10 Restaurant Management Books to Read in 2024

Despite your restaurant type and whether the past year was your restaurant’s first or thirtieth, there’s always room to learn, and restaurant management books can be the best way to do that.

Chocked full of valuable information, insights and lessons, restaurant books can help you set goals such as deciding what initiatives you want to start, continue, or stop focusing on, and achieve restaurant success. They can also help you with best practices for both your back of house and front of house management.

To offer you some inspiration for your latest goals, we made a list of the 10 best books for restaurant managers and owners in 2024.

The Best Restaurant Management Books from Back of House to Front

As a restaurateur or manager, you set the tone for your team’s culture and the guest experience. Restaurant management styles vary widely, and yours will likely continue to evolve. Reading the best books for restaurant owners and managers is an excellent way to determine what kind of leader you do (and don’t) want to be, and to help you with running a more profitable business.

Below, we’ve rounded up a list of 10 must-read restaurant books to get you started.

1. Setting The Table: The Transforming Power of Hospitality in Business

• Author: Danny Meyer
• Published: 2009
• Key Topics: Hospitality; Hiring and training

First on our list is one of the best restaurant management books for restaurant owners on the market. As CEO of Union Square Hospitality Group in New York, author Danny Meyer is a multiple award-winning industry leader with over 35 years of experience as a restaurateur. 

In his bestselling restaurant book, Meyer lays out a set of principles for business (and life), including making a commitment to support hospitality workers staff (back of house and front of house) – not just your guests. He calls this philosophy “enlightened hospitality.” Setting the Table is a must-read for anyone who is a restaurant owner or manager who wants to build strong relationships and a thriving business.

A featured quote from the book: “I’ve learned how crucially important it is to put hospitality to work, first for the people who work for me and subsequently for all the other people and stakeholders who are in any way affected by our business.”

2. Kitchen Confidential

• Author: Anthony Bourdain
• Published: 2000
• Key Topics: Restaurant management; Fine dining

Before he was a beloved TV personality, celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain was a published author. Bourdain has written multiple books, but Kitchen Confidential is arguably the most famous – it’s one of those restaurant management books on top 10 lists everywhere. This bestseller is not your average management book. Rather, the memoir is a spicy tell-all about what really goes on in a restaurant kitchen.

In Kitchen Confidential, Bourdain’s writing exudes both frankness and humor as he recounts 25 years in the business, from Tokyo to Paris to New York (and everywhere in between). Despite the inherent challenges that come with being a restaurateur (like the lack of work-life balance in restaurants), it’s a calling filled with passion, which is evident in Bourdain’s book. Kitchen Confidential offers a five-star serving of edu-tainment for anyone who wants to understand what it takes to achieve success in the restaurant industry.

3. I Hear She’s a Real Bitch

• Author: Jen Agg
• Published: 2017
• Key Topics: Workplace culture; Restaurant management

Toronto restaurateur Jen Agg brings a refreshing feminist perspective to the world of restaurant books with her debut, I Hear She’s a Real Bitch. In the book, Agg shares what it takes for people to survive in the business. Tip number one? Have a focused vision and don’t try to please everyone – because that’s how you end up becoming mediocre. 

Agg shares colorful stories from her childhood as well as timeless advice for managing a restaurant in this delightful read. She underscores the importance of great leadership and a solid team, and takes aim at the patriarchy for good measure.

4. How to Start, Run & Grow a Successful Restaurant Business: A Lean Startup Guide

• Author: Tim Hoffman
• Published: 2017
• Key topics: Hospitality; Startups

This is one of the top restaurant books if you’re new to the industry. Entrepreneurship is not for the faint of heart, but author Tim Hoffman has your back with this comprehensive read. The book offers a step-by-step guide to starting your very own restaurant – beginning with creating an exceptional concept. 

This guide to restaurant startups explores the key aspects of running a restaurant, from costs and legalities, to staff and marketing. It even provides a roadmap for writing a restaurant business plan and having a successful grand opening. Don’t forget to take notes!

5. The Secrets to Restaurant Management and Staff Training

• Author: Christine J. Lueders
• Published: 2018
• Key topics: Restaurant management; Training

Many of the best restaurant owners worked their way up from the bottom, and Christine J. Lueders is no exception. She has a wealth of experience gained from a 30-year career, which she began as a busser. Since her early days in the industry, Lueders has managed many a restaurant, trained restaurant managers, and created training programs. She shares all of her knowledge in this power-packed book.

In this guide about how to be a good restaurant manager, Lueder addresses the major gap she sees in the field of culinary education: how to interact with and trust your team to achieve success. You’ll walk away from this read knowing how to have better relationships with your staff, which in turn will improve your entire business.

6. Chop Suey Nation: The Legion Cafe and Other Stories from Canada’s Chinese Restaurants

• Author: Ann Hui
• Published: 2019
• Key topics: Chinese restaurants; Culture

A Globe and Mail reporter who grew up in Vancouver, Ann Hui is the daughter of Chinese immigrants and restaurateurs. Her book Chop Suey Nation features small town Chinese restaurants from Victoria to Fogo Island, Canada – and the people behind the businesses.

The book shines a spotlight on the Chinese values of family, entrepreneurialism, and perseverance. It recounts the story of Hui’s own family and their journey from rural China to Vacounver’s largest “Western” kitchens. It also introduces readers to Chinese restaurant owners with their own rich stories and lessons to share, like a woman who runs a restaurant 365 days a year on a remote Atlantic Canadian island.

7. Food Truck Business Guide for Beginners

• Author: Shaun M. Durrant
• Published: 2020
• Key topics: Food trucks; Restaurant management

To anyone who’s always wanted to start their own food truck, this is the book for you. Caribbean-born, New York City-raised author and entrepreneur Shaun M. Durrant outlines the crucial steps to running a thriving mobile food business.

In this book, you’ll find out which mistakes can stop your food truck in its tracks and how to prevent them. You’ll also learn how to write a business plan and secure funding for your food truck. And, you’ll get a glimpse into food truck success stories and the reason why choosing a niche for your restaurant on wheels is so important.

8. Raise the Bar: An Action-Based Method for Maximum Customer Reactions

• Author: John Taffer
• Published: 2013
• Key topics: Restaurant management; Customer service

As the host of TV’s Bar Rescue, John Taffer knows a thing or two about managing a restaurant. He’s helped turn around more than 1,000 struggling restaurants and almost as many bars. In his book Raise the Bar, he shares the key to getting results: eliciting positive emotional reactions from customers.

Taffer’s book argues that “money is in reactions, not transactions.” Raise the Bar explores the role your staff, marketing, and restaurant interior play in this philosophy. It even ends with a bonus section on how to create your perfect menu.

9. The Heart of Hospitality: Great Hotel and Restaurant Leaders Share Their Secrets

• Author: Micah Solomon
• Published: 2016
• Key topics: Hospitality; Leadership

Micah Solomon is a bestselling author, keynote speaker, and thought leader on the subject of customer service. If you want to learn how global brands like the Four Seasons and Ritz-Carlton (among other renowned restaurant owners and chefs) wow their guests, you’ll find the answers in his book, The Heart of Hospitality.

Solomon and his interviewees understand that providing stellar customer service is one of the biggest advantages you can have in the hospitality industry. The Heart of Hospitality covers everything from creating experiences for luxury lovers and millennials, to building a strong internal culture.

10. Delivering the Digital Restaurant: Your Roadmap to the Future of Food

• Authors: Meredith Sandland & Carl Orsbourn
• Published: 2021
• Key topics: Digital transformation; Restaurant management

Technology like online ordering and digital customer loyalty programs provides restaurant owners with the opportunity to delight their guests and grow their revenue. However, if you fail to harness the power of new tech, your restaurant could suffer as your competitors win your customers over with a more seamless, personalized dining experience.

That’s why we rounded out our list with Delivering the Digital Restaurant, where authors Meredith Sandland and Carl Orsbourn lay out a roadmap for thriving in the digital economy. They dig into everything from sociology to industry data, and bring their experience at both established chains (Taco Bell) and startups (Kitchen United) to the table.

That’s a wrap, friends. Grab your library card, because you’ve got some reading to do! After you devour these restaurant management books (top 10 for now but there are more out there when you’re done with these), you’ll be ready to tackle any business challenge. We’d love to hear which read was your favorite​​ and how what you learned is helping you along your path to success.

by Alex Fainblum

Alex is a Marketing Coordinator at TouchBistro where she writes about food and restaurant dining experiences. She’s a lover of all things chocolate covered but her true passion lies in late-night eating.