Guide
Updated 23 October 2026
Restaurant profit margin in the UK: a worked example, not an industry average
By Arslan Munir
There is no single UK restaurant profit margin worth quoting. A chip shop on a Friday and a dining room on a Tuesday do not share a number, and this page will not invent one. What you can do is the same sum on your own invoice: what the dish sold for, what the food in it cost, and what left the ticket before the food was even paid for.
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The dish sum
Take one made-up dish so the arithmetic is visible. It is not a Chefzi customer and it is not a benchmark.
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Selling price | £10.00 |
| Food in the dish | £3.00 |
| Food left before other costs | £7.00 |
| Food margin | 70% |
£10 minus £3 is £7. £7 divided by £10 is 0.7, which is 70%. That 70% still has to cover wages, rent, gas, packaging, waste and VAT. Calling it profit is how a menu looks healthy on a spreadsheet and tight on a Sunday.
Do the same sum with your own prices. Weigh the portion you actually serve, not the portion on the recipe card. Oil, sauce and the bit that gets dropped on the pass belong in the £3, or the margin is a story.
What a commission does to that dish
A marketplace commission is taken from the selling price. It does not wait until wages are paid.
Just Eat's partner sign-up page (FAQ 'How much commission will I pay?', checked 23 October 2026) says 14% when the restaurant uses its own delivery drivers and 30% when Just Eat delivers. VAT is added on top of both. On a £20 order the examples are £2.80 + 56p VAT, or £6.00 + £1.20 VAT. The £10 dish below is a separate made-up example, so 14% and 30% of £10 are before that VAT. They are not a quote from your statement. Your statement is the figure that matters, and the commission calculator is where you type it.
On the same made-up £10 dish, 30% is £3.00 before VAT on that commission. The food still cost £3.00. The £7.00 that looked like food margin is now £4.00 before wages, rent and the VAT on the commission. 14%, when the restaurant uses its own delivery drivers, is £1.40 before VAT on the commission. Neither figure is a promise about your shop. They show why the rate and the basket have to be read together.
If you are on Just Eat, read the price clause before you advertise a lower price on your own site. Just Eat's UK partner terms (clause 7.18, version dated 18 December 2025) say that, unless you've agreed otherwise, prices and offers on Just Eat must be no less favourable than those on your own online channels. A reason to order direct that is not a lower price, such as a shorter collection time, does not depend on that clause. The longer note is how to move Just Eat regulars to your own website.
A flat monthly fee
Chefzi does not take a percentage of the dish. After the free period it is £19 a month per location for cash or no-card ordering, or £29 a month with online card payments through Stripe. Standard Stripe fees apply. Those card fees are Stripe's. Prices exclude VAT. There is no setup fee and no commission on a direct order. The same monthly fee applies on a busy Friday and a quiet Tuesday. Details are on pricing.
How HMRC treats hot takeaway food is a different sum from this food margin. The tests are in VAT on takeaway food. Registering the kitchen itself is in how to start a takeaway.
That does not make the food margin 100%. It means the software line does not grow when the queue does. Delivery, if you do it, is still your driver, your fuel and the fee you set on the zone. Chefzi does not supply a courier.
What to write down this week
- Pick five dishes you sell most often. Write the selling price and the food cost of the portion you serve.
- Divide the food left by the selling price. Keep the result next to the recipe, not in a slide.
- If a marketplace takes those dishes, write the rate from your statement next to the 14% and 30% on Just Eat's partner sign-up page (https://www.just-eat.co.uk/partner/signup/, checked 23 October 2026), and see which one you actually pay.
- Put one direct link on Google, the window and the receipt. Do not put that link on a marketplace bag.
The order-taking app rings until someone accepts or rejects. It does not calculate your margin. The sum above is the one you do from the invoices.
Questions
What is a restaurant profit margin?
On one dish, it is the selling price minus the cost of the food in that dish, divided by the selling price. That is a food margin. It is not the money left after wages, rent, packaging, VAT and card fees.
Does this page give the average UK restaurant margin?
No. Kitchens differ, and this page does not invent an average. Use your own invoices. The numbers below are a made-up example so the arithmetic is easy to follow.
How does commission change the margin?
A commission is a slice of the selling price before you have paid wages and rent. Just Eat's partner sign-up page (https://www.just-eat.co.uk/partner/signup/, FAQ 'How much commission will I pay?', checked 23 October 2026) says 14% when the restaurant uses its own delivery drivers and 30% when Just Eat delivers, with VAT added on top of both. Put your own rate into the commission calculator.
Can I advertise a lower price on my own site than on Just Eat?
Check your contract first. Just Eat's UK partner terms (clause 7.18, version dated 18 December 2025) say that, unless you've agreed otherwise, prices and offers on Just Eat must be no less favourable than those on your own online channels.
What does Chefzi charge?
After the free period, £19 a month per location for cash or no-card ordering, or £29 a month with online card payments through Stripe. Standard Stripe fees apply. Prices exclude VAT. There is no setup fee and no commission on the order.