| Detail | For this role |
|---|---|
| Department | Restaurants and Food Service |
| Level | Manager |
| Reports to | F&B Manager |
| Direct reports | Assistant Restaurant Manager, Restaurant Supervisor, Captain |
| Experience | 6 to 10 years in restaurant service with management experience |
Restaurant Manager job description template
Copy this job description, replace the text in square brackets and post it on your careers page or a job portal.
Job title: Restaurant Manager
Department: Restaurants and Food Service
Reports to: F&B Manager
Location: [City], [office, branch or site]
About the role
A Restaurant Manager runs a full service restaurant. They own the guest experience, the service team, reservations, sales and cost, and daily compliance. The role is the face of the restaurant to guests and the boss of the floor and kitchen coordination. A good Restaurant Manager fills tables, delivers a service guests come back for, controls food and labour cost, keeps the restaurant compliant, and builds a strong service team.
Key responsibilities
- Own the guest experience and service standards across every service.
- Lead, roster and train the service team and hosts.
- Manage reservations, table turnover and covers to grow sales.
- Control food and beverage cost, labour cost and wastage.
- Handle guest complaints and turn a bad experience around.
- Coordinate with the kitchen on timing, quality and specials.
- Run cash, billing, daily sales reports and the banking.
- Keep the restaurant clean, licensed and compliant with food safety.
- Plan local marketing, events and repeat guest programmes to grow footfall.
Requirements
- Degree or diploma in hotel management
- Experience running restaurant service
- Cost and cash management skills
- 6 to 10 years in restaurant service with management experience
KRAs and KPIs for a Restaurant Manager
Key result areas for the appraisal form, each with a KPI you can measure every month or quarter.
| Key result area | How to measure it |
|---|---|
| Sales | Restaurant sales meet or beat the monthly target |
| Guest experience | Guest satisfaction scores kept above the target |
| Cost control | Food, beverage and labour cost within target |
| Table turnover | Covers and table turnover at or above plan at peak |
| Compliance | Restaurant passes hygiene, licence and safety checks |
| Team retention | Service team attrition held below target |
Skills and tools
Tools used day to day: POS and billing system, Reservation and table management, Inventory and costing software, MS Excel, Feedback platform.
Reporting line and career path
Next roles: F&B Manager, Restaurant Area Manager, Operations Manager
Interview questions for a Restaurant Manager
- How do you grow covers and sales in a quiet restaurant?
- How do you deliver a consistent guest experience every service?
- How do you control food and labour cost together?
- Walk me through handling a serious guest complaint.
- How do you manage reservations and walk ins on a full night?
- How do you build a service team that guests remember?
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What does a Restaurant Manager do?
A Restaurant Manager runs a full service restaurant. They own the guest experience, service team, reservations, sales and cost, and daily compliance. They fill tables, deliver service guests return for, control cost, handle complaints and keep the restaurant compliant. Their job is a profitable restaurant with a strong, well trained team.
What is the difference between a Restaurant Manager and an F&B Manager?
A Restaurant Manager runs one restaurant. An F&B Manager runs the food and beverage operations across several outlets of a property, such as restaurants, bars and room service. The restaurant manager owns one unit; the F&B manager oversees many and sets standards across them.
What qualifications does a Restaurant Manager need?
A degree or diploma in hotel management with several years of restaurant service and management experience. Employers value guest experience, food and labour cost control, cash and reporting, complaint recovery and team leadership. A record of growing covers and running a compliant restaurant matters most.