Restaurants interview questions

One concept is losing money, and its lease renewal is due in six months. How do you decide what to do?

Situational · Fix or close

Strong answer

Reviews the P&L trend, separates fixable problems from structural ones, prices a remodel or relaunch, weighs lease terms and closing costs, and plans for the team either way.

Red flags

Renews to avoid a hard call, or closes without looking at a fix.

A food safety incident at one restaurant is on the local news. What do you do in the first two days?

Situational · Public food safety incident

Strong answer

Puts guests first, gets the facts, cooperates with the health department, issues an honest statement, fixes the cause, supports the team and checks every location's systems.

Red flags

Denies it, goes silent, or blames one employee publicly.

How do you decide where to open your next restaurant?

Technical · Choosing new sites

Strong answer

Weighs demographics, traffic, competition, occupancy cost against expected sales, the local labor market, concept fit, and whether there's a manager ready to run it.

Red flags

Opens where a landlord offers a deal.

Tell me about a time you raised capital or renegotiated financing for a restaurant group.

Behavioral · Financing

Strong answer

Explains the need, the options considered, the terms won, and how they kept lenders or investors informed afterward.

Red flags

Describes it vaguely, or let the CFO handle it without understanding the terms.

Tell me about a senior leader you hired who made the business better, and how you chose them.

Behavioral · Senior hiring

Strong answer

Defined the gap and what success looked like, used a structured process with references, and shows what changed after the hire.

Red flags

Hired a friend or a big name without a process.

Tell me about a restaurant you opened that underperformed, and what you did.

Behavioral · Underperforming openings

Strong answer

Owns it, diagnosed it, acted, and names the lesson they applied to later openings.

Red flags

Blames the market and changed nothing.

Walk me through how you'd build a labor model that every GM schedules from.

Technical · Building a labor model

Strong answer

Staffing guide by covers and daypart for each position, minimum crews, productivity targets, labor cost by sales level, built into the scheduling tool and reviewed regularly.

Red flags

Tells GMs to hit a labor percentage and figure it out.

Cooling log problems show up at three restaurants in one month. What do you do?

Situational · Repeated inspection findings

Strong answer

Treats it as a system issue: tools such as ice wands and shallow pans, a simpler log, training with the Culinary Director, and an audit focus until it's fixed.

Red flags

Writes up three managers and changes nothing else.

Your broadline distributor raises prices across the board at renewal. How do you respond?

Situational · Distributor renewal

Strong answer

Benchmarks prices, gets competing bids, negotiates on volume and pricing terms, and reviews specs before switching.

Red flags

Accepts it, or switches on price alone and breaks supply.

Tell me about a restaurant opening you led and what you'd do differently next time.

Behavioral · Openings

Strong answer

Walks through the timeline, hiring and training plan, what went wrong, and a specific change they'd make.

Red flags

Says everything went fine, or can't describe the plan.

Tell me about a time you rolled out new technology, such as a POS or scheduling system, across locations.

Behavioral · Technology rollout

Strong answer

Piloted first, trained managers, supported the launch on site, and measured adoption and problems afterward.

Red flags

Turned it on and left GMs to figure it out.

Tell me about a serious incident you managed, such as a major injury or a liquor liability claim.

Behavioral · Serious incidents

Strong answer

Describes the immediate response, documentation, insurer and legal steps, and the system change that followed.

Red flags

Handled it as a one-off and changed nothing.

Walk me through how you'd build the financial model for a new restaurant site.

Technical · New-site model

Strong answer

Sales forecast from covers and check average with a ramp-up period, build-out and pre-opening costs, rent and occupancy, prime cost, controllables, cash flow and payback, plus a downside case.

Red flags

A single sales number and a gut feel.

Comps and voids at one restaurant doubled after a new manager started. What do you do?

Situational · Comp and void spike

Strong answer

Reviews by reason, time and manager login, checks voids after payment, works with the Director of Operations, and tightens approval limits if needed.

Red flags

Assumes the new manager is stealing, or ignores it.

A loan covenant is at risk after a slow quarter. What do you do?

Situational · Covenant risk

Strong answer

Tells the CEO, forecasts the next quarters, plans cost actions, and talks with the lender early about options.

Red flags

Waits and hopes the next quarter is better.

Tell me about a control you put in place that stopped cash, comp or inventory loss in a restaurant.

Behavioral · Controls that worked

Strong answer

Names the control, such as blind drawer counts, void approvals or weekly inventory, how it caught a problem and what it saved.

Red flags

Controls existed on paper but no one checked them.

Tell me about a time your analysis changed a decision to open, remodel or close a location.

Behavioral · Numbers that changed decisions

Strong answer

Describes the model, the decision it changed, such as walking away from a lease, and what happened afterward.

Red flags

Built analysis that leadership ignored and didn't push back.

Tell me about a time you helped a GM understand their P&L well enough to act on it.

Behavioral · Teaching P&Ls

Strong answer

Walked the GM through specific lines such as labor or beverage cost, agreed on one action, and the line improved.

Red flags

Emails reports and assumes GMs read them.

Profit has been behind budget for two months while sales are on plan. Where do you look?

Situational · Profit behind budget

Strong answer

Walks the P&L: food, beverage and labor cost, comps and voids, controllables and price changes, compares actual to theoretical with the chef, and sets fixes with owners.

Red flags

Cuts staff hours without looking at the lines.

The health inspector cites cold-holding temperatures and an expired manager certificate. What do you do?

Situational · Health inspection findings

Strong answer

Discards product that can't be proven safe, gets the cooler fixed, puts certified food protection manager coverage in place as your local code requires, retrains, and corrects by the inspector's deadline.

Red flags

Argues with the inspector, or fixes the cooler and stops there.

Walk me through how you review the weekly comp and void report.

Technical · Reviewing comps and voids

Strong answer

Looks by manager, server, reason and time, watches for voids after payment and comps with no reason, ties them to cash, and follows up.

Red flags

Doesn't review it, or only looks at the total.

Tell me about a time you cut turnover among servers or cooks.

Behavioral · Reducing turnover

Strong answer

Used exit data to find the cause, such as scheduling, pay or a manager, made specific changes, and shows the drop.

Red flags

Has no numbers, or the fix was a staff party.

Tell me about a time you disagreed with your chef and worked it out.

Behavioral · Working with the chef

Strong answer

Brought data and guest feedback, listened to the kitchen's side, and reached a decision both supported.

Red flags

Went around the chef to the owner, or gave up.

Tell me about a time you had to let a kitchen or floor manager go.

Behavioral · Firing a manager

Strong answer

Set clear expectations, documented coaching, involved HR, and handled the exit and the team announcement with respect.

Red flags

Avoided it for months while the team suffered.

The same dish tastes different at two locations. How do you find out why?

Situational · Consistency across kitchens

Strong answer

Visits both, compares recipe steps, product brands and specs, equipment, portioning and training, then fixes the cause and retrains.

Red flags

Blames one chef without checking.

Walk me through how you cost a new dish and set its menu price.

Technical · Costing and pricing

Strong answer

Recipe card with yields and trim loss, portion cost, garnish and sides, target food cost, menu mix and the market price, then tests it.

Red flags

Prices by what competitors charge.

Walk me through how you'd keep every kitchen's allergen chart accurate when a supplier changes a product.

Technical · Allergen accuracy

Strong answer

Approved product specs, ingredient statements required, substitution alerts, chart updates before the product hits the line, and training.

Red flags

Updates charts when someone notices.

Actual food cost at one kitchen is far above theoretical. Where do you look?

Situational · Food cost gap

Strong answer

Count accuracy, receiving and pricing, waste, portioning, recipe yields, menu mix and possible theft, with the chef.

Red flags

Tells the chef to cut portions.

Tell me about an Executive Chef who was struggling and how you handled it.

Behavioral · Leading chefs

Strong answer

Named the specific gap, such as cost control or leading the team, set a plan with dates, supported them, and either they improved or a change was made.

Red flags

Took over the kitchen personally, or let it drift for months.

Tell me about a menu change that didn't work and what you did.

Behavioral · Menu misses

Strong answer

Uses menu mix or cost data to show why it missed, changes the dish, price or placement, and checks the result.

Red flags

Blames the guests or the cooks, or kept a failing dish for months.

One GM's restaurant has the best sales in the group but the worst audit scores and highest turnover. What do you do?

Situational · Strong sales, weak operation

Strong answer

Visits unannounced, digs into the audit findings and why people leave, sets a coaching plan with deadlines, and holds the GM to it regardless of sales.

Red flags

Lets it slide because of the sales.

A guest posts online that they got sick after eating at one of your restaurants. What do you do?

Situational · Illness complaints

Strong answer

Has the GM contact the guest privately, gathers details, checks that day's logs and staff illness reports, checks for other complaints, contacts the health department where required, and avoids arguing publicly.

Red flags

Argues with the guest online, or ignores it.

Walk me through what you check on an unannounced restaurant visit.

Technical · Unannounced visits

Strong answer

Food safety logs, temps and labels, handwashing, cleanliness, alcohol service and IDs, cash handling, service standards and the manager log, then a written fix list for the GM.

Red flags

Eats lunch, chats with the GM and leaves without a written list.

Tell me about a time you replaced a general manager.

Behavioral · Replacing a GM

Strong answer

Set expectations with dates, documented coaching, involved HR, made the call, and had a plan for running the restaurant during the gap.

Red flags

Waited a year while the restaurant suffered, or fired with no warning.

Tell me about an assistant GM you developed into a general manager.

Behavioral · Developing managers

Strong answer

Named the gaps, such as P&L or hiring, gave them ownership of part of the business, coached regularly, and the person succeeded as a GM.

Red flags

Takes credit for a promotion without saying what they did.

Tell me about a time you rolled out a new menu or policy across several restaurants.

Behavioral · Multi-unit rollouts

Strong answer

Trained GMs first, gave clear instructions and deadlines, checked in person, and fixed the restaurants that lagged.

Red flags

Sent an email and assumed every restaurant followed it.

Walk me through how you'd write next week's front-of-house schedule from forecast covers and a labor budget.

Technical · Scheduling to a labor budget

Strong answer

Starts from covers by shift, reservations, large parties and events, staffs by the house guide, staggers start times and planned cuts, checks the result against the labor budget, and posts on time within any local scheduling rules.

Red flags

Copies last week's schedule, or staffs by who wants hours.

Comps on one Floor Manager's shifts are double everyone else's. What do you do?

Situational · Comp and void patterns

Strong answer

Pulls the comp report by reason and table, checks whether the kitchen had problems on those nights, talks with the Floor Manager privately, and coaches or tightens limits based on what they find.

Red flags

Ignores it because guests seem happy, or accuses the manager before looking at the data.

A new server finished training but failed the menu and allergen test. You're short-staffed this weekend. What do you do?

Situational · Training standards

Strong answer

Doesn't give them a full section. Adds shadow shifts, retrains on the gaps, retests by a set date, and covers the weekend another way.

Red flags

Puts them on the floor anyway because the restaurant needs bodies.

Tell me about the best front-of-house hire you've made and what you saw in the interview that told you.

Behavioral · Hiring hourly staff

Strong answer

Names specific signals, such as how the person handled a role-play or talked about past guests, and how the hire performed.

Red flags

"Good vibe," or can't recall what they looked for.

Tell me about a time you held an experienced server to a standard they didn't want to follow.

Behavioral · Holding standards

Strong answer

Explained why the standard mattered, was specific and private, followed up, and the server either came around or faced consequences.

Red flags

Let it go because the server had big sales.

Tell me about a time you were the manager in charge and something went seriously wrong during service.

Behavioral · Running the building

Strong answer

Stayed calm, made a clear call, protected guests and staff, communicated, and logged it for the GM.

Red flags

Waited for someone else to decide, or hid it from the GM.

Pour cost is up several points this month. Walk me through how you'd find out why.

Technical · Pour cost variance

Strong answer

Checks count accuracy, invoice prices, the waste and comp logs, POS sales against product used by brand, pour spot checks and menu mix changes, then acts on the cause.

Red flags

Tells bartenders to pour less and moves on.

A bartender cut off a regular's friend, and the regular is now yelling at the bartender. What do you do?

Situational · Backing up a cut-off

Strong answer

Steps in, backs the bartender, talks calmly with the guests away from the bar, holds the decision, helps arrange a safe ride, and logs the incident.

Red flags

Overrides the bartender to keep the regular happy.

A distributor rep offers free cases if you make their vodka the well brand. How do you respond?

Situational · Supplier inducements

Strong answer

Recognizes that free goods for placement can break your state's alcohol trade rules, declines or checks with the GM and the state agency first, and keeps buying decisions on price and quality.

Red flags

Takes the free product, or doesn't see why it matters.

Tell me about a time you built or changed a drink menu to hit a cost target.

Behavioral · Building a menu to cost

Strong answer

Describes costing each drink, the target, the changes made, such as pour size, spirit choice or price, and sales and cost results afterward.

Red flags

Built drinks they liked without costing them.

Tell me about a time you suspected a bartender of giving away drinks.

Behavioral · Suspected giveaways

Strong answer

Gathered facts from POS, inventory and observation, talked privately, followed policy with HR, and didn't accuse without evidence.

Red flags

Accused publicly, or ignored it because the bartender was popular.

Tell me how you trained a bar team on ID checks and cut-offs, and how you knew the training worked.

Behavioral · Training on alcohol service

Strong answer

Hands-on practice with sample IDs and role-plays, plus spot checks, incident logs and follow-up coaching.

Red flags

Had people sign a policy and assumed it worked.

Walk me through what goes on a banquet event order so the chef, GM and bar can run the event without calling you.

Technical · Writing BEOs

Strong answer

Date, timeline, guarantee and final count deadline, room setup, menu with counts, allergies by count or seat, bar package and alcohol rules, staffing, rentals, contacts and billing.

Red flags

Lists the menu and headcount and leaves the rest to the restaurant.

The day before an event, the client adds fifteen guests and a vegan entrée. How do you handle it?

Situational · Last-minute changes

Strong answer

Checks with the chef and GM on product, staff and space, answers yes or no with the price under the contract, updates the BEO, and confirms in writing.

Red flags

Says yes without checking, or no without asking the kitchen.

At an off-site event, you find the hot-holding equipment isn't keeping the food hot enough. What do you do?

Situational · Off-site food safety

Strong answer

Checks food temperatures, reheats where the food code allows, tracks time, discards what's past its safe window, and tells the client honestly.

Red flags

Serves it anyway because guests are waiting.

A client refuses to pay the final balance, saying service was slow. How do you handle it?

Situational · Payment disputes

Strong answer

Listens, reviews the BEO and what happened, documents, offers a fair resolution within authority, brings in the GM, and follows the contract.

Red flags

Argues, or waives the balance without review.

Tell me about the largest event you sold and ran, and what nearly went wrong.

Behavioral · Running a big event

Strong answer

Specific event, planning steps, what nearly broke and how they fixed it in the moment.

Red flags

Can't describe the planning, or says everything was perfect.

Tell me about a time you turned a one-time event client into a repeat client.

Behavioral · Repeat business

Strong answer

Followed up within days for feedback, sent a thank-you, pitched the next occasion such as a holiday party, and names the repeat bookings that came from it.

Red flags

Treats the job as done when the event ends.

Walk me through how you build the kitchen's order for the week.

Technical · Building the order

Strong answer

Counts on hand, compares to pars, adjusts for reservations, events and specials, checks shelf life and delivery days, and orders from approved vendors.

Red flags

Orders by feel, or repeats last week's order.

A delivery arrives with short-weighted chicken and a price above the quote. What do you do?

Situational · Short and overpriced deliveries

Strong answer

Weighs it, notes it on the invoice, gets a credit memo, calls the rep and flags it for the bookkeeper.

Red flags

Signs for it and complains to the rep later.

Kitchen labor is over budget, but your cooks say they're stretched thin. How do you sort it out?

Situational · Labor over budget

Strong answer

Compares the schedule to covers by shift, finds overtime causes, looks at prep efficiency and menu complexity, cross-trains, and works with the GM on a plan.

Red flags

Cuts hours without looking, or ignores the budget.

A cook arrives for a shift with vomiting and diarrhea. You're already short. What do you do?

Situational · Sick employees

Strong answer

Sends them home as the food code requires, covers the shift, and checks whether anyone else is sick.

Red flags

Lets them work because the kitchen is short.

Tell me about a cook you developed into a sous chef.

Behavioral · Developing cooks

Strong answer

Gave the cook more responsibility step by step, such as ordering or running the pass, coached on leading people, and the cook was promoted.

Red flags

Says cooks learn by watching, or never let anyone else run the line.

Tell me about a health inspection that went badly and what you changed.

Behavioral · Inspection lessons

Strong answer

Names the violation, the root cause such as a broken cooler or a skipped log, the fix, and a better result next time.

Red flags

Blames the inspector.

A guest says they found a hair in their pasta. They're polite but upset. What do you do?

Situational · Complaints at the table

Strong answer

Goes to the table, apologizes sincerely, removes the dish, offers a replacement or alternative, comps it within their limit with the reason recorded, and tells the kitchen.

Red flags

Questions whether it's real, or comps the whole table without thinking.

A server tells you one guest at a six-top is clearly drunk and ordering shots for the table. What do you do?

Situational · Over-served tables

Strong answer

Goes to the table, speaks privately and calmly with the guest, stops alcohol service to them, offers food and water, helps arrange a ride, backs the server and logs it.

Red flags

Lets the server handle it alone, or embarrasses the guest in front of the room.

Two servers call out an hour before a full Saturday book. What do you do?

Situational · Call-outs

Strong answer

Works the call list, reworks sections, has the host pace seatings, pulls in help from other roles, and closes a section if needed.

Red flags

Leaves the remaining servers with huge sections and no plan.

Walk me through how you close the night: server checkouts, tip-outs and the deposit.

Technical · Closing out

Strong answer

Matches each checkout to the POS, calculates tip-outs under the written policy, counts drawers and the deposit with a second person, documents any variance, and finishes the shift log.

Red flags

Eyeballs checkouts, or pays out before checking.

Tell me about a time you gave a staff member direct feedback in the middle of a busy service.

Behavioral · Feedback during service

Strong answer

Kept it short, private and specific, such as pulling the server aside at the station, and the behavior changed that night.

Red flags

Waited weeks to say anything, or corrected them in front of guests.

Tell me about a time a cash count didn't match at close.

Behavioral · Cash discrepancies

Strong answer

Recounted with a second person, checked voids, paid-outs and tips, documented the difference and reported it.

Red flags

Made up the difference, or ignored it.

A server says a manager has cut their shifts since they complained about the tip-out math. What do you do?

Situational · Possible retaliation

Strong answer

Treats it as a possible retaliation complaint, investigates quickly, compares schedules, protects the server, and checks the tip policy with payroll or counsel.

Red flags

Tells the server schedules are the manager's call.

A GM wants to hire a high school student as a host and put them on late closing shifts this weekend. What do you do?

Situational · Minors' work rules

Strong answer

Checks federal and state rules for minors' hours, tasks and any work permit before the first shift, and adjusts the schedule to fit.

Red flags

Lets the GM schedule them anyway.

Walk me through how you'd keep food handler and alcohol service certifications from lapsing across all locations.

Technical · Certification tracking

Strong answer

A tracker by employee and location with expiration dates, reminders well ahead, manager reports, and no scheduling for alcohol service once a required card lapses.

Red flags

Relies on employees to remember.

Tell me about a harassment investigation you led in a restaurant or other shift-based workplace.

Behavioral · Harassment investigations

Strong answer

Started promptly, interviewed both sides and witnesses, kept it confidential, documented, reached a finding and acted on it.

Red flags

Took sides early, or skipped interviews.

Tell me about a time you used exit or stay interviews to change something for hourly restaurant staff.

Behavioral · Reducing turnover

Strong answer

Describes how they gathered reasons, the pattern they found, such as late schedules or tip-out disputes, the change made with the GMs, and the turnover trend afterward.

Red flags

Collected the reasons but nothing changed, or has no numbers.

Tell me about a time you coached a manager through a termination.

Behavioral · Coaching managers

Strong answer

Reviewed the documentation first, made sure the process was fair and consistent, planned the meeting, and the exit was respectful.

Red flags

Let the manager handle it alone, or skipped the documentation check.

Tuesday nights are slow at three locations. What do you do?

Situational · Slow nights

Strong answer

Looks at covers by night and daypart, tests a tracked offer or event rather than a deep discount, uses local partners, and measures covers against a baseline.

Red flags

Runs a big discount everywhere and doesn't measure it.

On a holiday, guests show up at a location that online listings said was open, but it's closed. What do you do?

Situational · Wrong holiday hours

Strong answer

Apologizes to guests who reach out, fixes every listing that day, and sets a process to confirm holiday hours with each GM before every holiday.

Red flags

Blames the GM and changes nothing.

Walk me through how you'd prove a campaign filled seats.

Technical · Proving results

Strong answer

Reservation source tags, codes or tracked menu items, covers compared to a baseline or the same period, and cost per cover.

Red flags

Reports likes and views as the result.

Tell me about a time you handled a review or social post that could hurt a restaurant's reputation.

Behavioral · Brand risk

Strong answer

Replied quickly and calmly in public, moved the conversation offline, and made sure the cause was fixed.

Red flags

Argued online, or deleted it and moved on.

Tell me about a holiday or gift card push you ran and its results.

Behavioral · Big days

Strong answer

Describes the plan, timing, channels and the numbers against the year before.

Red flags

Can't give results, or only reports reach.

Tell me about a time you worked with a chef to launch a new dish or menu.

Behavioral · Working with chefs

Strong answer

Planned the shoot and the story with the chef, timed it to the launch, and tracked sales of the dish.

Red flags

Posted a photo and never checked whether the dish sold.

Ten minutes before service, the line check finds the lowboy reading warm and the sauté station's sauces barely warm. What do you do?

Situational · Failed line check

Strong answer

Checks how long product was out of temperature, discards what can't be proven safe, moves the rest to working cold storage, reheats sauces properly before holding, calls for repair and logs it.

Red flags

Serves the product anyway.

A new cook is falling behind on the grill on their first solo Saturday. What do you do?

Situational · New cook falling behind

Strong answer

Jumps in or moves someone to help, coaches quietly, keeps tickets moving, and debriefs after service.

Red flags

Yells at them, or lets them sink.

Mid-service, a server says a guest with a shellfish allergy may have been served the wrong sauce. What do you do?

Situational · Possible allergy exposure

Strong answer

Gets the manager to the table immediately so the guest's safety comes first, stops related tickets, finds what happened, saves the ticket and documents.

Red flags

Keeps cooking and leaves it to the floor.

Walk me through how you build tomorrow's prep list.

Technical · Building prep lists

Strong answer

Counts on hand, compares to pars, adjusts for reservations and events, accounts for shelf life and cooling time, and assigns tasks by cook skill.

Red flags

Copies yesterday's list.

Tell me about a time you ran the kitchen while the chef was away and something went wrong.

Behavioral · Running the kitchen

Strong answer

Made clear decisions, kept the line informed, protected food safety, and gave the chef a full report after.

Red flags

Waited for the chef to answer the phone, or hid it.

Tell me about a cook you trained to work a station alone.

Behavioral · Training cooks

Strong answer

Describes the steps, such as recipes, station setup and supervised shifts, the sign-off standard, and how the cook performed.

Red flags

Says the cook just watched them.

Walk me through how you'd reconcile one restaurant's daily sales report to the bank.

Technical · Daily sales reconciliation

Strong answer

Ties POS sales by tender to the cash deposit, card batches to processor deposits after fees, delivery app payouts after commissions, gift card sales and redemptions, and tips paid out. Flags variances to the GM.

Red flags

Checks only that a deposit arrived.

A vendor statement shows invoices you never received and a credit for shorted product that never posted. What do you do?

Situational · Vendor statements

Strong answer

Requests copies, checks receiving records with the restaurant, gets the credit memo, and doesn't pay until it's matched.

Red flags

Pays the statement balance to keep the vendor happy.

Cash at one location has been a little short every week for a month. What do you do?

Situational · Recurring cash shortages

Strong answer

Tracks shortages by date, shift and manager, reviews drop logs, voids and paid-outs, and brings the pattern to the GM and CFO without accusing anyone.

Red flags

Treats each shortage as a rounding error.

Tell me about a time you caught a duplicate or wrong invoice before it was paid.

Behavioral · Catching duplicates

Strong answer

Explains how they spotted it, such as a matching invoice number or a price that didn't fit the order guide, and the check they added afterward.

Red flags

Found it after it was paid and never followed up.

Tell me about a time you closed the books on time despite missing information.

Behavioral · Closing on time

Strong answer

Chased what they needed early, used documented estimates where allowed, and noted what to true up later.

Red flags

Missed the deadline, or plugged numbers with no notes.

Tell me about a time you explained a financial issue to a manager who wasn't a numbers person.

Behavioral · Explaining numbers

Strong answer

Used plain words and one clear example, such as a single invoice or a day's deposit, and the manager acted on it.

Red flags

Used jargon, or gave up when the manager didn't follow.

A glass breaks in the ice well during a rush. What do you do?

Situational · Broken glass in ice

Strong answer

Tells the bartender to stop using the well, melts out all the ice with hot water, cleans the well and refills it. Never picks out the pieces they can see.

Red flags

Scoops out the visible glass and keeps going.

A keg runs out mid-rush, and the next one is in the walk-in. What do you do?

Situational · Keg changes mid-rush

Strong answer

Tells the bartender, changes it the way they were trained or gets help, lifts safely, and tells the Bar Manager if the line pours foamy afterward.

Red flags

Leaves the bartender waiting, or forces the coupler without knowing how.

A bartender asks you to grab two bottles from the liquor room and skip signing them out because the bar is slammed. What do you do?

Situational · Liquor room records

Strong answer

Grabs them fast and signs them out anyway, since it takes seconds, or tells the Bar Manager.

Red flags

Skips the sign-out to save time.

Walk me through how you'd keep track of what the bar is running low on during a busy night.

Technical · Staying ahead of the bar

Strong answer

Walks a loop of wells, coolers, glass racks and garnishes, checks in with bartenders, restocks before anything runs out, and notes what they pull.

Red flags

Waits for a bartender to shout for something.

Tell me about a time at work, school or sports when your job was to help someone else do theirs better.

Behavioral · Supporting others

Strong answer

Describes noticing what the other person needed before being asked and taking care of it.

Red flags

Can't think of an example, or only describes doing their own tasks.

Tell me about a time at work, school or sports when you made a mistake in front of others during a busy moment, and what you did next.

Behavioral · Owning mistakes under pressure

Strong answer

Owned it out loud, fixed it or got help fast, kept going calmly, and changed something afterward so it wouldn't happen again.

Red flags

Hid it, blamed someone else, or let it throw off the rest of the shift.

A guest hands you an out-of-state ID you've never seen before, and something about it looks off. What do you do?

Situational · Checking IDs

Strong answer

Checks it the way house policy says: photo, date of birth, expiration and feel, uses the ID guide or scanner, asks questions, gets a manager, and refuses politely if it can't be verified.

Red flags

Serves because the guest looks old enough.

A regular you like has had several drinks, is starting to slur, and asks for one more. What do you do?

Situational · Cutting off a regular

Strong answer

Declines politely and privately, offers water or food, tells the manager, helps arrange a ride, and logs it.

Red flags

Serves one more because they're a regular.

The service bar printer is full of tickets, and three guests at the bar are trying to get your attention. What do you do?

Situational · Bar guests and the service bar

Strong answer

Acknowledges the bar guests right away, works tickets in order while greeting, asks the barback or manager for help, and batches similar drinks.

Red flags

Ignores one side completely.

Walk me through how you keep your pours on spec when the bar is slammed.

Technical · Pour accuracy

Strong answer

Uses a jigger or the house pour system every time, builds drinks in a set order, and tests pour counts during setup.

Red flags

Free-pours by feel when it's busy.

Tell me about a time you refused or stopped service and the guest got angry.

Behavioral · Refusing service with dignity

Strong answer

Stayed calm, kept the guest's dignity, held the decision, got backup and kept others safe.

Red flags

Gave in, or escalated into an argument.

Tell me about a time you saw a coworker break a rule involving money or product.

Behavioral · Integrity with product

Strong answer

Didn't take part, raised it with a manager, and explains why it mattered.

Red flags

Covered for the coworker, or joined in.

You drop a glass and it breaks near a table where guests are eating. What do you do?

Situational · Broken glass near guests

Strong answer

Checks no one is hurt, apologizes, cleans up with a broom and dustpan rather than hands, tells the server so any food or drinks nearby can be replaced, and puts out a wet-floor sign if needed.

Red flags

Picks up glass with bare hands, or ignores plates that might have glass in them.

One guest is still eating while the rest of the table is done, and the host says the table is needed soon. What do you do?

Situational · Not rushing guests

Strong answer

Clears only the finished plates quietly, never rushes the guest who's eating, and gives the host an honest read on timing.

Red flags

Clears the guest's plate early, or hovers over the table.

While resetting a table, you find a wallet on the seat. What do you do?

Situational · Lost and found

Strong answer

Takes it straight to the manager with the table number and time, without opening it, so it can be returned.

Red flags

Holds onto it, or leaves it for someone else.

Walk me through how you reset a table for the next guests.

Technical · Resetting a table

Strong answer

Clears everything, crumbs the seats and floor, wipes the table with sanitizer solution from the bucket, sets it to the house standard, and tells the host it's ready.

Red flags

Wipes with a dry or dirty rag, or forgets to tell the host.

Tell me about a time at work, school or volunteering when you helped a teammate without being asked.

Behavioral · Helping without being asked

Strong answer

Noticed what was needed, such as a teammate falling behind, did it without being told, and it made a difference.

Red flags

Only does what they're told.

Tell me about a time at work, school or volunteering when a supervisor, coach or teacher corrected how you did something, and how you responded.

Behavioral · Taking correction

Strong answer

Listened, asked a question if unclear, changed how they did it, and didn't take it personally.

Red flags

Argued, or kept doing it their own way.

Mid-rush, the dish machine's final rinse isn't reaching temperature on the gauge. What do you do?

Situational · Dish machine failures

Strong answer

Tells the chef or manager right away, stops trusting the machine to sanitize, uses the three-compartment sink for urgent items, and logs it.

Red flags

Keeps running dishes because the line needs plates.

A cook tells you to mix two cleaners together to make something stronger for a greasy floor. What do you do?

Situational · Mixing chemicals

Strong answer

Refuses politely, explains that mixing cleaners can make toxic gas, uses each product as labeled, and asks the manager.

Red flags

Mixes them because a cook said to.

Bus tubs are stacking up, the line is shouting for sauté pans, and you're alone in the dish pit. What do you do?

Situational · Prioritizing under pressure

Strong answer

Gets the line what it needs to keep cooking first, then plates and glassware, tells the chef where they stand, and asks for help.

Red flags

Washes in the order things came in and stays silent.

Walk me through how you'd wash a stockpot by hand in a three-compartment sink.

Technical · Three-compartment sink

Strong answer

Scrape, wash in hot soapy water, rinse in clear water, sanitize at the right strength checked with a test strip for the right time, then air dry.

Red flags

Skips the sanitizer, or towel-dries.

Tell me about a time at work, school or volunteering when you had to work fast without letting quality slip.

Behavioral · Speed without shortcuts

Strong answer

Gives a real example and names the checks they kept doing, such as looking over each item before putting it away, and how it turned out.

Red flags

Admits cutting corners when rushed, or has no example.

Tell me about a time at work, school or volunteering when you noticed something unsafe and said something.

Behavioral · Speaking up about safety

Strong answer

Describes the hazard, such as a wet floor or a frayed cord, who they told, and what changed.

Red flags

Stayed quiet to avoid trouble.

Five plates for a six-top are up, but the well-done burger needs four more minutes. What do you do?

Situational · Keeping a table together

Strong answer

Holds the five without letting them die, tells the server, gets the burger pushed, and refires any plate that's no longer right. Next time fires long cooks earlier.

Red flags

Sends five and leaves one guest waiting, or sends tired plates.

You catch a plate at the pass with the wrong sauce on a ticket flagged for a dairy allergy. What do you do?

Situational · Catching allergy errors

Strong answer

Stops it, has it remade from scratch, confirms with the cook, tells the server and manager about the delay, and logs the remake.

Red flags

Scrapes off the sauce and sends it.

Ticket times are climbing past target, and the host is about to seat a party of twelve. What do you do?

Situational · Warning the floor

Strong answer

Tells the host and Floor Manager to hold or stagger seating, warns servers with long tickets, and asks the Sous Chef for help on the line.

Red flags

Stays quiet and hopes the kitchen catches up.

Walk me through how you call a ticket to the line so the table's food finishes together.

Technical · Calling tickets

Strong answer

Reads the whole ticket, calls by station with counts and modifiers, fires long cook times first, gets "heard" back, and calls for runners when plates are up.

Red flags

Reads tickets one item at a time as they print.

Tell me about a time you had to tell someone more senior that their work wasn't right, in the middle of a rush.

Behavioral · Correcting seniors

Strong answer

Said it quickly and specifically, without making it personal, and the work was fixed before it reached the guest.

Red flags

Let it go to avoid friction.

Tell me about a time you stayed organized while everyone around you was stressed.

Behavioral · Calm under pressure

Strong answer

Names specific actions, such as calling tickets in order, lowering their voice or asking for help, and how the team responded.

Red flags

Got louder and more scattered along with everyone else.

The ticket says seat three ordered the gluten-free pasta, but the guest in seat three says they ordered the burger. What do you do?

Situational · Wrong seat on the ticket

Strong answer

Doesn't guess. Checks with the server, holds the allergy plate until the right guest is confirmed, and tells the expo if the ticket was wrong.

Red flags

Sets it down anywhere and lets the table sort it out.

You're about to run a table and notice one plate doesn't look like the others or the plating photo. What do you do?

Situational · Plates that look wrong

Strong answer

Stops and tells the expo before leaving the window, so it can be fixed while the rest of the table waits a moment.

Red flags

Runs it anyway and lets the guest find the problem.

As you set down a dish, the guest says they have a shellfish allergy and asks whether the sauce has any. What do you do?

Situational · Allergy questions at the table

Strong answer

Doesn't guess. Asks them to wait before eating, takes the question to the chef or manager, and tells the server.

Red flags

Says "I think it's fine."

Walk me through how you'd deliver food to a six-top so no one is asked who ordered what.

Technical · Delivering a full table

Strong answer

Checks plates against the ticket before leaving, carries them in seat order, names each dish as it goes down, and delivers allergy plates separately.

Red flags

Asks "who had the chicken?" at the table.

Tell me about a time at work, school or sports when you spoke up about a problem, even though it slowed things down.

Behavioral · Speaking up

Strong answer

Describes what they noticed, who they told and why it was worth the delay.

Red flags

Stayed quiet to keep things moving.

Tell me about a time at work, school or volunteering when you had to learn a lot of details quickly, such as names, numbers or a layout.

Behavioral · Learning details fast

Strong answer

Describes a method, such as drawing a map, practicing aloud or quizzing themselves, and how fast they had it down.

Red flags

Says they just remember things, with no method.

It's Friday at peak. There's a line, the phone is ringing, and a party of eight without a reservation asks how long the wait is. What do you do?

Situational · Honest wait times

Strong answer

Asks the caller to hold briefly, checks real table status, quotes an honest wait rounded up, offers the bar or a text when the table's ready, and adds them to the list.

Red flags

Guesses a short wait to keep them, or ignores the phone.

Two large parties and three four-tops are waiting, and tables are opening up all at once. How do you seat them?

Situational · Pacing the kitchen

Strong answer

Spreads seatings across servers and a few minutes apart so the kitchen and servers aren't slammed, and tells waiting guests the plan.

Red flags

Seats everyone at once.

A guest who was quoted thirty minutes has waited forty-five and is angry. What do you do?

Situational · Wait time recovery

Strong answer

Apologizes, explains honestly, gives a real updated time, and asks the manager about a gesture.

Red flags

Blames the kitchen or other guests.

Walk me through how you'd handle a reservation call where the guest mentions a severe nut allergy and a birthday.

Technical · Allergy notes on reservations

Strong answer

Records both in the reservation notes, says the team will be told, offers to have a manager confirm what the kitchen can do, and doesn't promise anything is safe.

Red flags

Says "we're nut-free," or doesn't write it down.

Tell me about a time at work, school or volunteering when you had to tell someone no politely.

Behavioral · Saying no kindly

Strong answer

Was kind and clear, offered what they could instead, and the person left feeling respected.

Red flags

Gave in to avoid the conversation, or was curt.

Tell me about a time at work, school or volunteering when several people needed you at once.

Behavioral · Juggling people

Strong answer

Acknowledged everyone quickly, worked through them in a sensible order, and kept people informed.

Red flags

Froze, or helped one person while ignoring the rest.

It's the peak of Saturday dinner. You have eight tickets on your station, and the expo just called a re-fire on a steak that came back undercooked. Walk me through the next few minutes.

Situational · In the weeds

Strong answer

Calls back "heard," puts the re-fire where the expo wants it, keeps the other tickets in fire order, tells the expo honest times, and asks the Sous Chef for help before falling further behind.

Red flags

Goes quiet, cooks out of order, rushes the re-fire, or doesn't ask for help.

A ticket comes in flagged for a sesame allergy. The dish normally gets a sesame garnish, and your fryer is shared with breaded items. What do you do?

Situational · Allergy tickets

Strong answer

Checks every component against the allergen chart, uses a clean board, tools and fresh gloves, leaves off the garnish, avoids the shared fryer, plates apart, and tells the chef if it can't be made safely.

Red flags

Just leaves off the garnish and uses the shared fryer.

Halfway through service, you see you have about four portions of salmon left and the night is just getting busy. What do you do?

Situational · Running low

Strong answer

Tells the Sous Chef right away with the count, so the item can be 86'd with the floor before more tickets come in, and asks whether prep can make more.

Red flags

Waits until it's gone with a ticket hanging, or cuts portions smaller.

Walk me through how you check proteins for doneness and safety during a rush.

Technical · Cooking temperatures

Strong answer

Uses a clean, calibrated probe thermometer in the thickest part, knows the required temperatures for poultry and ground meat from the line check, and sanitizes the probe between items.

Red flags

Goes by touch, color or time alone, even for chicken.

Tell me about a time a cook next to you fell behind during a rush.

Behavioral · Helping the line

Strong answer

Got their own station under control first, offered specific help, kept the expo informed, and didn't take over or criticize.

Red flags

Ignored it, or left their own station in trouble.

Tell me about a time you were taught to make a dish differently from how you'd always made it.

Behavioral · Cooking to spec

Strong answer

Followed the new spec every time, asked why, and raised any suggestion with the chef after service.

Red flags

Kept doing it their own way.

You're cooling a big batch of soup near the end of your shift, and you're short on time. What do you do?

Situational · Cooling hot food

Strong answer

Splits it into shallow pans or uses an ice bath or ice wand, stirs, logs time and temperature on the cooling log, and hands off with the time noted.

Red flags

Puts the covered stockpot straight into the walk-in.

During your prep, a delivery arrives. The lettuce looks slimy and the chicken case feels warm. What do you do?

Situational · Checking deliveries

Strong answer

Checks the chicken's temperature, holds or rejects product per policy, tells the chef before signing, notes problems on the invoice, and puts cold items away first.

Red flags

Signs for it and stacks it in the walk-in.

Your prep list has more than you can finish before the line arrives. What do you do?

Situational · Too much on the list

Strong answer

Asks the chef what's needed first, does those items first, and warns the Sous Chef early.

Red flags

Works top to bottom and leaves the line short.

Walk me through how you'd label and store a container of sauce you just made.

Technical · Labeling and storing

Strong answer

Cools it properly first, labels it with name, date and initials, covers it, stores it where it belongs with ready-to-eat food above raw meat, and puts newer product behind older.

Red flags

No label, or "I'll remember."

Tell me about a time at work or school when you worked through a long list of tasks on your own.

Behavioral · Working through long lists

Strong answer

Explains how they ordered the list, kept moving, and asked when something wasn't clear.

Red flags

Needed someone to tell them each next step.

Tell me about a time at work or school when you made a mistake with a recipe or task, and what you did about it.

Behavioral · Owning mistakes

Strong answer

Told someone right away, fixed it, and changed a habit so it wouldn't happen again.

Red flags

Hid it, or blamed someone else.

A guest says they have a severe allergy and asks if a dish is safe. You're not sure of every ingredient. What do you do?

Situational · Allergy questions

Strong answer

Doesn't guess. Checks the allergen chart and with the chef or manager, rings the order with the allergy flag, and confirms when the food arrives.

Red flags

Says "I think it's fine."

A guest at your table is getting loud, slurring, and orders another round for the table. What do you do?

Situational · Signs of intoxication

Strong answer

Slows service, offers food and water, tells the manager, and doesn't serve the guest who shows signs of intoxication.

Red flags

Serves the round to protect the tip.

A guest says their steak was overcooked after eating half and wants it taken off the bill. What do you do?

Situational · Comps and voids

Strong answer

Apologizes, offers to replace it, and brings in the manager, since comps and voids go through a manager.

Red flags

Argues, or takes it off without a manager.

Walk me through how you'd enter a table's order so the kitchen gets it right.

Technical · Order entry

Strong answer

Seat numbers, course timing, every modifier, the allergy flag where needed, and a quick read-back.

Red flags

Types it fast and fixes mistakes later.

Tell me about a time you sold more without making a guest feel pushed.

Behavioral · Selling without pressure

Strong answer

Read the guest, made one specific suggestion, such as a wine that fit their dish, and the guest was glad they ordered it.

Red flags

Upsells every table with the same script.

Tell me about a time you turned an unhappy guest into a happy one.

Behavioral · Turning around a guest

Strong answer

Listened without arguing, owned the problem, fixed it with the manager's help, and checked back.

Red flags

Got defensive, or avoided the table.