300+ TOP Restaurant Manager Interview Questions [UPDATED]

1. Tell Me What Was The Best Company You Have Worked For?

Golden corral Very good plan and communication. A plan for everything and it was trained very well.

2. Explain Me About Your Managing Experiences?

It has been most delightful, I learn that I have a love to see people development and smiling faces that what has kept me in this business for so long.

3. Tell Me Have You Been Offered Any Positions Yet?

I feel that I am moving forward with the best company on the market and that any other positions tried for would be a loss of my integrity.

4. Tell Me What Is Your Best Skill As A Manager?

I take direction as much as I give it. I believe in coaching employees and delegating tasks. I push for hospitality more than I do service.

5. Tell Me What’s Dissatisfy You Nearly All An Early On Job?

Inefficiency bothers me. I believe in giving chances to my staff but if I see that someone’s behavior reflects directly on business, it makes me uncomfortable. And this is why I believe in doing things right the first time.

6. Tell Me What Are Your Inventory Techniques?

I feel inventory should be done in pares once a month unless your food cost is to high after monitoring the garbage and whats coming back from the tables you can do a weekly iventory for a few weeks this should give you the data you need.

7. Tell Me Why Are You Leaving Your Last Position?

The call center that the deli I was managing down sized by 6oo employees, the site moved to a smaller builing and the group went the route of home reps, our services were no longer needed with the company. I was laid off.

8. Tell Me What’s Your Philosophy Towards Work?

I believe in doing things right the first time. If you want customer satisfaction and recurrent business, you have to be meticulous and a charmer.

9. Explain What Promotion Experiences Do You Have?

I have come up with brunch, salsa night, radio remotes, free thanksgiving dinner, deal of the day, bogos, restaurant week, menu designs, happy hours.

10. Suppose Food Cost Rise Above 30%, What Will You Do To Lower The Cost?

Begin weekly or daily inventory on highest price items or desirable items. Have Pre-shift meetings about portion size and waste. Require managers to check all orders in and verify with vendor. Verify that items are being correctly rung in or charged for. Investigate discounts, coupons and comp %. Watch for any unusual patterns with numbers or behavior.

11. Tell Us What Is Your Expected Salary As Restaurant Manager?

Since I have worked as a restaurant supervisor for many years, I believe that my salary requirements should be competitive. Restaurant supervisors earn $32,000 annually and that is what I would like ideally.

12. Explain Me About Your Worst Confrontation With A Customer?

Once had a gentleman come in after a few drinks he started insulting me after a while of me not listening to him he got conformational after that I left the bar and had a manager step in and descaled the problem

13. Tell Us What Part Of The Job Do You Dislike? What Would You Change?

I dislike walking in the fridge to do inventory I would change it by addin a robot that could go in scan the boxes and I stay warm.

14. Explain What New Trends Have You Discovered In The Food Industry?

Extensive reaching with the possible customer thru mass media and social media, giving the best hospitable and ambiance and service, thru dining setup.

15. Do You Know What Are Top 3 Skills For Restaurant Supervisor?

Restaurant supervisors need to possess exceptional leadership skills, be customer oriented and have a knack for food service perfection.

16. Tell Us Have You Ever Been Late To Open The Doors At A Restaurant Before?

I never come to open the door at a restaurant but i always set staffing that door should be open at right time.

17. Tell Me About Your Long-term Career Goals For Restaurant Supervisor?

I intent to become a restaurant general manager. But I am aware of the fact that this is not possible unless I truly understand the core restaurant business. The next decade or so, I intend to learn the ropes and contribute all that I know.

18. Tell Me What Trends Would You Like To Implement At This Restaurant?

I will want all the employee to be a brand ambassador, working with love, passion and zeal.

19. Suppose You See A Server Ready To Take A Burnt Dish To A Customer, What Do You Do?

I try to catch the waiter before he serves the costumer, if this one see the dish I apology and excuse for this. Make sure with the chef a proper one coming asap for the costumer and offert him a discount or anything else, dipends the policy of the company, to excuse the mistake, the waiting time and make him left happy and come back to us again.

20. Tell Me Do Your Capabilities Match This Or Other Job More Carefully?

My capabilities are perfect for a restaurant supervisor position. I am a great communicator, possess exceptional leadership skills and know the restaurant business inside out.

21. Tell Me What Do You Believe Is The Role Of The Manager?

To control the operations and services of the restaurant, to ensure the restaurant is functioning properly and customers are happy with our services and products, providing excellent communication skills with the staff and properly train our employees to keep high standards and service at the restaurant.

22. Explain Your Qualifications As An Assistant Manager?

Talk about your personal attributes, such as loyalty, integrity, ethics, ability to work under pressure, leadership and charisma, orderliness, etc. You can start your answer by giving examples; if you worked as an assistant retail manger you probably had to manage a group of people (mention exact number), hire and fire people, interact effectively with clients, and deal with client complaints.

23. Explain What Do You Know About Our Restaurant?

I have done research on your restaurant traffic has increased for the past ” years , you offer great benefits with options of bonus potential, I have read positive reviews, which leads me to believe your company is where I want to be.

24. Explain Me Why Do You Find The Job Interesting Or Exciting?

The assistant manager’s job may be fairly routine one day and exciting the next. Assistant managers often take over the establishment (like a restaurant) in the absence of the boss. It demands multi-tasking and adaptability, problem solving, and interpersonal skills. It’s a management job with a lot of people interaction.

25. Explain What Make You A Perfect Contender For This Position?

My work background in the restaurant business, acquired skills and qualifications are all perfect for this position.

26. Tell Me Why Do You Want To Become A Manager Of Our Restaurant?

First of all, you can mention the skills you possess, 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.

27. Tell Me Have You Ate At Our Restaurant Before?

Yes, I am a food lover. I have tried many cuisine. And I must say your restro make the best healthy dishes that are tempting too.

28. Explain Me Why Are You The Best Candidate For Us?

You won’t find anyone more devoted, dedicated & hardworking then me. I am very passionate about this job and I want nothing more then to be given this wonderful opportunity, it would honestly change my life.

29. Tell Us 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…

30. Suppose Any Dish Is Not Selling, What Will You Discuss With The Chef?

We can review if we can still do something to improve the taste, presentation and portion. Otherwise, remove it from the menu and replace it with something seemingly saleable.

31. Tell Us What Are Some Of Your Most Proud Accomplishments At Your Last Position?

I increased liquor stock and decreased stock losses on the bar, this took a firm hand with tight controls over staff members, recording all wastage with consequences if not adhered to.

32. Tell Me How Long Will You Stay With Our Company?

Looking for a job I can retire from, so as long as I continue to do a outstanding job for you by meeting and exceeding your expiation.

33. Tell Me Are You Aware Of The Mental Requirements Of The Job?

Mental requirements might be intensive work load, working under pressure, stress, long hours, long periods of standing up and walking, and performing administrative tasks.

34. Tell Us Where Do You See Our Restaurant Going If You Were To Take The Helm?

There is nothing called second in my list i always wanted to lead a restaurant which is unique in the style world class atmosphere , best service and delicious food. and once we have all this in out kitty as i am leading team. crown will take care of us.

35. Explain How Would You Deal With An Employee Who Is Not Meeting Expectations?

The employees at a restaurant greatly impact the success of the operation. If someone is not performing, the restaurant may suffer. Interviewers often ask what you would do in these scenarios. They may provide you with a hypothetical situation or ask for an example from your previous experience.

36. Tell Me 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).

37. Suppose You’ve Noticed The Chef Using Expired Ingredients, What Do You Say?

I need to correct him not to serve expired products it will suffer the food quality as well and I will take some action on this by bringing this to upper management.

38. Tell Me What Would You Do To Prepare For A Health Inspection?

Part of your job as a restaurant manager is to maintain a clean and healthy environment for the guests and staff. Some people assume that they can simply clean before the inspection happens. This is not the best idea because inspections can happen when you least expect them. Instead, it is better to discuss the things you would do daily to ensure that your restaurant meets the health standards.

39. Explain 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.

40. Explain What Are Most Common Mistakes For This Job And How To Solve Them?

Restaurant supervisors may end up making mistakes while on duty. Some common ones are not overseeing food preparation work constantly, not handling staffing issues properly and failing to provide excellence in customer service. All these are easy to overcome through meticulousness and deep knowledge of the actual job description of a restaurant supervisor.

41. Explain Me Top 3 Of Your Greatest Weaknesses That Related To Restaurant Supervisor? And How Do You Improve Them?

I would probably coin them limitations and not weaknesses.

Firstly, I am a stickler for perfection. So if I find that things are not done to perfection, it bothers me. To counter this, I try to control myself when I see less than perfect work done.

Secondly, I believe that I am too meticulous. I am forever straightening napkins and chairs which puts my staff at dis-ease. I check myself often not to do this.

Lastly, I am quite upright about calculations. At the end of the day, I make it my job to balance the cash drawer myself. It is not my job but I like to leave things tallied. This too I am trying to handle by trusting my staff enough to know that they will do a good job.

42. Explain Me About Your Cost-control Abilities?

Weigh, portion, and train cooks to proper portioning and waste measurments to control the amount of product going to waste, establish a suitable schedule to properly cover the shifts in the restaurant and throughout the shift examine the activity of customers and employees standing around etc. send home staff that is not needed, and control ot. work the position if slow as the manager controlling hourly paid employee hours.

43. Explain What Makes You An Effective Manager?

I believe I would make a very effective manager because I possess the traits that make a good leader. I am kind, fair and can be stern without causing conflict. I am passionate, motivated and inventive. I know that I could lead a team while also being willing to listen to new ideas and delegate when needed. I feel that I am very responsible and I would do just about anything to not let my peers or superiors down.

44. Tell Me Why Do You Want This Food Service Management Position?

Seems an obvious enough question, but you should come to the interview ready to explain just how passionate you are about the job (and if you aren’t, well, it might be time to pick another profession). Key answers here identify both why the role fits your personality and life goals, and why you appreciate the company.

45. Tell Me As Part Of Your Previous Management Experience, Did You Make Reports And Presentations For The Senior Management?

All assistant managers report to senior management. Assistant managers keep their managers updated with oral and written reports.

46. Explain Why Did You Have To Fire Someone, Or Explain To Me Your Worst Employee At Your Last Restaurant?

Put the ball in their court, if this was your restaurant would you allow this, they say no, then you understand why I can no longer employ you, I would always make the employee aware of areas of opportunity, give them a window of time to improve then take action.

47. Explain How Would You Manage A Shift That Is Understaffed?

One of the key components to a successful restaurant is a healthy and sufficient staff. In the event that someone calls in sick, you need to be able to problem solve so the restaurant continues to run smoothly. For example, you might call the other employees who are not working to get the shifts covered. You can also try to enforce a policy that discourages employees from calling in sick.

48. Explain What Have You Learned From Mistakes At Other Positions?

You won’t appear credible unless you have a specific example at hand. Before you head to the interview, reflect on your previous experiences and write down any scenarios in which you grew from an event. Your best bet may be to choose one of these events in which the mistake was inconsequential and unintentional, but resulted in lessons learned.

49. For Your Information, We Are Struggling With Leadership In Our Restaurant, How Will Your Leadership Make Us Better?

I will have a ono to one meeting with the management staff,address the situation by show them that we are as a team need to regroup and work together for our company benefit and for our personal ones!

50. As You Know Inventory Reports, Revenue Reports, Payroll Reports, Etc, Are Very Important To Us, How Can You Demonstrate To Me How You Will Handle This With Precision And Keeping Them Most Up-to-date?

Have a scheduled time to do inventory, delegate and gather information weekly, and double check before submitting to Management.

51. Explain What One Goal Did You Set For Yourself That You Missed At Your Last Restaurant? What Did You Learn?

I wanted to grow with the company with a view to owning a franchise later but my transfer derailed the plan, however, I learnt that change is the only constant thing in life because my transfer actually opened my eyes to other possibilities.

52. Explain What Have You Learned From Your Past Jobs That Related To Restaurant Supervisor?

The most important thing that I have learnt is that the customer is indeed always right – even when he is wrong. Unless the situation is really grave, it is important to satisfy your customers completely to retain their business.

53. Explain Me What Challenges Are You Looking For In This Position?

Employers are just as reserved about hiring people who are overqualified as they are about hiring those who are underqualified. You’ll want to come across as being competent to hold the job, but also how it will provide an exciting challenge for you. Discuss how you would effectively use your skills and experience, and how you are motivated by challenges. Be prepared to give specific examples of personal and employer-given goals you have met and exceeded in the past.

54. Tell Me In Your Life, What Experiences Have Been Most Important To You That Related To Restaurant Supervisor?

Working as a restaurant supervisor means that you meet new people every day. And meeting new people from different walks of life is a great experience.

55. Explain How You Would Be A Resource For Our Restaurant?

I am tenacious, resourceful and know the restaurant business inside out. I also have vast experience in leading and training restaurant staff and I am positive that this experience will be a great contribution.

56. Explain Me What Is Your Greatest Weakness And What Are You Doing To Improve It?

I missed a bite about high technology system but I am not shame to ask help to know how to use it, usually I need to see once or a list twice the programation until know it perfectly.

57. Tell Me How Extensive Is Your Wine Knowledge?

I cannot say I have a very extensive knowledge of wine, however my parents used to make their own wine and I know of many wine consumers who would be willing to expand my knowledge.

58. Explain Me About The Last Restaurant You Worked At?

It was an ice lounge which was totally freezing temperature, where we use to serve piping hot food and hot drinks, it was of 90 covers, fine dining.

59. Explain What Makes You The Best Candidate For This Position?

Well, its passion for me being as hospitality member, I am enjoying my job, my experience make me more confident, i have positive attitude, I have done best job in present company, achieved all the goal in my previous company.

60. Tell Me What Are Some Ways You Deal With Customer Complaints?

Do you have any specific examples? When you work in a restaurant, it is important to have positive customer feedback. This ensures that people keep coming back, and it is also a great way to get referrals. In the event of a customer complaint, it is important to take quick action so the problem does not escalate. Sometimes the interviewer may provide a hypothetical situation for you to resolve. Make sure to discuss what you would do to rectify the problem and provide examples from the past.

61. Tell Us What Questions Do You Have For Us?

What is the top priority for the person in this position over the next three months? What qualities have previous managers had that helped them succeed in this position?

62. Tell Me What Experiences Do You Have In The Restaurant Field?

I have almost 10 years experience working in the field. It includes working in fine dining, exclusive private events, corporate setting, steak house and casual dining.

63. Explain How Well Do You Get To Know The Customers That Visit Your Establishment?

I am a very observant and attentive person. After observing customers for a while, I try to create a rapport by studying their preferred products and using that to strike a conversation.

64. Why Did You Leave Your Last Job As Restaurant Manager?

I was looking for a little more challenge. While I loved my work immensely, I believe that I have a lot more to offer to a bigger concern.

65. Tell Me Which Thing Is More Important – Money Or Work?

Money is important to survive but the work is even more important. Work makes us what we are. Money comes later.

66. Tell Us Why Do You Think That The Position Of An Assistant Manager Is Important For The Company?

Be confident answering in the affirmative. The assistant manager’s role is exciting and challenging as you work closely with an executive of the company. It is a job that is all about management and applying management skills. The assistant manager often communicates with staff, managers, and customers, and directly oversees customer service. Assistant managers play an important part in ensuring profit and a good name for the organization.

67. Explain A Typical Work Week For A Food Management Position?

Employers expect a supervisor candidate to discuss what they do and how they do it in detail. Before the interview, you’ll want to be well-versed in the duties that will be required of you. Talk with a colleague or reflect on your own previous positions that relate to the desired job and make note of all the key details. The more you can connect past experiences and know-how with the current job opening, the more successful you’ll be at answering questions related to this topic. Good topics to cover include showcasing how you’re organized and timely.

68. Explain Do You Have Experience Hiring And/or Firing Personnel?

If you do, don’t hesitate to give examples of firing people, as long as you explain your decision clearly and confidently. Further, explain you decision process on hiring new employees. Be specific and confident about your past decisions on employee hiring, professional development, and retention.

69. Tell Me How Do You Apply Iso 9001 To Your Job?

ISO 9001 is a quality management system which is aimed at improving the operations of a business. In a restaurant environment, the system lays out requirements that are necessary to run a restaurant in terms of operational stability, quality of food and personal hygiene of food service workers.

70. What Irritates You About Co-employees?

There is just one thing i.e. Inefficiency.

71. Tell Me What Are The Key Tasks For Restaurant Supervisor?

Restaurant supervisors provide leadership to restaurant staff. They create and disseminate schedules and duties, oversee food preparation activities, control inventories of food and equipment, recommend measures to improve work procedures and ensure that customers have a good dining experience.

72. Tell Me What Is Your Main Weakness That You’d Like To Improve Upon As A Manager?

I am a perfectionist and tend to want to do things myself but I have continously learnt to delegate because that is the only way to make my employee better and have a good succession plan.

73. Explain What Are Your Experiences With Hiring A Staff?

I have a strong ability to hire, I had the opportunity to open brand new store locations, on two different occasions,with the responsibility having to hire the entire staff.

74. Explain What Are Your Goals For My Restaurant?

I would like to contribute to making the restaurant one of the most talked about restaurants that gives great customer care, great food and drinks, with a friendly family atmosphere, take control of profit margins, and help to develop team members.

75. Tell Me Do You Enjoy Talking To Customers?

I do not have any problems speaking with customers when the need arises. I am excellent communicator and likeable.

76. Explain Me What Is Your Greatest Strength?

I am an extremely hard working and quick leaning person. I have got good communication skills. I have got similar working experience. I can easily adapt with d change in working culture. I have team work spirit.

77. Explain Me A Situation Where A Customer Was Upset And You Handled The Situation?

A customer had found a hair in her food, after apologizing for the event I assured her that all necessary precautions have been taken and that this incident will be look into more intensely, I showed her that all our staff wear the required gear and take the needed precautions, I replaced her meal and offered a discount for a future date at the restaurant. She left satisfied – I addressed the problem immediately, took care of her needs and showed her that the problems is not one that happens often and will be dealt with even more care in the future.