sports channels rather than the important games that are on. For instance half the TVs turned to the NFL network even though its not even NFL season.

Case in point. This weekend was the final four in the NCAA. I walked into my local Brew pub and the game (which was about 15 minutes in) wasn't on any of the TVs. So i politely asked for it to be turned on and told them what channel and they obliged. Then I looked around and the place was half empty. There were TVs everywhere which must have been a significant investment. So what gives? I frequent a lot of bars and this is actually quite common.

I worked at a bar/restaurant when I was younger and at every shift meeting there was a conversation about what sports were on and what channel to turn the TVs to. And this restaurant/bar became a reliable spot to for customers. It wasn't a sports bar. It was a restaurant with a bar that was lined with Tvs. They made a killing at the bar because they knew what they were doing in that regard,

I'm curious if this is common nowadays with management. Is there a conversation about what big sporting events are on or is the idea just to leave it up to the customer to ask the TVs be changed?

I switched to shift4 from square. There is not a one thing that I like about shift4. I tried to reach out to them and they said it will be 10k if i have to cancel it considering the 30 day cancellation period. How do I get rid of them without paying 10k.

Actually make that a few questions.
Quick context: we've been running a cafe in LA for almost 2 years. Matcha drinks have become a big part of what we do.

So two questions for those of you who offer matcha:
a) Is matcha actually bringing people back to your place, or is it more of a "have to have it 'cause everyone wants it now"?
b) How are you storing yours on a station?

Hi guys, I made a mistake when I booked a reservation on OpenTable for a super high demand restaurant. I’ve been trying to get a reservation for months and happened to be on the app right when some new slots opened up for tomorrow night. I booked one quickly because I kept getting beaten to it the last couple days a slot opened up. Well I didn’t realize the reservation defaulted to 2 instead of 4. Totally my fault.

When I tried to adjust it to 4 there were no longer any slots left. Except for a 9:15pm one which was only available for 2 (it disappeared if I changed the party size to 4). So I essentially am stuck with the reservation for 2 and their booking seems to be very specific for 2 versus 4.

I messaged the restaurant to explain what happened and ask if it is possible to be accommodated and offered to come earlier or later. But they don’t open until tomorrow at 5pm so idk if they will see it in time.

Should I just cancel it all together? The restaurant is super cramped so I’m thinking they won’t have the bandwidth since we were probably booked for a 2-top or something. I don’t want to be that jerk. I was also really looking forward to treating my friends who are only in town for that night. If I book another reservation at a different restaurant then I am purposely screwing one of them. Honest thoughts?

I work 10am to 8pm im working for a owner who just switched 1 hour 30minutes to 2 hours just to save 30 minutes of ot. Is this normal? Feels like its too long. Day feels too stretched for low base pay, tips are nice though.

Curious how restaurants in different countries handle HACCP in practice. In the Netherlands we’re required to keep daily temperature logs, cleaning schedules, and supplier records, but the actual format is largely up to you as long as it covers the critical control points.

Do you use paper, an app, or something else? Is it strictly enforced in your country or more of a formality? Would love to hear how it works where you are, especially from people in the US, UK, Germany, or Australia.

I come from the supply/sourcing side of the restaurant industry and something I've noticed over the years is that most independent restaurant owners don't really know their true food cost per dish. They know their overall food cost percentage from their P&L but when it comes to individual items its mostly guesswork.

Anyone else have this experience or any insight?

I have never once in my life ate lobster or even crab for that matter. I am not a vegan or anything I have no problem eating meat. I love burgers and even chicken and fish like salmon. But idk why with something like a lobster I feel is different. You know what i'm saying because when I get stuff like burgers or chicken you know whatever it is already dead and I am making good use of the meat by eating it instead of wasting it. But when I go to a place like red lobster I think they have the lobsters in the tank alive. So I feel like me ordering a lobster would be me killing a lobster so I feel like I would be a jerk. Am I looking too much into this? I mean I have seen people eating lobster and it looks yummy.

Is 45min waiting for food for a party of 8 normal? We ordered 3 med well steaks, 1 roast chicken, 2 short ribs, salmon with caesar salad and seared steak bowl. Yesterday was Easter Sunday and they were not that busy. I was wondering if this is normal.

Is anyone else seeing local spots get squeezed to the breaking point by the big delivery apps? It's not just the fees; it's the fact that they own the customer relationship, not the restaurant.

I've been working on a project to help with this called Dilivygo. It's essentially a white-label setup (branded apps + POS) designed to let owners run their own delivery zones without the "commission bleed."

I'm trying to figure out if most owners even want to manage their own fleet/apps, or if the convenience of the big marketplaces is just too hard to give up despite the costs.

I personally shifted about 2 months ago, yes I do get slightly less online traffic but my revenue has never been better. Plus it feels nostalgic where all the old food places had their custom deliveries

Has anyone here successfully moved their customers off the big apps and onto their own platform? What has your biggest hurdle?