A practical restaurant menu is a list customers can understand and staff can maintain. Start with the meals you actually serve, then validate prices, dietary labels, taxes and kitchen preparation before your first live order.
1. Select categories around your real kitchen
For a full-service Indian restaurant, examples include starters, soups, veg mains, non-veg mains, breads, rice and biryani, Chinese items, breakfast, beverages and desserts. A café may need beverages, sandwiches, quick bites and sweets instead. Do not copy every possible category just to look complete.
Open the interactive restaurant menu planner to select items, add your own selling rates and export a working CSV.
2. Remove overlaps before customers see the menu
Items like Chilli Paneer, Cold Coffee or French Fries may be used by more than one menu section. Keep one product master when the recipe, selling unit and prices are the same. Create a distinct variant only where the portion, preparation, tax treatment or channel rate genuinely differs.
3. Set selling rates and review GST configuration
Never use an invented default selling rate for a new dish. Check ingredient cost, portion size, wastage, packaging, your actual expenses and the service channel. Review applicable GST treatment for your business with an accountant or reliable official guidance; the sample planner does not determine legal tax rates.
4. Mark dietary information carefully
Review Veg, Non-Veg and uncertain items with the cook. Ingredients and preparation vary by kitchen; egg, gelatin, stock and sauces can affect classification. Confirm recipes instead of relying on generic labels. Include a visible green or red dietary indicator only when the information is reliable.
5. Run one test order for each service channel
- Add a counter sale and verify the bill total.
- Submit a table QR or captain order in the demo and check the kitchen ticket.
- Confirm a direct pickup or delivery order reaches the appropriate workflow.
- Verify customer notes, quantity changes and printed receipts.
- Check stock and purchase records where used, and export a backup.
6. Keep the catalogue manageable
Give ownership of menu updates to a manager. Review availability, rates, new dishes and discontinued items at a regular interval. Use the regular item-editing flow so imported and manually created items follow the same rules.