Restaurant manager

Restaurant managers organise the day-to-day running of their venue and make sure customers are happy with the food and service they receive.

What you'll do

Day-to-day tasks

As a restaurant manager, you could:

  • plan menus with your chefs
  • organise shifts and rotas for kitchen and waiting staff
  • manage stock control and budgets
  • work closely with food and drink suppliers
  • make sure the restaurant follows licensing, food hygiene, and health and safety rules
  • recruit new staff and help to train them
  • work on plans for large events like weddings or birthdays
  • deal with customer complaints

Working environment

You could work at a restaurant.

Your working environment may be physically demanding.

You may need to wear a uniform.

Career path and progression

With experience, you could become a regional manager with a restaurant or hotel chain.

You could also move into catering for large events or set up your own independent restaurant business.

What it takes

Skills and knowledge

You'll need:

  • customer service skills
  • leadership skills
  • the ability to motivate and manage staff
  • the ability to work well with others
  • the ability to accept criticism and work well under pressure
  • business management skills
  • patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
  • knowledge of food production methods
  • to be able to use a computer and the main software packages competently

Restrictions and Requirements

You'll need to:

How to become

You can get into this job through:

  • a college course
  • an apprenticeship
  • working towards this role
  • a graduate training scheme

You could do a college course, which would teach you some of the skills you'll need in this job.

Courses include:

  • hospitality supervision and leadership
  • hospitality leadership
  • hospitality management

Entry requirements

Entry requirements for these courses vary.

More Information

You could work towards this role by applying to do a Hospitality Supervisor Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship and continue with further training on the job.

You could also take a Hospitality Manager Level 4 Higher Apprenticeship, if you've got supervisory experience in restaurant work.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths, for an advanced apprenticeship
  • 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C) and A levels, or equivalent, for a higher or degree apprenticeship

More Information

You could move up to a management position after working as part of the restaurant staff, for example head waiter or kitchen manager.

With experience and qualifications you could take on more management responsibilities.

You could apply for a place on a graduate training scheme. Many large restaurants and fast food chains run schemes that can lead to management jobs.

You'll usually need a university qualification to get a place. For example, a degree in hospitality management is useful but many employers will accept other subjects.

You can find out more about how to become a restaurant manager from Caterer.com.

Suggested videos

Coffee With is in early release mode with a limited number of videos. New videos are being added every week, so please check back for updates.

Caroline Wilson

Caroline Wilson

Creative producer

Jason Monaghan

Jason Monaghan

Writer

Tony Hood

Tony Hood

Film Location Manager

This page contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.