Free Template

Restaurant roster template

A clear, practical restaurant roster template to help you schedule front of house and kitchen staff without coverage gaps.

Why this structure works

Restaurant Roster Template Structure

1. HEADER INFORMATION
- Week Commencing: [Date]
- Target Labour Budget: [$$$]
- Special Events / Notes: [e.g. Large booking Friday 7pm, new menu launch Tuesday]

2. FRONT OF HOUSE (FOH)
Shift Roles: Manager (MGR), Bartender (BAR), Server (SVR), Runner (RUN), Host (HST)

Monday
- Open (08:00 - 16:00): [Name] (MGR), [Name] (BAR), [Name] (SVR)
- Mid (11:00 - 17:00): [Name] (SVR)
- Close (16:00 - 00:00): [Name] (MGR), [Name] (BAR), [Name] (SVR), [Name] (RUN)

[Repeat for Tuesday - Sunday]

3. KITCHEN (BOH)
Shift Roles: Head Chef (HC), Sous Chef (SC), Chef de Partie (CDP), Prep (PRP), Kitchen Porter (KP)

Monday
- Open (07:00 - 15:00): [Name] (HC), [Name] (CDP), [Name] (PRP)
- Close (15:00 - 23:00): [Name] (SC), [Name] (CDP), [Name] (KP)

[Repeat for Tuesday - Sunday]

4. WEEKLY SUMMARY & HANDOFF
- Total FOH Hours: [Hours]
- Total BOH Hours: [Hours]
- Approved by: [Manager Name]
- Published Date: [Date]

The best rosters are predictable. When staff open a schedule, they look for two things: when they are working, and who they are working with. Grouping shifts by department and clearly stating the roles (MGR, BAR, SVR) removes ambiguity about responsibilities.

What the roster should show

Record each shift by day, start and finish time, department, role and assigned team member. Keep open shifts visible rather than hiding gaps inside a notes column.

Plan service before names

Start with the coverage each trading period needs across front of house, kitchen, bar and management. Assign available people only after the operating pattern is clear.

Publish early

Give your team at least two weeks' notice. A roster published on Sunday evening for a Monday morning start makes it harder to plan and affects staff morale.

Track the totals

Always calculate total scheduled hours before publishing. It’s much easier to trim a shift on Thursday than it is to send someone home early during a slow service.

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