How to price a café menu in the UK: food cost, GP and VAT
Five steps from recipe cost to menu price, with round-number examples that match the calculator, including VAT and delivery-app commission.
The short version. Work out what the dish costs, pick your own target GP, price it before VAT, add VAT if it applies, then see what delivery-app commission does to the result. Here are the steps with round numbers.
Step 1: cost the recipe
For each ingredient, divide the pack price by the pack size and multiply by the amount in one portion. Take a chicken rice bowl:
| Chicken: £9.00 per 1,000 g, 150 g used | £1.35 |
| Rice: £2.00 per 1,000 g, 100 g used | £0.20 |
| Sauce | £0.45 |
| Box and fork | £1.00 |
| Cost per portion | £3.00 |
Step 2: choose your target GP
Gross profit (GP) is the price without VAT, minus the ingredient cost, as a percentage of the price without VAT. The target is yours to set. It has to leave enough to pay rent, wages and everything else, so start from your own costs. In the examples below the target is 70%.
Step 3: work back to the price before VAT
Divide the cost by one minus the target: £3.00 / (1 - 0.70) = £3.00 / 0.30 = £10.00 before VAT. At that price, GP is £7.00, which is 70% of £10.00.
Step 4: add VAT where it applies
If the bowl is eaten in or sold hot to take away, it is standard-rated, so the menu price is £10.00 x 1.20 = £12.00. If a dish is zero-rated (most cold takeaway food), the menu price stays at £10.00. Our guide to VAT on takeaway food explains which is which, from gov.uk VAT Notice 709/1.
Do not work GP from the £12.00. The £2.00 of VAT is not yours, which is why the sums start from £10.00.
Step 5: check delivery commission
Suppose a delivery app takes 10% of the price the customer pays, VAT included. Type your own rate, as every agreement differs. On a £12.00 menu price that is £1.20. Your GP falls from £7.00 to £5.80, which is 58.0% of £10.00, under the 70% target.
To still reach 70% after commission, the sums are: £3.00 / (1 - 0.70 - 0.10 x 1.20) = £3.00 / 0.18 = £16.67 before VAT, and £16.67 x 1.20 = £20.00 on the menu. Whether customers pay that is your call: you might price delivery higher, accept a lower GP there, or cut the cost. The calculator shows the figures for your own dish.
Do it for your own dish
The café and takeaway GP calculator does these steps for you and shows the working. To cost a whole menu, the workbook below holds every recipe in one place.
Cost every dish in one workbook
The UK Café and Takeaway Food Cost and GP Calculator is a spreadsheet for £12.99. It works out GP on the price before VAT and shows what delivery-app commission does to it.
Get the café workbook, £12.99Questions people ask
What GP should I aim for on a menu?
That is your own target, set by your rent, wages and what customers will pay. We do not quote an industry average. The calculator starts at 70% only as a placeholder.
How do I price a dish from its food cost?
Divide the cost by one minus your target GP to get the price before VAT. A £3.00 dish at a 70% target is £3.00 / 0.30 = £10.00 before VAT. Add VAT only if the dish is standard-rated.
Do I add VAT before or after working out the price?
Work out the price you need before VAT first, then add 20% if the dish is standard-rated, as eat-in and hot takeaway food is. Cold takeaway food is mostly zero-rated, so the price you need is the price you charge.
Should I charge more on delivery apps?
That is your choice. The calculator takes the commission rate you type as a share of the VAT-inclusive price and shows the menu price that still reaches your target GP, so you can see what the gap is.
General information, not tax advice. Check how VAT applies to a dish with HMRC or an accountant if you are unsure.
VAT rules checked against gov.uk on 7 November 2026. Figures in the examples are round numbers for illustration.