P6 — Unit economics pillar
Free tool · P6 unit economics

Portion control sheet India

Set standard portion sizes for every menu item. Enter ingredient cost per 100g and sell price to calculate food cost % and gross profit % per dish. Items above 35% food cost are flagged automatically. Print the portion sheet or export CSV for kitchen documentation. No signup.

Items
6
Avg food cost %
29.7%
2 items above 35% food cost
For items measured in g / ml: enter cost per 100g (or per 100ml). For items measured in piece / portion (e.g. roti, egg): enter the flat cost per piece/serving directly in the “Cost per 100g” column.
Item nameCategoryStd qtyUnitCost (₹)Cost/portionSell (₹)FC%GP%
per 100g/ml
₹12035.3%64.7%
per 100g/ml
₹4420.0%80.0%
per 100g/ml
₹10.830.9%69.1%
per 100g/ml
₹30.820.5%79.5%
per 100g/ml
₹4235.0%65.0%
per 100g/ml
₹11736.6%63.4%
Items above 35% food cost — review pricing or portion size
  • Butter chicken (gravy) — food cost 35.3%, cost per portion ₹120, sell price needed at 28% FC: ₹428.57
  • Paneer tikka (starter) — food cost 36.6%, cost per portion ₹117, sell price needed at 28% FC: ₹417.86
Starter36.6% avg FC
  • Paneer tikka (starter)
    180g37%
Main course35.3% avg FC
  • Butter chicken (gravy)
    250g35%
Bread30.9% avg FC
  • Tandoori roti
    60g31%
Rice & biryani20.5% avg FC
  • Jeera rice (cooked)
    220g21%
Dal & curry20.0% avg FC
  • Dal makhani
    200g20%
Dessert35.0% avg FC
  • Gulab jamun (2 pcs)
    120g35%

Why standard portion sizes matter for Indian restaurant food cost control

Portion control is one of the most direct levers available to a restaurant operator for managing food cost — yet it is among the least systematically implemented in Indian restaurant kitchens. Most kitchens rely on visual estimation, individual cook judgment, or informal notions of “how much a portion looks like.” These vary across shifts, across cooks, and across service periods.

The financial impact of poor portion control is often invisible because it shows up as food cost variance rather than as a specific line item. When food cost runs 2–3% above target for no obvious reason, inconsistent portioning is almost always a significant contributing factor. Across 50–100 covers a day, a 50g over-portion on a ₹48/100g dish costs ₹24 per cover — at 75 covers, that is ₹1,800/day, or ₹54,000/month going to unaccounted plate waste.

Target food cost % benchmarks for Indian restaurant segments

  • QSR (Quick service restaurants). Target food cost: 28–32%. QSR menus are engineered for high volume and operational consistency. Tight portion standards are essential because high ticket volume amplifies any per-serve variance. Many QSR operators use pre-portioned packaging for high-cost items.
  • Casual dining restaurants. Target food cost: 28–35%. The widest spread in Indian foodservice. Operators with tight kitchen discipline and accurate recipe costing run at 30–32%. Kitchens without portion discipline often run 36–40% and attribute the variance to “wastage.”
  • Fine dining. Target food cost: 25–30%. Premium ingredients and small plate formats can achieve lower food cost % even at high absolute ingredient cost, because sell prices are proportionally higher. Consistency of portion is critical for guest experience in this segment.
  • Cloud kitchens. Target food cost: 30–38%. Aggregator commissions (18–28%) squeeze net margin, making food cost control more important than in a dine-in format. Most cloud kitchen operators use portion cups, ladles, and pre-weighed raw packs to enforce consistency.
  • Dhaba and regional cuisine formats. Target food cost: 32–40%. Higher raw ingredient cost relative to sell price in this segment. Standard portions are enforced less often — implementing portion control in this format typically reduces food cost 3–5% within the first month.

Where this fits

  • Recipe cost card — full ingredient-level costing; effective ingredient costs feed directly into this portion control sheet
  • Kitchen yield calculator — calculate effective cost per usable kg before entering into portion cost calculations
  • Food cost calculator — use portion-level food cost % data to compute restaurant-wide food cost
  • Wastage tracker — track daily portion waste and trim to quantify over-portioning in rupees
  • Menu engineering matrix — once portion costs are accurate, classify menu items as stars, plowhorses, puzzles, or dogs
  • P6 — Unit economics pillar — complete guide to recipe costing, food cost control, and P&L analysis for Indian restaurants