Interview Techniques for Restaurants: How to Hire the Right People Every Time

Why Restaurant Interviews Are Different

Most interview guides are written for white-collar office environments. Restaurant hiring is different in every meaningful way: you are evaluating physical stamina, composure under pressure, team reliability, guest-facing demeanor, and the ability to function effectively during chaotic rushes — none of which a resume reveals.

A candidate who interviews brilliantly may fall apart during a Saturday dinner service. A quiet, awkward interviewee might turn out to be the most reliable person you ever hired. This is why great restaurant interviewers do not rely on the interview alone — they use a structured, multi-step process that includes real-world assessment.

According to the 7shifts restaurant hiring guide, the most effective process includes a phone screening, an in-person interview, and a paid working trial shift. Each step filters for something different, and no single step is sufficient on its own.

Step 1: The Phone Screening

The phone screen is not an interview — it is a filter. You want to verify basic requirements, communicate clearly about the role, and assess whether the candidate is worth 45 minutes of your in-person time.

What to cover in a 10-minute phone screen:

Role overview: hours, shift structure, pay range, physical demands
Availability check: do they actually match your schedule needs?
One or two disqualifying questions: relevant certifications, age requirements for alcohol service
Set expectations for the full process: “If this call goes well, I’ll invite you in for an interview, and we’ll also ask you to do a paid trial shift.”

According to NYC Business, setting clear process expectations at the phone screening stage filters out uncommitted applicants early. Candidates who are not willing to do a trial shift reveal themselves immediately, saving you time on interviews.

Step 2: The In-Person Interview

Setting and Environment

Conduct in-person interviews in the dining room or at the bar, not in a back office. According to 7shifts, this environment helps candidates feel comfortable while also letting you observe how they interact with the space — do they notice details, do they seem curious about the operation, do they treat the environment with respect?

The 5 Question Categories That Matter

Structure your questions around these categories for every candidate in the same position. Consistency allows comparison and reduces hiring bias.

1. Self-awareness and communication

“Tell me about yourself — focus on what’s most relevant to this role.”
- Look for: job-relevant details, clarity of communication, appropriate length
- Red flag: life story that never connects to the work

2. Guest handling and composure

“Describe a time you dealt with a difficult customer. What happened, and what did you do?”
- Look for: composure, problem-solving, empathy, and outcome
- Red flag: blaming the customer entirely, inability to recall a specific example

3. Teamwork and reliability

“Tell me about a time you helped a coworker who was struggling during a rush.”
- Look for: team-first mentality, awareness of others, willingness to step up
- Red flag: stories that position them as a solo hero, dismissive of others’ challenges

4. Situational judgment

“A guest’s order comes up wrong during a packed Friday dinner. What do you do?”
- Look for: clear recovery steps, guest-first thinking, communication with the kitchen
- Red flag: freezing, passing the problem to someone else automatically

5. Motivation and fit

“Why do you want to work here specifically — not just in a restaurant, but here?”
- Look for: research about the restaurant, specific menu or culture mentions
- Red flag: “Because I need a job” or generic answers that could apply to any employer

The STAR Method for Evaluating Responses

According to 7shifts, the STAR framework (Situation, Task, Action, Result) helps both interviewers and candidates structure answers for clarity. Train yourself to listen for all four components:

Situation: What was the context?
Task: What were they responsible for doing?
Action: What did they actually do?
Result: What happened as a result?

A response that describes only the situation without reaching the action and result is incomplete. Follow up: “And what did you end up doing?” or “How did it turn out?” until you have a complete picture.

Behavioral vs. Situational Questions

Use both types deliberately:

Question Type	Example	What It Reveals
Behavioral (past)	“Tell me about a time you made a mistake on the job.”	Actual behavior, self-awareness, accountability
Situational (future)	“If a regular guest complained that their usual dish tasted different, how would you handle it?”	Problem-solving approach, values alignment

According to the YouTube extract “Hiring, Interviewing, and Onboarding Restaurant Staff” (RISR Careers / Don Georgevich), behavioral questions reveal whether a candidate has relevant experience and how they actually responded to challenges — past behavior predicts future behavior with much greater reliability than hypothetical responses alone.

Red Flags to Watch For

According to 7shifts and the NYC Business playbook, these behaviors during an interview should give you pause:

Criticizing previous employers — If they trash the last restaurant, they will trash yours
Vague or absent examples — “I’m a people person” without any story to back it up
No questions at the end — Disengaged candidates rarely become engaged employees
Checking phone during interview — Signals disrespect and distraction
Exaggerating credentials — Easy to catch with a trial shift; embarrassing for both parties

Step 3: The Paid Trial Shift

According to the YouTube extract on hiring, a paid trial shift is the single most reliable assessment tool for restaurant positions. No interview, however well designed, can simulate the physical demands and time pressure of live service.

What to observe during the trial shift:

How do they organize their station or section?
How do they communicate with coworkers?
What is their pace — do they move with urgency or drift?
How do they interact naturally with guests?
Do they ask questions when unsure, or guess and hope?
How do they handle their first mistake?

The trial shift also serves the candidate — it gives them a realistic preview of the job. According to NYC Business, candidates who see the real environment and still want the job are significantly more likely to stay past the first 90 days. Unrealistic expectations are one of the primary drivers of early turnover.

Practical tips:

Pay trial shift workers at the applicable hourly rate — it is legally required in most jurisdictions
Assign a specific experienced team member to shadow them, not just “everyone watch the new person”
Debrief with the candidate after the trial: “How did that feel? What questions do you have?”

Reference Checks That Actually Work

Most reference checks are useless because interviewers ask vague questions and get vague answers. Make your reference checks specific:

“On a scale of 1-10, how reliable was [candidate] in terms of showing up on time and ready to work?”
“Describe a situation where [candidate] had to handle a difficult guest or coworker.”
“Would you rehire this person? Why or why not?”

That last question is the most important one. Silence, hesitation, or a diplomatic non-answer after “Would you rehire them?” tells you more than any direct response.

Hiring for Attitude vs. Experience

According to LANDED, the most effective restaurant operators in 2025 are shifting toward skills-based and attitude-first hiring. This means widening the candidate pool by evaluating attitude, cultural fit, and willingness to learn over years of experience or specific credentials.

A candidate with five years of fine-dining experience but a bad attitude will damage your team culture. A candidate with three months of experience and exceptional work ethic can be trained. The things you can train — menu knowledge, POS systems, service steps — are learnable. The things you cannot train — reliability, attitude, emotional intelligence — must be selected for.

According to NYC Business, personality should weigh slightly more than skillset in restaurant hiring decisions, because technical skills can be taught during onboarding while attitude and character are largely fixed by the time someone walks through your door.

Build a hiring process that reliably identifies attitude, and your training investment will deliver results. Build one that only checks credentials, and you will keep hiring the wrong people.