21 Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Restaurant Consultant

This is a question bank, not an essay. Take it to your next consultant meeting.

For each question we have given you the answer you are looking for, the answer that should make you pause, and — since it would be cowardly to publish this without doing so — our own answer.

About their experience

1. Which restaurants have you personally opened, by name and location?

Good answer: Specific names you can look up.

Answer that should worry you: “We’ve done over 200 projects” with no names, or NDAs cited for everything.

Ours: Gilded Yard and Sumosh have full case studies on this site. KOKOY Noida, Rise Cafe Sonipat, Cherie Model Town, Karamele GK, Melt House, Omny Kitchen with Chef Vicky Ratnani, Tino’s Pizzario, Breaking Brew, Bokan Cafe, Tatahstu Lounge, Flame Dumas Cafe Surat. Look any of them up.

2. How many were this format specifically?

Ours: A firm strong in QSR is not automatically strong in bars. The disciplines barely overlap.

3. What is the last restaurant you personally operated, and for how long?

Answer that should worry you: A career entirely in consulting.

Ours: Nitin Kapoor across Lite Bite Foods, Eastman Colour Restaurants and DLF CyberHub. Gajendra Singh as an Executive Chef. Shishupal across India and Meliá Hotels International, UAE.

4. Tell me about a project that did not go well.

Good answer: A real answer with a real cause and what changed afterwards.

Answer that should worry you: “Every project has been a success.” Nobody’s has.

5. Can I speak to two of your previous clients — one recent, one from two years ago?

Ours: The older one matters more. It tells you whether the restaurant survived.

About scope

6. Can I see the itemised deliverables list?

Good answer: A numbered annexure.

Answer that should worry you: “Full end-to-end pre-opening support.” Every scope dispute starts with a phrase like that.

7. What is explicitly excluded?

Ours: Construction and fit-out, kitchen equipment, furniture and FF&E, government licence fees, ad spend, influencer fees, photography and video production costs, third-party agency fees.

8. Do you file licences, or only advise?

Ours: Practice varies widely and it is a frequent scope gap. We advise; applications are filed by ownership. See our licensing guide.

9. Does the kitchen layout come as a dimensioned drawing my contractor can build from?

Answer that should worry you: “We’ll guide your contractor.” A verbal kitchen layout is not a deliverable.

10. Do I get individually costed recipe cards for every dish?

Ours: This is the deliverable that keeps your food consistent after the opening chef leaves. If it is not explicitly in scope, it will not appear.

11. Do you hire the team, or give me a shortlist?

Ours: Big difference in workload, and a common source of disappointment.

12. Is there a soft launch in the plan?

Ours: If not, ask why.

About money

13. What is the total fee, and what does it work out to as a percentage of my project cost?

Ours: Make them do this arithmetic in front of you. Under 3% on a large project is normal. 5–10% on a small one is normal. Above 15% needs a specific justification. Ours: ₹2,00,000 for a QSR (roughly 8% of a ₹25 lakh build) to ₹7,00,000 for a bar or pub (roughly 2.5% of a ₹3 crore build). Published in full on our fees page.

14. Do you take any commission, rebate or margin from any vendor on this project?

Ours: Ask it in exactly those words, and get the answer in writing. This is the single most important question on the list. Ours: no. Pass-through costs are quoted at what the vendor charges.

15. Is the payment schedule tied to milestones or to calendar dates?

Ours: Milestones align your interests. Calendar dates pay for time regardless of progress.

16. What happens if I stop the project at the halfway point?

17. Who owns the drawings, recipes and brand files?

Ours: They should transfer to you on payment. Get it in the contract.

18. Is a post-opening retainer mandatory?

Ours: Some firms require a three to six month lock-in after opening. That can be reasonable — the first months are when the build is tested — but you should know before signing, not after. Ours: retainers are optional and monthly with 30 days’ notice.

About delivery

19. Which named person runs my project, and how many days a month are they on site?

Ours: The most common disappointment in this industry: you buy the founder and receive a junior. Get the name into the contract.

20. How many other projects will that person be running at the same time?

21. How do you report progress, and how often?

Good answer: A weekly written update against the deliverables list.

Three questions that reveal more than they look like

“What would make you turn down this project?” A consultant with no answer has no standards. Ours: a site whose rent-to-sales does not work, a budget that cannot carry the pre-revenue period, or an owner who wants us to validate a decision already made.

“What is the biggest mistake people make in this format?” Tests whether they know the format or are pattern-matching from a deck. A good answer is specific — dayparts for cafes, throughput at peak for QSR, the gap between dining service and late-night service for bars.

“What do you need from me?” Every good project depends on the owner making decisions on time. A consultant who says “nothing, we handle it all” is either overpromising or planning to make your decisions for you.

What to do with the answers

Take notes in the meeting. Afterwards, check three things:

1. Did they ever say no to anything? If the whole meeting was agreement, you met a salesperson.
2. Did any number get vaguer when you pushed? Fees, timelines and site days should get more specific under pressure, not less.
3. Can you verify one claim independently? Pick a project they named and look it up.

Frequently asked questions

What should I ask a restaurant consultant before hiring them?

Start with three: which restaurants have you personally opened by name, do you take any commission from any vendor, and which named person will run my project and how often will they be on site. Those three filter out most of the problems on their own.

How do I know if a restaurant consultant is overcharging?

Divide the fee by your total project cost. Under 3% on a large project and 5–10% on a small one are both normal. Above 15% of capex needs a specific justification — ask for it directly.

Should a restaurant consultant guarantee results?

No, and be wary of any who does. Outcomes depend on location, capital runway and owner involvement, none of which a consultant controls. A guarantee is a sales device, not a sign of confidence.

What should be in a restaurant consulting contract?

An itemised deliverables annexure with dates, a written exclusions list, a named project lead with committed site days, milestone-linked payments, IP transfer on payment, and defined exit terms.

Is it normal for a restaurant consultant to require a retainer after opening?

It is increasingly common, and some firms make a three to six month post-opening retainer a condition of the launch engagement. It is not unreasonable, but it should be disclosed upfront and priced separately so you can judge it on its own merits.

Ask us these questions

We published this list knowing you might use it on us. Book a free 30-minute consultation and put us through it. Related: how to pick the best F&B consultant and whether you need one at all.