Bar and restaurant jobs offer a wide variety of roles, requiring recruiters and employers to attract candidates with diverse skills and experience levels. At the top, we have managers, leaders, and marketers, while at entry-level, there are waiters, waitresses, and kitchen porters. The heart of every hospitality business is made up of individuals with unique or trained skills, including baristas, bartenders, and chefs.
Candidates for these positions must be prepared to work unusual shift patterns, including evenings and weekends. The ideal candidate could be outgoing and expressive, professional, or a natural leader or organizer.
Creating an effective job description for your bar or restaurant is crucial to attract skilled, experienced, or highly motivated employees. We recommend using a job description template to establish a basic framework and then adding specific details to reflect the needs of your bar or restaurant.
What Do Bar and Restaurant Workers Do?
To attract the right candidates with the appropriate experience and skills, your job descriptions for bar and restaurant positions should clearly outline the duties and responsibilities of the role within your establishment or chain.
Depending on the type, size, and function of your bar or restaurant, staff members may be responsible for:
- Providing exceptional customer service
- Serving customers in the bar or dining area
- Taking and serving food orders or snacks
- Processing payments and transactions
- Managing inventory and stock
- Cleaning tables and bar areas
- Ensuring compliance with food safety standards
- Business or hospitality management (e.g., Restaurant Manager or Bar Manager)
- Managing front-of-house staff (e.g., Restaurant Owner or Restaurant Manager)
- Overseeing back-of-house and kitchen staff (e.g., Restaurant Owner, Restaurant Manager, or Head Chef)
Using a job description template as a starting point can help you create a comprehensive outline of your requirements while allowing you to add specific details that reflect the unique needs of your bar or restaurant.
Bar and Restaurant Positions and Titles
The duties within a bar or restaurant are completed by employees in positions titled as:
- Bar Manager
- General Manager
- Bartender
- Waitress/Waiter/Server
- Chef/Line Cook
- Bar Staff
- Kitchen staff
Bar and Restaurant Responsibilities and Duties
Bar and restaurant job duties are essential functions and high-priority responsibilities that determine a person's performance. These duties vary significantly based on the level of seniority, job function, and whether it's front or back of house.
The following are some common bar and restaurant responsibilities and job duties:
- Greeting and welcoming customers
- Taking and processing customer orders and payments
- Balancing the till and reconciling banking
- Adhering to food safety guidelines
- Managing inventory and stock
- Updating marketing materials and signage
- Confirming the age of customers purchasing alcohol
- Emptying rubbish bins
- Requesting customer feedback
- Setting tables and adjusting seating for larger groups
- Serving food and drinks and refilling glasses
- Preparing food and beverages to defined portion sizes
- Creating seasonal menus using fresh ingredients
- Ensuring high levels of customer satisfaction
- Responding to customer requests promptly
- Maintaining a clean food prep and bar area
- Clearing tables
- Managing people, training, and motivating staff, ensuring compliance (Bar Manager, Head Chef, Bar Supervisors, etc.)
- Preparing staff schedules
- Hiring staff (Bar and Restaurant Owner)
While these duties are generic, they can be made more engaging and meaningful by explaining how they should be accomplished. For example, "As a server, you will be responsible for delivering excellent service by greeting customers with a smile, taking their orders accurately, suggesting menu items, and answering customer questions."
Essential Bar and Restaurant Skills
To ensure that your restaurant or bar is compliant with regulations, follows best practices, and delivers an exceptional customer experience, you must recruit employees with the appropriate bar and restaurant skills and competencies.
To fulfill their bar and restaurant duties and responsibilities, staff members must possess both hard and soft skills, including:
- Physical fitness and endurance for working in a fast-paced environment
- Exceptional customer service skills for ensuring customer satisfaction and handling complaints effectively
- Interpersonal skills for working collaboratively as part of a team
- Knowledge of bar inventory for managing resources
- Numeracy skills for managing budgets, handling cash, and reconciling banking
- Culinary expertise, including food preparation, cooking, and presentation
- Leadership and people management experience (Restaurant Managers or Bar Managers)
- Thorough knowledge of cooking stations and other positions for training staff members
- Ability to handle stress for working in a high-pressure environment
- Friendly demeanor
- Excellent verbal communication skills
- Good memory
- Active listening
- Decision-making abilities
- Time management skills
- Integrity
- Receptiveness
- Coaching and mentoring skills
- Teamwork and collaboration abilities
- Problem-solving skills
- Objectivity
- Planning and organization skills
- Commitment
- Adaptability
- Influence
- Multitasking abilities
- Attention to detail
- Market research, marketing, and presentation skills (Managers)
- Business acumen (Managers)
- Willingness to work weekends
Bar and Restaurant Education and Qualifications
The formal qualifications and education depend on the position and level of seniority, but might include:
- A Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration (generally preferred for a Bar Manager or Restaurant Manager job)
- Level 3 Diploma In Advanced Professional Cookery (Chef)
- Level 3 Diploma in Hospitality Supervision and Leadership (General Manager)
- Level 4 Diploma in Hospitality Leadership (General Manager)
- Level 4 Diploma in Professional Culinary Arts (Chef)
Bar and Restaurant Training and Experience
A potential candidate for a restaurant and bar team should possess skills in operating a POS system and be proficient in using computers and MS Office. Entry-level bar operations staff may have completed an Intermediate Apprenticeship in Hospitality Team Member.
Frequently Asked Questions about Bar and Restaurant Job Descriptions
Here we answer your bar and restaurant job description frequently asked questions.