And I need you to really hear that.
Because I've seen too many restaurants treating their Toast menu like it's just "buttons on a screen" — slapping items together, copying what worked at the last place, hoping it all figures itself out.
It doesn't.
Every operational nightmare I walk into — broken COGS, XtraChef recipes that don't match reality, 86'd items showing up on DoorDash, servers asking "wait, which button do I press?" — traces back to one thing:
A menu that was built without a plan.
So today, I'm walking you through exactly how I approach a full Toast menu buildout. From hierarchy to modifiers to 3rd party strategy.
This is the stuff that separates "we use Toast" from "we actually know what we're doing."
Let's get into it.
STEP 1: Menu Hierarchy — The Foundation of Everything
Before you touch a single button, you need to understand how Toast organizes menus.
Here's the structure:
Menus → Groups → Items
Your Menu is the top level. Think "Lunch Menu" or "Dinner Menu" or "Weekend Brunch."
Your Groups live inside menus. These are your categories — Appetizers, Salads, Entrees, Desserts, Beverages.
Your Items live inside groups. These are the actual dishes — Caesar Salad, Margherita Pizza, Tiramisu.
Simple enough, right?
Here's where it gets tricky.
STEP 2: Day-Specific Menus — Toast's Current Limitation
Let's say you only serve brunch on weekends. Or you have a happy hour menu from 4-6pm on weekdays.
At this time, Toast only allows you to set availability at the MENU level.
Not the item level. Not the group level. The menu level.
So if you want certain items to only appear on certain days or times, you need to create separate menus for those windows.
- Weekend Brunch Menu (available Sat-Sun 9am-2pm)
- Happy Hour Menu (available Mon-Fri 4pm-6pm)
- Late Night Menu (available Fri-Sat 10pm-1am)
Yes, this means more menus to manage. But it's the only way to control availability right now.
Pro tip: Hopefully Toast changes this in the future and allows item-level availability. But until then — plan your menus around your dayparts.
STEP 3: Groups — What Goes Where
Once your menus are mapped out, it's time to build your groups.
This seems straightforward, but I see people mess it up constantly.
Think about how your kitchen operates, not just how the menu reads.
If your kitchen has separate stations — grill, sauté, cold apps, desserts — your groups should mirror that flow. This makes ticket routing cleaner and reduces chaos during a rush.
Also consider:
- Do you want Beverages in one group or split into Alcoholic/Non-Alcoholic?
- Are Kids Meals their own group or buried inside Entrees?
- Do you have a "Sides" group or are sides only available as modifiers?
Get this wrong and your servers are hunting for items during service. Get it right and the POS practically runs itself.
STEP 4: Menu Items — The Deep Dive
Now we get into the weeds. Every single menu item needs to be thought through.
For each item, ask yourself:
What can be REMOVED from this dish?
- No onions
- No cheese
- No croutons
What MODIFICATIONS can be made?
- Substitute fries for salad
- Dressing on the side
- Cook temperature (rare, medium, well)
Where is this item VISIBLE?
- POS only?
- Online Ordering?
- 3rd Party Delivery (DoorDash, UberEats, Grubhub)?
This matters because you might want certain items available in-house but NOT on delivery apps. Or vice versa.
Here's what kills me:
People set up modifiers without thinking about where they're visible. Then a guest orders online and sees "Add Bacon" but when they try to remove lettuce? Not an option. Because no one turned on visibility for that modifier in Online Ordering.
Check. Every. Single. One.
STEP 5: Modifiers & Modifier Groups — Where It Gets Complex
Modifiers are where most menus fall apart.
Let's break it down:
Modifiers are the individual options — Add Bacon, Sub Gluten-Free Bun, Extra Cheese.
Modifier Groups are containers that hold related modifiers — "Protein Add-Ons," "Salad Dressing Choices," "Cook Temperature."
Here's the critical question most people skip:
Will this modifier be used on multiple dishes?
If yes, the portion size of that modifier matters enormously.
Example: You have "Add Grilled Chicken" as a modifier.
- On your Caesar Salad, it's a 6oz portion
- On your Grain Bowl, it's a 4oz portion
If you only create ONE modifier called "Add Grilled Chicken" and assign it to both dishes, your recipe costing in XtraChef is going to be WRONG for at least one of them.
The fix: Create portion-specific modifiers when needed — "Add Grilled Chicken (6oz)" and "Add Grilled Chicken (4oz)" — OR use different modifier groups for different dish types.
This is the stuff that makes your AvT report scream at you and you have no idea why.
STEP 6: Group Modifiers — The All-or-Nothing Play
Here's a feature most people don't fully understand: Group Modifiers.
A group modifier applies to EVERY item in a group. All or nothing.
Example: You have a Salads group with 8 different salads. You want guests to be able to add protein to ANY salad — grilled chicken, shrimp, salmon, steak.
Instead of manually adding that modifier group to all 8 salads individually, you create it as a Group Modifier on the Salads group itself.
Now every salad automatically gets the "Add Protein" option.
The catch: It's all or nothing. If you have one salad that shouldn't allow protein add-ons (maybe it already comes with steak), you either:
- Move that salad to a different group, OR
- Accept that the modifier will appear and train staff to handle it
Group modifiers are powerful but require planning. Don't slap them on without thinking through every item in that group.
STEP 7: 3rd Party Delivery Menus — Same Item, Different Behavior
Should your DoorDash menu look exactly like your in-store menu?
Probably not.
Here's why:
- Some items don't travel well (crispy fries, delicate plating)
- You might want to limit options to speed up delivery prep
- Pricing might be different to offset commission fees
- Modifier options might be simplified for fewer errors
The solution: Create a separate menu specifically for 3rd party delivery.
BUT — and this is critical — use the SAME ITEMS.
Do NOT create duplicate items like "Cheeseburger" and "Cheeseburger (Delivery)."
Why? Because now you have two items to manage. Two items to update when prices change. Two items that need separate recipes in XtraChef. Two items that split your sales data.
Instead: Use the same item, but control its visibility. Turn it ON for the 3rd Party Delivery menu. Adjust which modifiers are visible. Control it at the menu and modifier level — not by duplicating items.
This keeps your data clean, your recipes accurate, and your sanity intact.
STEP 8: Think Ahead — Inventory & Recipe Management
Here's where I see the biggest long-term mistakes.
You build your menu in Toast. It works. Service is smooth. Great.
Then six months later, you implement XtraChef for recipe costing and inventory management.
And suddenly everything is a disaster.
Why?
Because your menu wasn't built with integration in mind.
- Items are named inconsistently
- Modifiers don't match recipe components
- Portion sizes are all over the place
Ready to Get This Right?
Whether you need an audit of your current menu, you're transitioning to Toast from another system, or you're opening a restaurant and want to build it right from day one — let's talk.
BOOK A FREE CONSULTATION HERE!
We'll look at where you are, where you're headed, and what you actually need to make your menu work FOR you — not against you.
Because the foundation matters. And I'd rather help you build it right than watch you tear it down later.