Restaurant terms, explained simply
From food cost to KDS to 86 — a plain-English glossary of the terms that come up running a restaurant. Handy for new staff and anyone comparing systems.
Glossary
Costs & profit
Food cost
The cost of the ingredients used to make a dish, usually expressed as a percentage of the dish's sale price.
Food cost percentage
Ingredient cost divided by sales, times 100. A core measure of menu profitability.
Labor cost percentage
Staff wages as a share of sales over a period. A key lever on profit, best watched in real time.
Prime cost
Food cost plus labor cost combined — the two largest controllable expenses, often managed as one number.
COGS
Cost of goods sold — the direct cost of the food and drink you sold in a period.
Gross margin
The portion of a sale left after the cost of the goods sold, before other expenses.
Theoretical vs actual
A comparison of what your sales should have consumed (theoretical) against what was really used (actual). The gap reveals waste or loss.
Break-even
The level of sales at which total revenue equals total cost — you make neither a profit nor a loss.
Glossary
Service & front of house
Covers
The number of guests served, usually counted per shift or day, used for staffing and prep planning.
Table turnover
How many times a table is used during a service period. Higher turnover means more revenue from the same seats.
Average check
The average amount spent per guest or table. Upsells and loyalty tend to raise it.
Check (or tab)
The running bill for a table or guest, held open until they're ready to pay.
Split check
Dividing a single table's bill among guests — by seat, by item, or evenly.
Walk-in
A guest who arrives without a reservation.
Waitlist
A managed queue of guests waiting for a table, ideally with accurate wait quotes.
Comp
An item or check made free of charge, often to resolve a problem or as hospitality.
Glossary
Kitchen & operations
KDS
Kitchen display system — screens that replace paper tickets, routing orders to stations and pacing service.
86
Restaurant shorthand meaning an item is sold out or unavailable — 'we're 86 on the salmon.'
Fire
To send an order or course to the kitchen to begin cooking, on the server's cue.
Coursing
Pacing a meal so each course reaches the table at the right time, with the kitchen timed to match.
Station
A defined area of the kitchen responsible for certain items, such as the grill, fryer, or cold station.
Mise en place
Everything prepped and in place before service so the line can move quickly and consistently.
Par level
The target stock level for an ingredient — the amount you aim to have on hand to get through a period.
Bump
To clear a completed ticket or item from the kitchen display once it's done.
Glossary
Technology & ordering
POS
Point of sale — the system staff use to take orders, send them to the kitchen, and process payment.
QR menu
A menu guests open by scanning a QR code, often allowing them to order and pay from their phone.
Offline-first
Software designed to keep working without an internet connection, syncing automatically when it returns.
PWA
Progressive web app — a website that installs and behaves like an app, useful for reliable POS terminals.
RTL
Right-to-left — the writing direction of Arabic and Kurdish, which a proper menu mirrors throughout its layout.
Station routing
Sending each item on an order to the specific kitchen or bar station responsible for making it.
Loyalty / CRM
Tools to recognise and reward repeat guests and to build a first-party database of customers you own.
Order injection
Bringing orders from delivery apps directly into your own order queue instead of a separate tablet.
Less jargon, more service
Menulisa brings ordering, POS, kitchen, and reporting into one platform your whole team can actually use.