What does 86 mean in a restaurant?
Updated October 20, 2026
In a restaurant, to "86" something means it has run out and can't be ordered: "86 the salmon" tells the floor to stop selling salmon for the rest of the shift. In a bar, 86-ing a guest means refusing to serve them any more. It is informal American slang, and it works as a verb ("we 86'd the brisket") and as a noun on the board ("brisket is on the 86 list").
In short
- 86 a dish = it's sold out or unavailable for now. It comes back when you have it again.
- 86 a guest = stop serving them, usually in a bar.
- On paper menus you tell the servers. On QR and online menus the dish has to be switched off, or customers keep ordering it.
- On Menuthere one switch marks a dish, a single size or a whole category unavailable, on every plan.
Where does 86 come from?
Merriam-Webster lists "eighty-six" as an informal verb, first recorded in 1942, and says it is probably rhyming slang for "nix". Other stories about its origin circulate, but none is proven, so treat them as folklore.
The two meanings of 86
| Meaning | Who says it | Example | When it ends |
|---|---|---|---|
| A dish or drink is out | Kitchen to floor, manager to servers | "86 the clam chowder" | When the item is back, often the next day |
| A guest is refused service | Bartender, manager | "That guy's 86'd" | At the manager's decision |
| (Less common) Remove or cancel something | Anyone | "86 the onions on table 9's burger" | Once the order is fixed |
In a busy kitchen the 86 list is usually written on a whiteboard by the pass or read out at line-up, so every server knows before they take an order.
Why 86-ing matters more with online and QR orders
When orders came only through servers, 86-ing a dish was a conversation. Now orders also arrive from a website, a table QR code or a phone link, where nobody is there to say "sorry, we're out." If the dish stays on the online menu, three things go wrong:
- The order arrives and the kitchen can't make it.
- Someone has to call or message the customer to change it, or refund it.
- The customer has already waited, and a substitute is a worse experience than seeing "unavailable" in the first place.
A Friday night example
A taco shop sells out of its fish tacos at 7:40 p.m. Two things happen at once: the kitchen calls "86 fish tacos" to the counter, and the manager switches the dish off on the online menu from her phone. Between 7:40 and closing, the shop's QR and online menus show the fish tacos as unavailable. Nobody orders them, so nobody has to be called back. At 11 a.m. the next day, with fish delivered, she switches the dish back on. (Illustrative example.)
86 vs out of season vs hidden at set times
| 86'd (out of stock) | Not on the menu at this hour | Retired from the menu | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Why | Ran out today | Breakfast-only, weekend-only | Dish dropped for good |
| How long | Until restocked | Every day outside its hours | For good |
| What guests see on Menuthere | The dish, marked "Unavailable" | Nothing: the dish is off the menu outside its window | Nothing, once you delete it |
| Menuthere setting | Available switch off | Set Time schedule; see dayparting | Delete the dish |
How Menuthere handles 86-ing a dish
- One switch per dish. On the Menu screen, the Available column has a switch on every dish. Off marks it out of stock.
- One size only. On a dish with sizes, each size has its own switch. 86 the large pizza and keep selling the small one. See menu modifiers.
- A whole category. The On / Off switch on a category card marks every dish in it unavailable, for example all desserts when the dessert fridge fails.
- What customers see. The dish shows as "Unavailable" and can't be added to the cart. If you switch off every size of a dish, the dish counts as off.
- It stays off until you switch it back on. Nothing is deleted: photo, price and settings stay.
- Everywhere at once. The same switch covers your ordering page, table QR menus and the digital menu, and the plain version of your menu that search engines read follows the same rule.
- On every plan, Free included. See the help article on marking a dish, size or category out of stock.
What it doesn't do: Menuthere doesn't switch a dish back on by itself the next morning, and it doesn't count portions for you. You switch it on when it's back. A dish you sell only at certain hours is better handled with a schedule than with the 86 switch.
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Related terms
- Dayparting: showing dishes only at the hours you sell them.
- Menu modifiers: sizes and add-ons, which can be 86'd one by one.
- Kitchen order ticket (KOT): the slip that tells the kitchen what to cook.
- Upselling: suggesting a side or drink, which stops suggesting an 86'd dish.
FAQs
What does 86 mean in a restaurant?
It means an item has run out and can't be ordered for now. When the kitchen says "86 the salmon," servers stop selling salmon until it is back. It can also mean refusing to serve a guest.
What does 86'd mean in a bar?
In a bar, a guest who has been 86'd is refused further service, usually for being too drunk or causing trouble. Some bars keep the name on a list so the guest isn't served on later visits.
Is 86 a real word?
Yes. Merriam-Webster lists "eighty-six" as an informal American verb, first recorded in 1942, probably from rhyming slang for "nix." It is spoken slang, not a formal term.
How do I 86 an item on an online menu?
Switch the item off in your menu settings so customers see it as unavailable and can't add it to the cart. On Menuthere, the Available switch beside each dish does this, for a single size or a whole category too, on every plan.
Does 86-ing a dish delete it?
Not on Menuthere. The dish keeps its photo, price and settings and stays on the menu marked unavailable. Switch it back on when you have it again.
Sources (4)
- Merriam-Webster, "eighty-six" (informal verb; refuse service; eject; remove an item from the menu; probably rhyming slang for "nix"; first known use 1942): https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/eighty-six (read 20 Oct 2026 through search results quoting the entry; the site blocks automated reads, see Facts)
- Menuthere help: Mark a dish, size or category out of stock, updated 12 Oct 2026 (Available switch; See variants and per-size switches with an Off tag; category On / Off switch; "Unavailable", can't add; all sizes off = dish off; stays off until switched on; doesn't delete): https://menuthere.com/docs/menu/mark-a-dish-size-or-category-out-of-stock (accessed 20 Oct 2026)
- Menuthere help: Show dishes at set times, updated 6 Oct 2026 (a scheduled dish is removed from the menu outside its window, not greyed out): https://menuthere.com/docs/hours/show-dishes-at-set-times (accessed 20 Oct 2026)
- Menuthere help: How Google sees your store, updated 20 Oct 2026 (hidden, scheduled-off and out-of-stock dishes follow the same rules customers see): https://menuthere.com/docs/online-store/how-google-sees-your-store (accessed 20 Oct 2026)