Every dish plotted on the popularity-versus-margin matrix, updated as sales and costs change. See what is carrying the menu, what is dragging it down, and where a price change or a swap would actually move the needle.
The popularity-versus-margin matrix is a decision tool, not just a chart. Each quadrant has a different play.
High margin, high popularity. Guests already want them and they are profitable. Menu placement, staff recommendations and front-of-house attention should flow to these dishes first. Stars are the menu doing exactly what you need it to do.
These dishes sell well but return thin GP. The fix is usually a price test, a yield review or a recipe tweak — not a removal. A modest increase rarely dents their popularity as much as operators fear.
High GP but low orders. This is usually a placement or description problem, not a recipe failure. Moving a puzzle to a better position on the menu — or training staff to recommend it — often turns it into a star.
Low margin and low popularity. These survive only if they serve a clear dietary or brand need. If not, they are consuming prep time and menu space that a star or plowhorse could use better.
Below the matrix, a sortable table shows every dish with its quadrant classification, current GP percentage, sales volume and a suggested action. Filter by category, sort by margin impact, and work through the list before the next menu reprint.
Suggested actions update when sales or costs change
A menu refresh without data is guesswork with a new font.
Most reprints are based on what chefs feel proud of and what owners think guests want. The matrix tells you what guests actually ordered and what those orders actually earned. Run it before the reprint, not after a season of poor margin.
See how recipes feed the matrixThe operators who improve their menu each season are not the ones with better instincts — they are the ones with better data. The matrix shows you where your energy should go. Everything else is noise.
Equimise operations playbook
Live
matrix refreshes as sales and costs change
Per dish
GP visibility, not just category averages
Before
the reprint — so you fix problems, not print them
Accurate plate costs come from recipes linked to live ingredient prices — not last quarter's figures.
Read more →When a plowhorse's margin compresses further, cost optimisation surfaces the cause and the fix.
Read more →Manage menus, categories, prices and versions from the same place you run the rest of the business.
Read more →Book a 30-minute walkthrough. Connect your POS data and we'll run the matrix on your current menu live in the session.