Blog

Guides for restaurant owners

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

102 articles

How to Reduce Restaurant Food Waste

Measure food waste with a simple log, find the four main sources, fix prep and ordering, handle surplus safely and turn waste data into savings.

DineHarbor teamDec 23, 20257 min read

Guest experience

Great Restaurant Service Basics

The service basics guests notice: greeting, pace, order taking, allergy questions, checking back, handling mistakes, paying, and how to train and measure.

DineHarbor teamDec 21, 20257 min read

Opening a restaurant

How to Open a Restaurant Step by Step

A practical order of work for opening a restaurant, from the concept and the numbers to licences, equipment, hiring, a soft launch and the first month.

DineHarbor teamDec 19, 20259 min read

Online ordering

Online ordering without commission

What it means to take orders on your own website instead of a marketplace app, what you still pay for, and how to compare the real cost per order.

DineHarbor teamDec 13, 20252 min read

Menu and pricing

Seasonal Menu Planning for Restaurants

Plan seasonal menus that sell: use ingredient seasons, supplier calendars and past sales, cost new dishes, train staff and retire dishes without waste.

DineHarbor teamDec 9, 20256 min read

Kitchen and food safety

Allergen Training for Restaurant Staff

How to train kitchen and floor staff on allergens: what everyone must know, a simple induction, practice scenarios, records, refreshers and the UK rules.

DineHarbor teamDec 3, 20258 min read

Menu and pricing

How to Cost a Recipe and Work Out Plate Cost

Cost every dish with a simple method, from usable yield and units to the cost per plate, sub recipes, price changes and a worked burger example.

DineHarbor teamDec 2, 20257 min read

Marketing and loyalty

Restaurant Email and SMS Marketing Rules

Run restaurant email and text marketing legally: consent, the UK soft opt in, opt outs, what to send, how often and a note on US rules.

DineHarbor teamNov 28, 20257 min read

Kitchen and food safety

FIFO and Food Storage in Restaurants

Store food safely and cut waste: FIFO rotation, labelling, date marks, shelf order, fridge and dry store layout, deliveries and checks you can record.

DineHarbor teamNov 26, 20256 min read

Guest experience

Responding to Restaurant Reviews and Complaints

How to handle restaurant complaints in person and online, ask for reviews fairly, reply to negative reviews with examples, and learn from patterns in feedback.

DineHarbor teamNov 24, 20257 min read

Money and margins

Cash Handling and Till Discrepancies

How to handle cash in a restaurant: floats, counts, drops, cashing up, what to do when the till is short or over, controls that protect staff and records.

DineHarbor teamNov 14, 20258 min read

Kitchen and food safety

HACCP Plan for Restaurants in Plain English

Write a practical HACCP food safety plan for your restaurant: the seven principles in kitchen terms, a worked chicken example and the records to keep.

DineHarbor teamNov 13, 20258 min read