You are about to make a career move, and you want to know what the questions for restaurant manager interview are and how to answer them? We've got you covered!

But the first things - first:

Once you sit down for the interview and before they start with the questions, there will be some small talk. This kind of chit-chat is part of your job description, so make sure you can carry the conversation with ease. The person who leads the interview will observe your body language and want to see that you are engaged and excited to be talking to them.

The first questions they ask will be the most important ones, so make sure you give the correct answer with the right energy. You have to answer the questions with original responses based on your past experiences; don't use cliches! 

And remember, during the interview, you have to decide if you want to work with these people (at least you have to leave such an impression), so don't go all in up-front, stay calm and observe; listen carefully to every word they say.

Questions for restaurant manager interview

1. Tell me about yourself.

A rich answer to this question will give insight into your personal interests as well as professional goals. Understanding your hobbies, personality traits, and ambitions will also determine how you will mesh with the rest of the team and restaurant guests. This question should be a no-brainer — if you struggle to talk about your interests and professional goals and achievements, they will determine that you don't have the personality to lead their team to success. 

Give the interviewer a short, summed-up version of your background and skills; give them insight into what experience and qualifications you think are most relevant to the restaurant manager position.

The best thing to do is to plan your answer carefully and practice:

• What qualities make you an excellent fit for this position? Think of what makes you stand out as a job applicant for this role. Perhaps it's your years of experience or some highly desired specialization, training, or skills. Review the job description closely and note ways that you exceed the requirements.
• Why are you interested in the role? Brainstorm why this position excites you, how it fits into your larger career goals and why you feel it's the best next step.
• Why are you interested in the company or the industry? After you've spent time researching the company and the industry, you should have a better sense of the mission, goals, and trends impacting the industry. Do these align with the professional goals that you've set for yourself? What do you like and respect about the company as a whole? What excites you about the future of the industry? As you start building your story, tie together similarities among your professional goals, the future vision of the company, and industry trends you feel are essential.
• What are the positive traits or characteristics you possess that will serve you well in this role? For example, have friends or colleagues described you as incredibly organized? Curious? Entrepreneurial? Generous? Think about how you've long thought of yourself or how others have seen you. Then, think of recent examples from your life when you embodied that characteristic.
• Is there something unique about your background that makes you stand out from other applicants? As we've mentioned, this is one of the most common interview questions. Therefore, interviewers have heard this answered time and time again. Try to think of something that will hook the interviewer. For example, saying something like, "I've been working in my dad's restaurant since the age of 8," will make an interviewer's ears perk up.

Then create a great story around those questions, using the formula: Present, Past, Future:

Consider how your current job relates to the job you're applying for.

Is it a more senior role? If so, explain how you are taking on more responsibilities in your current position. Give examples. Describe how your existing skills translate into the new job if you are making a lateral transition to a role with different skills.

Mention past experiences and proven successes as they relate to the position.

We are talking only about the required skills (from the new job) that you have! Then tell quick stories that demonstrate them.

Focus on strengths and abilities that you can support with examples.

When you start building the script of each example, focus on details and outcomes that you can quantify if possible. For example, stating that you "improved customer service satisfaction" is less impactful than "increased customer service satisfaction rates each year (or season) by 10–15%." If you don't have the exact information, estimate a realistic value.

Highlight your personality to break the ice.

Since the "Tell me about yourself" interview question is about getting to know you, it's a good idea to share your personality with your interviewer—but no personal details. For example, you may want to briefly mention hobbies that demonstrate intellectual development or community engagement (e.g., reading, music, sports league, volunteering) or those that showcase personal discipline and achievement (e.g., learning a new skill, training for a half marathon). Discussing personal interests is an excellent way to wrap up your response while maintaining a professional tone.

Example:

Currently, I work at XYZ Restaurant as a supervisor (or head waiter). I've been there for just over two years. 

My responsibilities include: Give a complete description of your duties as a supervisor. 

I also help with: Give as many of the Restaurant Manager Job Description tasks you can perform to some extend.

Our restaurant so and so - Give some details about the place ("I love the lively and busy environment of XYZ Restaurant—we often have Friday and Saturday wait times of one hour or more.”)

"Before working at XYZ Restaurant, I worked in retail as a floor associate for a year. This role really developed my customer service skills as I was consistently assisting customers in the store. It also equipped me with the ability to work in a team environment."

"I am looking to further develop my customer service and problem-solving skills as a restaurant manager. I am interested in your restaurant specifically as it has a great reputation for delivering first-in-class customer service to your patrons while being in a lively and dynamic environment."

Dos and don'ts for answering "Tell me about yourself" in an interview

.

Do...

• Connect personal strengths to supporting examples.
• Keep your response to two-three minutes.
• Focus on details and outcomes you can quantify.
• Avoid summarizing your resume word for word.
• Speak to what sets you apart from other candidates.
• Mention past experiences and proven successes.
• Align your current job responsibilities to the role.
• Avoid mentioning personal information related to your marital status, children, political or religious views.
• Highlight your personality.
• Avoid rushing into deeper conversations about the role and company.
• Connect your skills to the job description.
• Briefly mention hobbies, intellectual development, and community involvement.
• Write down an example answer and practice.

Don't...

• Mention highly personal information such as marital status, children, political or religious affiliations, etc. These can be sensitive topics that might work against you as a candidate, not to mention such details should not be factors for the employer in determining your ability to perform the job.
• List multiple, vague strengths without supporting examples. Instead, you may want to choose two or three qualities about yourself. Reinforce each with short, polished stories that your work experience can support.
• Memorize your response. While it's good to practice and remember your key points, you don't want to memorize your answer word-for-word as it has the potential to come across as robotic and unnatural.
• Summarize your resume word for word. Instead, discuss high points that are relevant to the position.
• Rush into conversations regarding what you're looking for in the role or how the company can benefit you—save such topics for the final stages of the interview process when they are "sold" on you as a candidate, and you have more leverage.

2. It looks like your longest tenure at one restaurant was X years (months). What made you stay that long?

This question covers your commitment to their role and, more importantly, the business. It also identifies what you are looking for in a position and why this restaurant might be a good fit. With this question, they will gauge what you prioritize regarding workplace culture and allow them to assess if you would fit in with their team.

- you have been constantly challenged with new and exciting tasks that furthered your development - give examples

- You have gotten a promotion because you have been successful with taking more and more responsibilities

- You have added value to the company and felt it as your own enterprise (examples)

- You have great loyalty to the company

- You have created great friendships and a fantastic team

- It was a well-paid job

You tell them what they want to hear about their company and their team from an employee!

3. What drove you to look for a new opportunity? ( questions for restaurant manager interview)

Warning! It will help if you speak to the positives of your previous position rather than the negatives. 

Ideally, this answer will shed light on your desire for growth, showing your ambitions and forward-thinking. It's not uncommon for this question to lead to a discussion about the relationship between you and your former boss. 

4. What was your role in budgeting and finances in your last position?

This response should dig deep into the importance of monitoring labor against revenue and, of course, inventory. A detailed answer to this question ensures that you understand the goals of any restaurant operation and the impact of your role on successful business decisions. 

If you have no prior experience with this, focus on your eagerness to learn

5. Tell me about a time you had a positive impact on your previous restaurant. What did you do differently?

We already talked about increasing customer satisfaction, or maybe you can increase the bottom line, decrease labor cost, and reduce employee turnover. There are so many ways a manager, a supervisor, or a head waiter can positively impact the company.

This is the question that will determine if you can add value to their restaurant.

6. Tell me about the last team you led. What was the dynamic like? Did you hit your goals? How did you handle staff conflicts?

If you hadn't had direct leadership experience before, you should still be able to talk about how you've exemplified leadership among your peers. In many cases, being seen as a leader among peers says a lot about a candidate because it shows that they can garner respect even without a title. 

Once again, stay on the positive side when talking about your team, the dynamics, and reaching your goals. 

Why do employers ask questions about conflicts at work?

With this question, they're evaluating your communication and listening skills, your patience, your ability to understand the other person's perspective, and then find a resolution or compromise that's in the employer's best interests (even though it's not always what you personally wanted). No one wants to hire someone who's difficult to work with, hot-headed, and will turn minor issues into bigger ones.

• It's vital to understand a restaurant manager's relationship with their past employees because employee performance directly affects the customer experience.
• They want to know if you're able to communicate effectively – with the staff (coworkers), your boss, etc. Good communication can prevent disagreements and almost always stop a dispute from escalating or becoming a more significant issue.
• Next, they want to make sure you stay calm and professional when dealing with conflict at work.
• They want to see that you leave your ego behind and are willing to compromise and work with others to keep the company running smoothly.

Here is an example of a general answer:

"When faced with a conflict, I like to ask questions and understand the employees' perspective. This helps keep the situation calm, helps them feel like they're being heard, and after this, I've found it's much easier to come to an agreement or compromise while everyone is staying a lot calmer."

What are the traits you need to show when answering this question:

- show them that you remain calm, and you try to understand the other person perspective (point of view)

- show them that you think logically and don't take things personally and get too emotional

- show them that you always solve the problem with the company's best interest in mind

7. The saying goes, the customer is always right. Tell me about when you knew the customer wasn't right and how you dealt with it. ( questions for restaurant manager interview)

Providing a positive, diplomatic answer here shows a level of professionalism required when communicating with restaurant guests.

A restaurant manager is composed, understanding, and empathetic to guests, regardless of the situation. Anything less should not be tolerated.

Example: "No matter the reason for the complaint, my goal is to send the guest home knowing that we value their opinion and their business. I want every guest who leaves the restaurant to be happy and satisfied. 

Based on that, it doesn't matter if the guest is right or wrong. I listen to them very carefully, tell them, and show them that I understand their pain; I agree and apologize! Usually, if the guest is wrong, he knows that very well, and an offer of a free drink will make the problem disappear. One way or another, I offer them multiple solutions, and I thank them for voicing the complaint. So far, I have never had a case where a guest has stormed out of the restaurant, determined to never return.

8. Tell me about the best employee you had on your team. ( questions for restaurant manager interview)

The point here is to talk with pride and excitement about someone else doing a great job. That means you can put your ego on the side, not be jealous, and you can foster an environment where all employees want to be like that.

9. Tell me about your experience recruiting employees for your team. ( questions for restaurant manager interview)

Great leaders hire the right people. You should always look for quality and not quantity.

Here is an example of a correct answer:

I always check the CV first. For example, what kind of experience, education, and how long has the person stayed on the previous jobs.

During the interview, I am looking for people with common sense and sound critical judgment, pro-active, and can-do attitude. At the same time, to build a great team, we need people with integrity, team players with the right demeanor. I don't look for people who boast all the time about their achievements, but at the same time, they should be able to express themselves very well. Last but not least, I try to hire waiters who are committed to continuous learning and improvement. For example, to determine if the interviewee is such a person, I am asking a few questions based on their previous job. If they have worked in an Italian restaurant, I will ask about the Italian food and wine if they can't tell me what scamorza or pasta Vongole is. If they don't know 5 Italian red wines, they have not learned on the previous job, so they are not committed to learning anything. 

10. What do you know about our company and what do you think we can do better? ( questions for restaurant manager interview)

This question will weed out candidates who haven't prepared for the interview by researching the restaurant. If you've never actually looked into their restaurant, why do you want to work for them, and how do you know you'd like it?

Beyond that, this question provides the opportunity to showcase how the candidate gives constructive feedback. Someone who glosses over areas of improvement is probably passive — not a great quality in a manager. Instead, you're looking for someone direct and unafraid to offer up ideas. This question also opens the discussion up to areas that a new manager could influence. 

The best way to make a suggestion is to ask questions:

-Do you implement this?

-Have you ever thought about changing this?

-Maybe we can ad this and this?

11. What questions do you have for us? ( questions for restaurant manager interview)

A candidate for a restaurant manager position should always have questions. If a candidate is genuinely interested in a role and organization, they will be naturally curious to learn all that they can. Asking the right questions also ensures that the candidate understands the nature of the role completely.

Ask questions like: What is the number of FOH and BOH employees? What does a busy night look like, number of covers? Where do the majority of the patrons come from? What's the restaurant culture like? What's the percentage of your frequent diners? What is the competition in the area? 

There could be many more questions for restaurant manager interview (salary, scheduling, availability, logistics, etc.), but those are the most common ones. 

Getting a job as a restaurant manager is not easy, especially if you are applying to some of the top restaurants in the world. So prepare yourself well, put on your best smile and friendly attitude, and you will succeed!

Best of luck!

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