Food costs down from 32% to 28%
A 46-seat bistro was costing its menu by hand and guessing at supplier prices. Tableside's AI food cost calculator gave the owner real numbers, and the kitchen acted on them.
The Challenge
Golden Dragon Bistro priced its menu the same way for years: the owner sat down with a spreadsheet at the end of every month and estimated what each dish cost to make. Supplier prices moved, portions drifted, and the gap never surfaced until it showed up in the bank account.
With food costs sitting at 32% and no way to see which dishes lost money, the kitchen cut waste blind. Popular items were quietly subsidized by a few high-margin plates nobody could name.
What They Did
- Connected Tableside's AI food cost calculator to the menu, so every dish carries a live cost that updates as supplier prices change.
- Set target margins by category and reviewed weekly pricing recommendations instead of monthly guesses.
- Used inventory tracking to compare what the kitchen bought against what it actually sold, exposing waste and portion drift.
- Swapped two overpriced suppliers and re-engineered the three worst-margin dishes on the menu.
The Results
- Food cost fell from 32% to 28% within 60 days of going live.
- The menu now prices itself: when pork belly jumped 18%, the system flagged the affected dishes the same week.
- The owner added roughly $18,000 in annual profit without raising prices on her best sellers.
“Tableside transformed how we run our restaurant. The system is incredibly intuitive and our staff picked it up in no time.”