Knowledge base · Selling
Upselling at the table.
From “anything else?” to “yes, please”.
A terrace table orders two beers, an iced tea and a cola. Nobody asks whether they would like water with it, or a sharing board with the second round. Maybe the guest would have said yes. Research shows that one recommendation leads to measurably more orders. Here you read what research says, where the easy wins are and how to get your young team on board.
In short. Upselling at the table is service: a suggestion that makes the guest's visit better and the bill higher. In a Swedish restaurant the share of one dish rose from 19 to 28 percent when it was on the menu as the chef's recommendation. Start with easy questions, such as water and coffee.
Try it yourself
Do you know what to ask at the table?
This is how your team trains with CuliQuiz: short questions on the phone, three minutes a day. Play five about upselling. At the end you see per topic where you stand.
Play it yourself on the phone on the rightPlay it yourself on the phone below
- 19 → 28%share of a dish in sales once it was on the menu as the chef's recommendationÖrebro University, 2025
- +13%wine revenue with an extended description per wine on the list, in one restaurantHochschule Ludwigshafen, 2025
- 15 to 24years: the largest age group in Dutch hospitality, around half in restaurantsKHN, 2024
01 · The basicsIs upselling sales or service?
Service. A good suggestion makes the guest's evening better: the wine that goes with the dish, the dessert the chef made today. The higher bill follows from that. The guest chooses and can always say no.
Strictly speaking, upselling is a more expensive version (the better bottle) and cross-selling is something extra (bread to start, a dessert). At the table the two overlap. For the guest one thing counts: does the suggestion fit their evening?
02 · The evidenceDoes a suggestion from front of house work?
Yes. In a lunch restaurant in Stockholm one dish was labelled "Chef's choice" on the menu for a month. The share of that dish rose from 19 to 28 percent of sales. It was one restaurant with a vegetarian menu, so see it as a direction.
In a restaurant in Stuttgart, wine revenue was 13 percent higher on average when every wine got an extended description on the list. And in an Austrian restaurant chain guests ordered a side dish more often when the staff suggested one. Which side dish was named made little difference.
We found no Dutch research on upselling at the table. The studies are listed under sources at the bottom.
One recommendation from the chef was enough to make a dish a more popular choice.
03 · An example eveningAt which moments do you make a suggestion?
A visit has a few moments where a question fits naturally. One suggestion per moment, linked to what the guest is already choosing. The lines below are examples. Adapt them to your own menu.
- 1
At the table: water
The guest sits down and picks up the menu. A question that almost always gets a yes.
"Shall I bring a bottle of water for the table, still or sparkling?" - 2
The aperitif
Name one aperitif that fits the season or the menu.
"This week we're pouring a dry cider from Normandy. Fancy starting with that?" - 3
Bread to start
If you charge for bread, say so honestly. A surprise on the bill costs more than the bread brings in.
"Shall I bring some bread with olive oil and sea salt while you choose? That's € 4.50." - 4
The amuse
The amuse is hospitality. You don't sell it. It is a good moment to mention the wine with the starter.
"The riesling that just came in goes well with the scallops." - 5
With the main course: side dish and wine
A side dish that fits and a wine at two price levels.
"The roasted carrots are lovely with the lamb. And for wine the Rioja, or for something lighter the pinot noir." - 6
The second glass
After the first glass, ask if the guest would like another. Don't top up without asking.
"Another glass of the Rioja with the rest of the lamb?" - 7
Dessert, coffee, digestif
Tell them about one dessert. And with coffee, ask which coffee the guest likes.
"The chef made tarte tatin today. To share? And what coffee would you like, a cappuccino or a double espresso?"
04 · Quick resultsWhere are the easy wins?
In the questions a guest almost always says yes to. They take no expertise and fit any venue.
- Water on the table"Shall I bring a bottle of water for the table, still or sparkling?" Ask before the guest asks.Example question
- Which coffee?Don't ask whether the guest wants coffee, ask which one. Cappuccino, double espresso or fresh mint tea.Example question
- Something with drinksWith a glass of wine around drinks time: "Shall I bring a sharing board with that?"Example question
Then come the wine and the dessert. A short description of taste and origin helps there.
05 · Your teamHow do you get young and new colleagues on board?
Your front of house is young. 15 to 24 is the largest age group in Dutch hospitality, around half of the staff in restaurants. Many of them have just started. That calls for an approach that doesn't need years of experience.
Give fixed questions
Put the example questions up at the pass and go through them in the briefing. Which dish you mention matters less than making the suggestion.
Show what's in it for them
Tips. Research lists suggestive selling among the techniques that raise tips. Knowledge alone is not enough. After a wine course staff knew more, but did not sell more wine. It has to come back at the table.
Let them taste
Whoever has tasted the dessert can talk about it. Do it at every menu change.
Repeat briefly and often
Research among more than 10,000 employees learning at work shows that knowledge sticks better when repetition is spread over days. So one line per briefing works better than one training a year.
Frequently asked questions
What is upselling in hospitality?
Upselling in hospitality means making the guest a suggestion that improves their visit: a bottle of water on the table, the wine that goes with the dish, a dessert to share. The guest chooses and can always say no.
What is the difference between upselling and cross-selling?
With upselling the guest chooses a more expensive version of what they already want, such as a better wine. With cross-selling they add something, such as bread to start or a dessert. At the table the two overlap.
Does a recommendation to the guest work?
Yes. In a Swedish restaurant the share of one dish rose from 19 to 28 percent of sales in the week it was on the menu as 'Chef's choice'. It was one restaurant, so see it as a direction.
How do you get young staff to upsell?
Give them fixed questions a guest easily says yes to, let them taste and repeat briefly in the briefing. That doesn't take years of experience.
How do you keep upselling from feeling pushy?
Make one suggestion per moment, link it to what the guest is already choosing and accept a no.
How CuliQuiz does it
Send us your menu and wine list. We turn them into questions about your dishes, wines and desserts. You check them. Your team plays three minutes a day, the new colleague too. In the dashboard you see per topic how your team is doing. Try free for 30 days, no payment details.
Sources (7)
- Ebster, Wagner and Valis: The effectiveness of verbal prompts on sales, Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services (2006)
- Kim, Öström et al., Örebro University: A field experiment on expert- versus social-based cues on dish selection in a restaurant, Journal of Environmental Psychology (2025)
- KHN: over half a million employees in hospitality (2024, Dutch)
- Sheridan and Dressler: Enhancing Restaurant Profits via Strategic Wine Sales (2025)
- Lynn, Cornell University: Mega Tips 2, twenty tested techniques to increase your tips (2011)
- Orlowski, University of Central Florida: External wine education for restaurant service staff (2022)
- Kim et al.: The spacing effect stands up to big data (2019)