Free template · Retail / Hospitality
Performance review template for a restaurant general manager
A ready-to-use, section-by-section template with the competencies that matter for a restaurant general manager, role-specific example phrases, and a guard against the stock filler that makes most reviews read as generic. Copy the structure, fill in your evidence, or skip the writing entirely with Crestento.
The template
Four sections, in this order. Length should match the evidence you have — a thin section is honest; an invented paragraph is not.
Summary
One or two paragraphs setting the context: what was expected of restaurant general manager this period, and your overall verdict. Lead with the headline.
Example phrasing
“Held food cost at 28.4% (target 30%), labour at 24.1% (target 25%), grew comp revenue 7% YoY through targeted lunch-shift programming, promoted two servers into AGM roles, and passed the surprise health inspection at 96 (up from 87 prior year).”
Strengths
The behaviours and outcomes that made the work happen. Anchor in evidence: comp revenue (YoY), food cost percent, labour cost percent.
- Evidence for: comp sales and revenue performance.
- Evidence for: food and labour cost control.
- Evidence for: team retention and development.
- Evidence for: guest experience (Yelp / Google / OpenTable / NPS).
Areas for Growth
Forward-looking development edges. Frame as opportunities, not deficiencies. Specific behaviours to develop, not generic restaurant general manager criticism.
- One pattern observed across the period.
- One specific behaviour to develop.
- One concrete next step.
Goals for the Next Period
Two or three concrete goals. Each should name a specific behaviour change, a measurable target, and a deadline. Avoid vague aspirations.
Competencies to evaluate
The 7 competencies a strong restaurant general manager review structures around, in priority order. Use these as the spine of the Strengths and Areas for Growth sections.
- comp sales and revenue performance
- food and labour cost control
- team retention and development
- guest experience (Yelp / Google / OpenTable / NPS)
- food safety and health-code compliance
- vendor and supplier relationships
- FOH / BOH operations leadership
Before you write
Restaurant GMs run a P&L with two of the tightest cost lines in business — food and labour. The work is daily: line of sight on prime cost, schedule discipline, guest experience, food safety. Strong GMs build teams that stay together and standards that hold under volume. Weak GMs hit short-term cost targets by squeezing the team or the food quality.
Evidence to gather
Strong reviews for a restaurant general manager cite evidence of these shapes. Only use a specific value (a percentage, a count, a dollar amount) if you actually have it — don’t invent a number to sound concrete.
- comp revenue (YoY)
- food cost percent
- labour cost percent
- prime cost (food + labour)
- guest-experience signal (Yelp / Google / NPS trend)
- staff retention and internal-promotion count
- health-inspection score
Where to find the evidence
Work products a restaurant general manager produces. Reference these by name in the review when they’re relevant — it signals you know the work.
- weekly P&L review
- schedule and labour-planning sheets
- food-inventory and waste-tracking logs
- guest-feedback action items
- health-inspection responses
- vendor scorecards
- FOH / BOH meeting cadence notes
Phrasing that lands vs phrasing that doesn’t
Strong — specific, evidenced, role-appropriate
“Held food cost at 28.4% (target 30%), labour at 24.1% (target 25%), grew comp revenue 7% YoY through targeted lunch-shift programming, promoted two servers into AGM roles, and passed the surprise health inspection at 96 (up from 87 prior year).”
Weak — vague, unevidenced, generic
“Strong restaurant GM, great with the team and guests.”
Phrases to never use
Stock filler that AI-written restaurant general manager reviews slip into. Managers spot it instantly. Rewrite to name a specific behaviour instead.
- “strong restaurant GM”
- “great with the team”
- “passionate about hospitality”
- “trusted leader”
- “drives the business”
- “consistently delivers”
- “raises the standard”
- “natural hospitality leader”
Don’t invent these specifics
The details an AI tends to fabricate for restaurant general managerreviews. If you don’t have the specific number, name, or date in your notes, leave it out — generic-but-honest beats specific-but- invented every time.
- specific food / labour cost percentages not in input
- specific revenue / comp numbers not provided
- named team members promoted when not in input
- specific health-inspection scores not in input
- named guests or specific review situations not provided
Skip the template, generate the review
Drop your bullet points into Crestento and it produces the polished draft using this exact template structure, tuned for a restaurant general manager. Two reviews free, no card.
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