Dayparting: what a daypart is and how to run one on your menu
Updated October 20, 2026
Dayparting means dividing a restaurant's day into parts (breakfast, lunch, afternoon, dinner, late night) and giving each part its own menu, prices, staff or promotions. A diner that serves pancakes until 11 a.m. and burgers after it is dayparting. So is a bar with a 4–6 p.m. happy-hour menu.
In short
- A daypart is one block of the day, such as "lunch, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m."
- Restaurants daypart to match the menu to who is in the door, to staff each block, and to fill slow hours.
- Online, a daypart has to be scheduled, or customers order breakfast at 8 p.m.
- On Menuthere any dish can show only on chosen days and times, on every plan.
What are the common dayparts?
| Daypart | Typical hours | What usually changes |
|---|---|---|
| Breakfast | 6 a.m. – 11 a.m. | Breakfast menu, coffee focus, fast tickets |
| Lunch | 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. | Combos and quick dishes for office workers |
| Afternoon | 2 p.m. – 5 p.m. | Snacks, drinks, often the slowest block |
| Happy hour | 4 p.m. – 6 p.m. | Lower drink and appetizer prices |
| Dinner | 5 p.m. – 9 p.m. | Full menu, the highest check |
| Late night | 9 p.m. – close | A short menu, delivery-heavy |
| Weekend brunch | Sat–Sun, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. | A separate brunch menu |
The hours vary by concept and city; the table shows a common pattern, not a rule.
Why daypart?
- Menu fit. People want different things at 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. A shorter menu per daypart also makes the kitchen faster.
- Staffing. Each block can be staffed for its volume.
- Slow hours. An afternoon or late-night offer can bring traffic to the emptiest part of the day.
- Measuring. Sales by hour show which dayparts carry the business. Your average order value is usually different in each.
An example: a café with three dayparts
A café opens 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. It sets breakfast sandwiches to show 7:00–11:30 a.m. on weekdays, a brunch plate on Saturday and Sunday 10:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m., and a pizza menu from 5:00 p.m. Delivery runs only from 5:00 p.m., when the dinner crowd orders from home.
| Time | Breakfast sandwich | Brunch plate | Pizza | Delivery |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tue 8:00 a.m. | On the menu | Hidden | Hidden | Unavailable |
| Sat 12:00 p.m. | Hidden | On the menu | Hidden | Unavailable |
| Fri 7:00 p.m. | Hidden | Hidden | On the menu | Available |
(Illustrative example.) After a month, the café's sales-by-hour chart shows whether the evening pizza block earns its keep.
Dayparting vs 86-ing a dish
A daypart hides a dish on purpose, every day, outside its hours. 86-ing a dish marks it sold out for now. They behave differently on Menuthere: a scheduled dish disappears from the menu outside its window, while an 86'd dish stays visible as "Unavailable."
How Menuthere handles dayparting
- Set Time on any dish. In the dish's Availability card, switch on Set Time, tap the days under Available on these days and set From and To. Outside the window the dish is removed from the menu, not greyed out.
- Windows past midnight. "From 10:00 PM to 2:00 AM" runs past midnight and belongs to the day it starts, for a late-night menu.
- Category hours. A dish with no schedule of its own follows its category's hours.
- Your timezone. Every time follows your store's timezone.
- Delivery and takeaway windows. Take delivery, takeaway or both for only part of the day, for example takeaway all day and delivery from 6:00 p.m. Outside the window customers see a line such as "Available 6:00 PM – 11:00 PM." See delivery and takeaway hours.
- Breaks. A lunch shift and a dinner shift work as one day with a break in between. See working hours and breaks.
- Per order type. A dish can also be shown only for delivery, takeaway or dine-in.
- Measure it. Revenue by hour in analytics draws one bar per hour, and names your peak hour and busiest two-hour window. On every plan.
- Help: show dishes at set times.
What it doesn't do: a scheduled dish keeps one price all day, and there is no recurring happy-hour price. An item offer (Lite) can run between a custom start and end time, but it doesn't repeat each day; for a daily happy hour, add a separate happy-hour dish with its own schedule and price. Discount codes can be limited to weekdays and dates, not to a time of day.
Let your online menu change with the clock: breakfast in the morning, pizza at night. 0% commission.
Related terms
- 86: marking a dish sold out for now.
- Pre-order: an order placed now for a later slot, which also follows your hours.
- Average order value: worth comparing daypart by daypart.
FAQs
What is dayparting in a restaurant?
Dayparting is dividing the trading day into blocks, such as breakfast, lunch, dinner and late night, and giving each its own menu, prices, staffing or promotions. A breakfast menu served until 11 a.m. is an example.
What are the main dayparts?
The usual dayparts are breakfast, lunch, the afternoon, dinner and late night, with weekend brunch and happy hour as common extras. Each restaurant sets its own hours for them.
How do I show a breakfast menu only in the morning online?
Give each breakfast dish a schedule with the days and hours it is sold. On Menuthere, switch on Set Time on the dish and set From and To; outside that window the dish is removed from the online menu.
Can a daypart run past midnight?
Yes. On Menuthere, a window such as 10:00 PM to 2:00 AM runs past midnight and belongs to the day it starts, which suits a late-night menu.
Can I charge different prices at different times of day?
Not with a schedule alone on Menuthere, because a dish keeps one price. An item offer can run for one custom window, but it doesn't repeat daily, so for a daily happy hour add a separate dish with its own schedule and price.
Sources (5)
- Menuthere help: Show dishes at set times, updated 6 Oct 2026 (Set Time; Available on these days; From/To; removed outside the window, not greyed out; past midnight belongs to the day it starts; no schedule → follows its category's hours; store timezone; Show on Delivery/Takeaway/Dine-in): https://menuthere.com/docs/hours/show-dishes-at-set-times (accessed 20 Oct 2026)
- Menuthere help: Working hours and breaks, updated 11 Oct 2026 (breaks; lunch and dinner shifts as a day with a break): https://menuthere.com/docs/hours/working-hours-and-breaks (accessed 20 Oct 2026)
- Menuthere help: Delivery and takeaway hours, updated 6 Oct 2026 (restrict delivery or takeaway to part of the day; "Available 6:00 PM - 11:00 PM"; dine-in follows working hours): https://menuthere.com/docs/hours/delivery-and-takeaway-hours (accessed 20 Oct 2026)
- Menuthere help: Sales analytics, updated 10 Oct 2026 (Revenue by hour, Peak hour, Busiest window; every plan): https://menuthere.com/docs/analytics/sales-analytics (accessed 20 Oct 2026)
- Menuthere help: Create an item offer and Limits, days and validity, updated 6 Oct 2026 (Runs: Today, 7 days, 30 days or Custom start and end at least 15 minutes apart; discounts limited by weekdays and dates, "A time of day is not one of the controls"): https://menuthere.com/docs/promotions/limits-days-and-validity (accessed 20 Oct 2026)