What should I check before buying a bistro or fine-dining restaurant?

In a bistro or fine-dining room, much of what a buyer pays for walks out the door each night: the chef, the cooks, the sommelier, the regulars. A generic full-service checklist still applies, and full-service restaurant due diligence covers it. This page adds the checks that matter most when the kitchen and the name carry the business.

The chef and the kitchen

Ask directly whether the chef and the senior cooks will stay after closing, and on what terms. If the chef is the seller, selling a restaurant as head chef shows the other side of this. Then ask who owns the recipes and the menu as written. Your lawyer can tell you how those rights are dealt with in the purchase agreement.

Reputation and reservations

A strong name may belong to the room, or to one person. Read the reviews and press with that question in mind, and ask what happens to bookings if the chef leaves. Find out which reservation platform the room uses, whose account it sits under, and whether the guest list and booking history can transfer to you. Ask what the seller’s privacy practices were for that guest data.

Wine, cellar and equipment

Fine-dining rooms often hold a cellar that is a large part of the business. Ask for a full inventory, how it is stored, how bottles are tracked and whether any stock is held on consignment or on loan. Walk the kitchen with a person who knows commercial equipment and ask which items are owned outright and which are leased.

What the books show

Check the picture from the seller’s own records rather than the listing. Look at covers by service, average cheque, food cost and labour month by month, and compare them with the bank deposits. Ask your accountant to read the statements with you. If the chef’s pay is not on the books, ask how a hired replacement would change the results.