Restaurant SOP

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when you need to:

• Create standard operating procedures for restaurant operations
• Document kitchen workflows, service standards, and safety procedures
• Build training-ready manuals for new staff
• Standardize opening, closing, and shift change procedures

DO NOT use this skill for menu design, restaurant marketing, or business planning. This is for operational SOPs that staff follow daily.

Core Principle

AN SOP ELIMINATES GUESSWORK — IF A NEW EMPLOYEE CANNOT FOLLOW THE PROCEDURE WITHOUT ASKING QUESTIONS, THE SOP IS NOT CLEAR ENOUGH. WRITE FOR THE NEWEST PERSON ON THE TEAM.

Phase 1: Brief

Required Inputs

GATE: Confirm the brief before writing SOPs.

Phase 2: Structure

SOP Categories

Restaurant SOPs
├── Opening Procedures
├── Closing Procedures
├── Kitchen Operations
│   ├── Food Prep Standards
│   ├── Cooking Procedures
│   ├── Plating Standards
│   └── Kitchen Cleaning
├── Front of House
│   ├── Guest Greeting and Seating
│   ├── Order Taking
│   ├── Food Service
│   ├── Payment Processing
│   └── Table Reset
├── Food Safety
│   ├── Temperature Monitoring
│   ├── Food Storage (FIFO)
│   ├── Allergen Handling
│   ├── Handwashing Protocol
│   └── Cleaning and Sanitation
├── Shift Management
│   ├── Shift Change Procedures
│   ├── Break Schedules
│   └── Cash Handling
└── Emergency Procedures
    ├── Customer Complaints
    ├── Equipment Failure
    └── Health/Safety Incidents

SOP Document Template

## [SOP Title]

**Department:** Kitchen / FOH / Management
**Last updated:** [Date]
**Applies to:** [Which roles]

### Purpose
[One sentence: why this procedure exists]

### Procedure
1. [Step 1]
2. [Step 2]
3. [Step 3]
...

### Quality Standard
[What "done correctly" looks like]

### Common Mistakes
- [Mistake 1] → [How to avoid]
- [Mistake 2] → [How to avoid]

GATE: Confirm which SOPs to create and in what order before writing.

Phase 3: Write

Opening Procedures

## Restaurant Opening SOP

**Applies to:** Opening manager, opening kitchen staff, opening servers

### Manager (arrive 60 min before open)
1. Disarm security system and turn on lights
2. Check voicemails and email for reservations or cancellations
3. Walk through the restaurant: check floors, restrooms, and dining room
4. Verify POS system is operational and starting cash is correct
5. Review the day's reservations, events, and any 86'd items
6. Brief staff at pre-shift meeting (10 min before open)

### Kitchen (arrive 60 min before open)
1. Turn on all equipment (ovens, grills, fryers, steam table)
2. Check walk-in temperatures (must be 40°F or below)
3. Pull prep list and begin morning prep
4. Set up all stations with mise en place
5. Check that all sauces, dressings, and garnishes are fresh
6. Confirm backup inventory is accessible

### Front of House (arrive 30 min before open)
1. Set all tables (silverware, napkins, glasses, condiments)
2. Verify restrooms are stocked and clean
3. Fill water stations, ice bins, and coffee
4. Turn on music and adjust lighting
5. Review specials and 86 list
6. Unlock front door at opening time

Food Safety SOPs

## Food Safety: Temperature Monitoring

**Applies to:** All kitchen staff
**Frequency:** Every 2 hours during service

### Procedure
1. Use a calibrated thermometer (ice bath calibration at start of shift)
2. Check and log temperatures for:
   - Walk-in refrigerator (must be 40°F or below)
   - Walk-in freezer (must be 0°F or below)
   - Hot holding items (must be 135°F or above)
   - Cold holding items (must be 41°F or below)
3. Record on the temperature log sheet
4. If any temperature is out of range:
   - HOT: Reheat to 165°F within 2 hours or discard
   - COLD: Move to functional unit immediately, discard if above 41°F for 4+ hours
5. Report equipment issues to manager immediately

### Quality Standard
Temperature log is complete with no gaps. All readings within safe range.

Front of House Service SOP

## Guest Service Standards

**Applies to:** All servers and hosts

### Greeting (within 30 seconds of seating)
1. Approach the table with a smile
2. Introduce yourself by name
3. Offer water and inform of any specials
4. Ask if they have been here before (if yes, welcome back; if no, brief orientation)

### Order Taking
1. Start with beverages
2. Suggest an appetizer
3. Take entree orders, confirm modifications and allergies
4. Repeat the full order back to the table
5. Enter order into POS immediately (do not batch orders)

### Food Delivery
1. Deliver food within 2 minutes of kitchen plating
2. Announce each dish by name as you place it
3. Confirm the table has everything they need
4. Check back within 2 minutes of first bites

### Payment
1. Present the check when requested (never before)
2. Process payment within 3 minutes
3. Thank the guest by name and invite them back

Phase 4: Polish

1. Training Integration

• Print SOPs in a laminated quick-reference format for each station
• Use SOPs during new employee training (read, shadow, practice, solo)
• Quiz new hires on food safety SOPs before they work unsupervised
• Review SOPs during monthly staff meetings

2. Audit Schedule

3. Quality Checklist

## Restaurant SOP Checklist

- [ ] Opening procedures documented for manager, kitchen, and FOH
- [ ] Closing procedures documented with cleaning and cash-out steps
- [ ] Food safety SOPs cover temperature, storage, allergens, and handwashing
- [ ] Service standards define greeting, order, delivery, and payment
- [ ] Each SOP has a purpose statement and quality standard
- [ ] Common mistakes listed with prevention steps
- [ ] SOPs are written for the newest team member (clear, specific)
- [ ] Quick-reference versions available at each station
- [ ] Training plan references SOPs explicitly
- [ ] Audit schedule set for daily, weekly, and monthly checks

Example

Closing kitchen SOP excerpt:

## Kitchen Closing Procedure

1. Turn off all cooking equipment (grills, fryers, ovens)
2. Cover and date all prep items, store in walk-in (FIFO)
3. Clean all cooking surfaces with degreaser
4. Sweep and mop kitchen floors
5. Empty all trash and replace liners
6. Sanitize all cutting boards and prep surfaces
7. Check walk-in temperatures and log on closing sheet
8. Turn off hood fans and kitchen lights
9. Notify closing manager that kitchen is complete

**Quality standard:** A manager inspects the kitchen before the closing cook leaves. Every surface should pass a visual and touch check for cleanliness.

Anti-Patterns

• SOPs nobody reads — if they are buried in a binder in the office, they will not be followed. Post them at the stations.
• Too long per SOP — a 3-page opening procedure gets skipped. Keep each SOP to one page or less.
• Vague instructions — "Clean the kitchen" is not an SOP. "Wipe down all stainless surfaces with degreaser, rinse, and sanitize" is.
• No accountability — SOPs without checklists and audits are suggestions. Build in sign-offs and checks.
• Set and forget — operations change, menus change, regulations change. Review SOPs quarterly.

Recovery

• Staff resist following SOPs: Involve them in writing the procedures. Staff who help create the SOPs are more likely to follow them.
• SOPs are outdated: Schedule a quarterly SOP review. Assign one SOP category to each manager for updates.
• Health inspection finds issues: Update the relevant food safety SOP immediately. Retrain all staff within 48 hours.
• New staff makes repeated mistakes: The SOP is unclear. Rewrite the section causing errors and add the mistake to the "Common Mistakes" section.