How to increase restaurant sales

Restaurateur, Pablo Santaella, has run Peterson's restaurant for 7 years, six years as restaurant manager, now the first year as a restaurateur. For Pablo, "selling" must never feel intrusive but must be genuine. According to Pedro, it is important that the guest receives recommendations from the heart, wine tips from staff who have tasted the wines themselves and who have knowledge of the ingredients and where they come from. And, to make it possible, Pablo recommends fewer guests per waiter.

Few guests per waiter

Pablo's tip is to have few guests per waiter. He recommends few stations and a lot of staff. With a lot of staff, it's easier to be genuine and make guests feel seen.

Introduce the menu

At Peterson's restaurant today's menu is written on slate boards. Often only the raw materials are listed, such as sole, cod and oysters. This means that the staff gives the guests a presentation of the menu and tells about accessories and ingredients. It will then be easier for Pablo and his staff to meet the customer's preferences and give recommendations based on what the guest likes. The opportunity to present which starters to choose is also easier because the staff has created contact with the guests. Pablo's tip is, for example, to suggest oysters to guests who have never tasted oysters or to suggest to guests to share an appetizer.

Offer more wine and dessert

With fewer guests per waiter, it will be easier to see the guests, suggest another glass of wine or a dessert.

Motivate the staff to be in the dining room

It should be fun to be where the guests are. If those in charge are also in the dining room, it will be more fun and the staff will behave differently.

"Mise en place"

It is good to be well prepared as well, what in restaurant language is called "mise en place". Give the staff the right tools, if you know you are about to sell a lot of champagne, have plenty of champagne glasses.

High product awareness

A review of which ingredients are on the evening's menu and knowledge of the ingredients is very important, says Pablo. It is important that the staff know what ingredients are used in the evening's dishes and where they come from.

Education in beverage

Another tip is to have a wine tasting before the season starts so that the staff has tasted the wines. You can learn one wine a day until you have learned about the wines on the wine list. What the staff likes, it sells the most. People like recommendations.

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