Blog

Guides for restaurant owners

Practical articles on online ordering, delivery, rules and running service, written by the DineHarbor team.

102 articles

Restaurant Events and Private Dining

How to run private dining and events: rooms, packages, pricing, minimum spend, booking terms, licences, allergens, staffing, run sheets and promotion.

DineHarbor teamMay 5, 20268 min read

Online ordering

QR Code Table Ordering That Works

See how QR table ordering works, what guests and kitchens need, where it helps, when waiter service is better and what to check before choosing a system.

DineHarbor teamApr 29, 20267 min read

Menu and pricing

Menu Engineering for Restaurants Explained

Learn menu engineering step by step. Sort dishes into stars, plowhorses, puzzles and dogs using popularity and contribution margin, with a worked example.

DineHarbor teamApr 25, 20267 min read

Opening a restaurant

How to Open a Pizzeria: Menu, Ovens and Margins

Plan a pizzeria: choose a style, pick an oven, cost your dough and toppings, design for delivery and check the rules for ovens and extraction.

DineHarbor teamApr 24, 20265 min read

Marketing and loyalty

Restaurant Social Media Without the Burnout

A realistic restaurant social media plan: pick one or two platforms, post what guests want, take better food photos and measure real orders.

DineHarbor teamApr 18, 20268 min read

Guest experience

Accessibility in Restaurants

How to make a restaurant welcoming to disabled guests: step free access, tables, toilets, menus, assistance dogs, staff training and the UK and US rules.

DineHarbor teamApr 17, 20269 min read

Guest experience

How to Reduce Restaurant No Shows

Cut no shows with clear booking rules, easy cancellation, confirmations, fair deposit policies, a waitlist and calm handling of late guests.

DineHarbor teamApr 13, 20267 min read

Menu and pricing

Set Menus and Lunch Deals That Pay

Design set menus and lunch deals that fill quiet times without wrecking margin: price the bundle, choose dishes, limit the choice and measure the result.

DineHarbor teamApr 7, 20265 min read

Kitchen and food safety

Restaurant Temperature Logs and Limits

Which temperatures to record in a restaurant, the key limits in the UK and the US, how to use and calibrate probes, how to cool food safely and a log to copy.

DineHarbor teamApr 4, 20267 min read

Money and margins

Food Cost Percentage and How to Calculate It

Work out your restaurant food cost percentage, actual and theoretical, with a worked example, typical ranges, the causes of a high figure and six fixes.

DineHarbor teamMar 29, 20267 min read

Kitchen and food safety

Cooling and Reheating Food Safely

How to cool cooked food fast, store it and reheat it safely: the two stage cooling rule, ice baths, shallow trays, blast chillers, reheating and a log to copy.

DineHarbor teamMar 26, 202610 min read

Delivery

Takeaway and Delivery Profit Per Order

Work out what a delivery, collection or dine in order really earns after food, packaging, labour and commission, with a worked comparison.

DineHarbor teamMar 25, 20266 min read