All you need to know about the average check in a restaurant

If you're opening or running a restaurant, understanding the notion of average check is key! Like food cost or turnover rate, this indicator enables you to steer your restaurant's strategy.

What should an average check be for a restaurant ? How to calculate it and how to increase it?

Find out in this article.

What is the average check in a restaurant?

💡The average check is the average amount a customer spends in your establishment.

This is a crucial KPI because it allows you to estimate your sales on a daily basis.

The average check si also useful because:

• For each service, you can anticipate your income based on the number of customers (or number of place settings);
• You can challenge your average check : match it to the market or compare it to the competition (in your business plan, for instance);
• You can quickly identify the products that increase or penalize your average check;
• You'll have a better understanding of how your customers work, and when they spend more or less.

NB: the notion of "average basket" is very similar to "average check". The average basket applies more often to shops and may contain several transactions (delivery, etc.).

How do you calculate the average check for a restaurant?

📈The formula is simple: Average ticket = sales / number of covers

Example: your weekly sales were $7,000 and you welcomed 350 customers.

7 000 / 350 = 20

Your average basket is therefore $20 for the month in question.

💡 Calculate different average checks according to time of day, seasons, etc.

• Calculate average check sales by service/time slot

Customers are different between lunch and dinner services.

👉 At lunchtime, the average check is lower = shorter meal times, faster formulas.

👉 In the evening, the check is higher = meals are longer, more formal, more conducive to spending (reunions, parties), particularly on alcohol and beverages with high margins.

To increase the average bill, a restaurant should offer fixed-price formulas for lunch and special menus for dinner (more on this in the last part of this article!).

• Calculate average ticket sales by season/period

👉 The average ticket is generally higher during the winter and summer seasons (vacations, holidays, etc.).

👉It may also vary according to weeks, weekends, public holidays, school vacation periods...

💡 Useful tip: identify key dates in advance thanks to our restaurant marketing calendar.

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According to TheFork, the average weekday bill for a restaurant in is $30-35, and $20-25 on weekends. A bar, on the other hand, may do most of its business on the weekends. 

• Calculate average check according to sales method

👉 If you offer delivery, you can analyze the difference between an average on-site ticket and an average takeaway ticket.

💡At the end of the day, calculating the average checks helps answering these questions:

• How much sales does my restaurant make per day? Evening, lunchtime? Weekdays, weekends?
• When are my customers most numerous?
• When do they order the most? Evenings, lunches, weekends?
• Do they order à la carte or formula dishes?
• How do you plan ahead for holidays, peak seasons and public holidays?

What is the average restaurant check in the US?

According to a survey conducted by TheFork on restaurants in 2023: 

• The average check is around $25 per customer;
• The average check for a high end restaurant is around $50 or more ;‍
• The average checks for diners or bistros varies between $15 and $25 ;‍
• The average fast-food bill is often less than $10 ;‍
• In big cities, it is higher than elsewhere;
• On average, it's higher in the evening for dinner ($30-35) than for lunch ($20-25).

💡Restaurant category, type of cuisine, location: all these factors influence the average bill. Be sure to take all these factors into account if you're asking yourself the question "is my restaurant average?"

Restaurant owners: how to increase your average bill? 8 ideas!

We've talked about it in these articles: there are several ways to increase restaurant revenues and margins.

Increase your sales, raise your prices, attract more customers... With these methods, it's hard to maintain an interesting and relevant price-quality ratio, without lowering the level of service.

💡By adjusting your average check, you can improve your profitability with simple strategies that won't penalize your restaurant in the eyes of customers.

To increase your average check, you can : 

• Offer attractive formulas at lunchtime and emphasize tasting and gourmet delights in the evening;
• Offer gourmet extras such as grated truffles (+$5) and mature cheese (+$3), especially during the holiday season;
• Review your menu with intelligence thanks to menu engineering ;
• Offer healthy or personalized supplements (protein boost +$3 in a bowl, for example) ;
• Install a terrace for the summer season;
• Offer extras such as a wine and food pairing for $10. If a customer chooses a $20 dish, adding a suitable glass of wine brings the bill to $30;
• Highlight desserts to share, such as a tarte tatin for two at $12, or a café gourmand combining several small portions of desserts ($10);
• Offer premium drinks for lunch, such as mocktails;
• Offer package deals or delivery discounts ;
• Attract more customers and build loyalty with digital marketing ;

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The more you get customers to come back to your establishment, the more you increase their average check: this is the principle of loyalty. Likewise, reaching out to new customers is a winning strategy.

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Our advice: rely on digital marketing ! Referencing, social media, collecting reviews... Digital marketing increases restaurant revenues significantly and, above all, sustainably!

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