While some city hospitality businesses wind down over the holidays, cafés, pubs and clubs in tourist towns are about to hit their busiest stretch of the year. When the hordes roll in, they’re hungry, impatient and ready to spend. But if your venue has the product ready to match that demand, you’ll win the trade. And even when you’re already at capacity, you don’t have to miss out on extra sales.
This is where smart menu engineering comes into play. Family share plates, toppers, bar snacks, festive desserts and grab and go items. We have constructed a list of items that can help improve the flow of service this summer while keeping your customers satisfied, maximising the most out of every customer who walks in your door, all whiles ticking the number one box deliciousness.
Family-sized share plate – taco platter
For pubs, clubs and venues that specialise in family trade, a DIY taco platter on your specials board is your ticket to keeping mum, dad and the kids happy while driving serious GP. It delivers value, flexibility, fun and margins all at once.
Build it to feed two hungry adults and one or two kids, with everything ready to heat and go.
Serve it on a big platter lined with greaseproof and lifted on a stand for theatre. This dish is the diplomatic platter. You are not just feeding people, you are keeping peace at the table. The non eater can not eat, happily. The fussy picker can choose what they want without feeling shamed. The over eater can vacuum up the stragglers. And you, quietly, win on GP.
Make sure you can add on to the dish: more meat, more guacamole, more prawns. Which brings us neatly to toppers.
Low-labour upsells – toppers & sides
Anything can be a topper. Or a side. If you need proof of this, just put garlic prawn steak topper on your menu and watch it walk out the door. And if you are not offering toppers this summer, you are leaving money on the pass.
Work with what is already on your menu. This way, you have already done the prep. Work smarter and get more out of every customer because the easiest customer to sell to is the one already sitting at the table. Some topper ideas:
- Mac and cheese
- Fried calamari
- Kilpatrick oysters
- Haloumi
- Onion rings
- Garlic prawns
- Cajun prawns
- Battered fish
- Pork belly bites
- Chicken wings
- Pulled pork
- Anything else on your menu
For a quick and easy mac and cheese, stir a packet each of Jeffersons American and Cheddar Cheese Sauce through cooked macaroni, then top with grated cheese and bake.
Make sure you’re upselling garlic bread every service this summer. Use table talkers, screens and QR prompts. Cheese and bacon should be standard add-ons – and make sure toppers are enabled too. Because you know that one day someone will order garlic bread with cheese and bacon topped with creamy garlic prawns. If they can build it, they will!
Another great ‘add-on’ is grilled chicken. Some people want protein with whatever they order. So upsell where you can!
Profitable bar snacks – low cost, high return
We both know that prep time is sacred during the holidays. But if you can, run an all day menu. Punters eat at unusual times during holidays. And the reality is there are big discrepancies between common eating times across the states. So often when the Melbournians arrive in Queensland for a summer holiday and find out lunch finished at 2:00, they will be wandering down the road to eat at the competition. And often a decent collection of snacks is enough to keep them in the building.
The trick with bar snacks is turning low cost ingredients into high return items with a bit of smart prep. Trick up more economical foodservice ingredients. And if your pizza chef or kitchen hand can knock these out between services, you keep revenue rolling without slowing the kitchen:
- Warm olives with rosemary, chilli flakes and vinegar
- Dips tzatziki, hummus, pesto, semi dried tomato, tapenade
- House focaccia or pizza bread through the deck ovens
- Pinsa Sorriso with pepperoni, tomato, rocket and pesto
- Spring rolls with fresh mint, lettuce and house nuoc cham
- Even the humble dim sim makes a great snack
Festive desserts – Christmas tiramisu
Some chefs see dessert as effort, while others embrace them for their potential. But smart desserts look great, sell fast and lift your per head with minimal effort. And at Christmas, people are willing to let their calorific guard down.
Do not reinvent the wheel. Nothing is more proven right now than tiramisu. Familiar, loved and incredibly easy to execute.
- Minimal prep at service
- Easy to batch
- Individual portions ready in the café fridge
Ready-to-serve cakes and desserts are also a summer win. Higher cost but zero labour. No prep. No baking. Just open, slice and serve.
Grab-and-go café items – #ReadyToEat
If you spend two minutes on Instagram, you will see grab-and-go is booming. And while some city venues wind down over the holidays, cafés in tourist towns hit their busiest stretch of the year. When the hordes roll in, they are hungry, impatient and ready to spend. And even when you are already at capacity, you do not have to miss out on extra sales.
Ready to eat does not need to be a compromise. It just needs to move fast:
- Burrito bowls rice, beans, protein, veg, sauce
- Poke bowls and sushi rolls tuna, prawns, salmon, tofu
- Bagels cream cheese, honey, jam, smashed avocado
- Breakfast wraps and sandwiches eggs, bacon, veg, plant based
- Protein and side combos chicken, tofu or fish with quinoa, veg or sweet potato
The key is making sure everything is easy to prepare, easy to package and easy to sell.
