Restaurant Interview Questions & Answers

Best Restaurant Interview Questions and Answers

1. What do you know about our restaurant?

As a serious applicant, you should know a lot about the restaurant. You should do your research and know approximately how many waitresses work there, what is a vision of a restaurant, what culture they try to create, etc.. Good applicant for a managerial position should notice all of this and should have an ability to talk about it openly in an interview.

On the top of that, you can compliment the quality of food and/or service, if you ate at the place before (what you should do).

2. Why do you want to become a manager of our restaurant?

First of all, you can mention the skills you posses, claiming that you believe to have enough skills to be a good manager of this restaurant. You can also say that you are motivated and like a busy and challenging working environment.

On a top of that, you can compliment the interviewer again, saying that it is a good restaurant, that you see a potential and would be proud to manage it and see ways how to improve it even more.

3. What would you improve in our restaurant?

I need to stress it once again: As a good restaurant manager, you should have answer to every question. If you do your research before an interview, you will know what to say. But anyway, even if there’s nothing on your mind, you can always count on typical answers, such as that you want to work on brand building and on improving the overall customer experience. That never hurts…

4. How would you motivate staff working in our restaurant?

Motivation is a key to succeed as a whole, especially for places like a busy restaurant. It’s actually not an easy task to motivate the staff. You should think about it before an interview and based on your previous experiences come with a sort of a plan. However, if there’s nothing on your mind, you can tell that you will use some team building activities, motivational bonuses as well as try to create a friendly environment, in order to keep the staff motivated and happy about being there.

5. ‘Stress management is an essential skill of a restaurant manager’. Do you admit with the statement?

Effective management of a restaurant is a hectic job. Those who are stress-prone can never reach the success end in this profession. Regular dealing with worker conflicts with different issues, tracking the inventory, administering cash flow and ensure flawless customer service are certain things, which should be handled most efficiently. Under any circumstance, a restaurant manager is required to remain cool and tranquil that enables him to take the situation under control.

6. Brief the role of a restaurant manager?

The job responsibilities of restaurant managers vary widely depending upon the size of the restaurant, however, the overall activities may include

    Taking care to reach the business performance target level of his restaurant; Analyzing the daily sales levels as well as profitability; taking corrective measures

    Organizing efficient marketing as well as promotional activities like special offers or discount schemes; Making sure that the number of patrons is always growing

    Documenting daily and weekly reports; overseeing shift wise performance; staff control, food management and safety measures

    Arranging staff development programs; setting budgets and reporting to higher management; Planning and organizing menus

7. How a restaurant manager is accountable to stuff management?

A restaurant manager should be involved in keeping employee records in the register to find the hours worked and must ensure that payment is received by every individual. They should have comprehensive knowledge about the minimum wage, benefits and overtime allowances of the restaurant industry corresponding to its standard. Staff dispute is a crucial issue for restaurant management, which needs immediate settlement by means of efficient administration, supervision and employee welfare policies.

8. How can you keep your customers coming back?

Apart from maintaining top class hospitality and services; by the introduction of new ideas, we can not only motivate our staff but keep our customers coming back. To attain this objective, purging of traditional thoughts and launching trendy concepts or creative ideas can be a great choice.

9. Explain the duties of a restaurant manager in the front house?

Coordinating the whole functions of the restaurant during shifts; managing staff; providing them necessary feedback and taking care of their problems.

Instant responding to patron complaints; meeting and greeting every customer and organizing booking and table reservations

Making sure that every staff sticks to the restaurant’s uniform standards.

Suggesting customers on wine choice and menu

Organizing and overseeing the kitchen status, hygiene issues and cleanliness.

10. Mention effective skills or a restaurant manager?

Excellent communication skill and motivation power

Tactful and diplomatic

Comprehensive product knowledge

Strong hospitality management ability

Competence to keep cool under pressure

Team management

Sense of accountability and brilliant in budgeting

Well organized and methodical

11. What dragged you to make a career in the restaurant business?

– It was the beginning of my work when I went to a branded restaurant and the late delivery made me angry and I started calculating the profit of running a restaurant where I can have my choice foods with the best quality and varieties. Very soon I got this opportunity along with my dearest friend and we together started this restaurant.

12. What do you feel is the most beautiful thing in this business?

– For me it is the satisfaction of my customer. We believe in the ideology of “Customer is the King” and if I made the king happy then I’ll be rewarded very well.

13. What has been your greatest professional success and biggest setback?

– My greatest professional success has been to believe in myself and making the customers happy. As far as my biggest setback is concerned, I really don’t think that way; I just keep moving forward and serving my customers with quality.

14. How your restaurant’s day-to-day activities go in handling such a big customer base?

– To be very precise, we have divided the jobs on the basis of specialty into several groups and these groups are having a leader who takes care of everything under him. Also, there is a central information managing team which co-ordinates between these groups so that no customer should feel the delay.

15. As a restaurant manager, how important is it to have actual experience in every aspect of the business?

– Managing a restaurant’s experience only comes with time. The more experience you have, the better versed you are. Even in the beginning of our restaurant we too faced some problems as the time went we mold ourselves into that way and now we are more accurate than the previous seasons.

16. How can the reality of restaurant management as a career differ from expectations?

– What one reads in a book about what a manager is to and what one experience is completely different? But each experience is different, based on the circumstance and how it was delivered by that individual. Learn by doing is the best way for restaurant experience.

17. What would you like to suggest the new comers in this field?

-Go and just do it and don’t be afraid. If you believe in yourself you can do anything. Dream and think big as it’s your life. The more you connect with people the more exciting dream becomes. So, now just deliver it.

18. What else more you would like to accomplished?

– I have big expectations for my company and I am looking forward to continue the growth and success. Also, I’m planning to open more restaurants in the major cities of the country.