Menu modifiers: what they are and how to set them up
Updated October 20, 2026
Menu modifiers are the choices a customer makes on a dish: the size, a base, extra toppings, a side, "no onions." Each one can change the price and what the kitchen has to make. Modifiers sit in groups (for example "Choose your crust"), and each group has rules: whether the guest must pick, and how many they can pick.
In short
- A size (variant) replaces the price. Small $12, large $18: the guest picks exactly one.
- An add-on adds to the price. Extra cheese +$2.
- Required groups stop the order until the guest chooses ("forced modifiers" in POS language). Optional groups don't.
- On Menuthere sizes and add-on groups are on every plan, and the guest's choices print on the order and the kitchen ticket.
What are the types of menu modifiers?
| Type | Guest picks | Price effect | Restaurant example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Size or portion (variant) | Exactly one | Replaces the dish price | Small / Large pizza; half / whole rack of ribs |
| Required choice | Exactly one, or a set number | Usually included, sometimes extra | Choose your bread; choose a side |
| Optional add-on | None, one or several | Adds to the price | Extra cheese, bacon, avocado |
| Multiple of the same option | The same option more than once | Adds once for each | Two ranch dips |
| Removal or note | Free text | None | "No onions," "sauce on the side" |
POS systems such as Toast and Square call these modifiers and modifier groups. Online ordering tools often call them variants and add-ons. The idea is the same.
Why modifiers matter for online orders
At the counter, a cashier asks "what size?" Online, the menu has to ask. Badly set modifiers cause the three most common order problems:
- Missing choices. The guest orders a burger without picking a side, and the kitchen calls them to ask. A required group prevents it.
- Wrong prices. An extra that should cost $2 is free, or a large is charged at the small price.
- Unclear tickets. The kitchen can't tell what was chosen. The choice has to print with the dish.
Modifiers are also where upselling happens quietly: a well-priced "add bacon +$2" raises the average order value without a server in the room.
A priced example: a pizza with three groups
| Group | Rule | Guest's choice | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Size | Pick one (sizes) | Large | $18.00 (replaces the $12 small) |
| Extra toppings | Optional, choose up to 4 | Extra cheese, olives | +$2.00, +$1.50 |
| Dips | Optional, up to 3, more than one of each allowed | Ranch ×2 | +$0.75 × 2 = +$1.50 |
| Line total | $23.00 |
The order line reads "Margherita pizza (Large, Extra cheese, Olives, Ranch ×2)". (Illustrative prices.)
How Menuthere handles menu modifiers
- Sizes (variants). Add a Variant Name and Base Price for each size. The customer must pick exactly one, and the dish's own price box then reads "Variant prices are used". Each size can carry its own Delivery Price, for menus that charge more on delivery. See price parity.
- Add-on groups. Each group is Single choice or Multiple, and Required or optional. For Multiple, Up to sets the most a guest can take. More than one of each is on by default, so a guest can take two of the same dip, and Up to counts every one (2 Coke + 1 Sprite = 3).
- Prices. Each option has an Extra Price, added once for every one the guest takes. Leave it empty for a free option.
- Photos on options. An option can show a small photo, which guests can tap to enlarge.
- What the guest sees. The dish sheet labels each group, for example "Required · choose 1", and says "Select options" until a required group is filled.
- What the kitchen sees. The size and the choices become part of the line name on the order, such as "Chicken burger (Large, Extra cheese)", so they print on the kitchen order ticket.
- Sold out? Each size has its own on/off switch, so you can 86 one size and keep the others.
- On every plan, Free included. Help: sizes and portions and add-ons and choices.
What it doesn't do: add-on groups are set on each dish, not shared from one library. An add-on costs the same on every size. There is no half-and-half pizza builder; pizzerias use a required "Second half" group instead (see online ordering for pizzerias).
Set up sizes and extras once and let every online and QR order arrive complete. 0% commission.
Related terms
- 86: marking a dish or one size as sold out.
- Upselling: suggesting another dish when this one goes in the cart.
- Kitchen order ticket (KOT): where the choices print for the cook.
- Average order value: what paid add-ons move.
FAQs
What is a menu modifier?
A menu modifier is a choice a customer makes on a dish, such as its size, a base, a topping or a side. It can change the price and what the kitchen makes. Modifiers are grouped, and each group has rules for how many choices the customer can or must make.
What is the difference between a forced and an optional modifier?
A forced (required) modifier must be chosen before the dish can be ordered, such as a steak's doneness or a burger's side. An optional modifier can be skipped, such as extra cheese. Online menus need required groups so orders don't arrive incomplete.
What is the difference between a size and an add-on?
A size replaces the dish's price and the customer picks exactly one, such as small or large. An add-on is an extra that adds to the price, and the customer can usually pick several.
Can a customer pick the same add-on twice?
On Menuthere, yes, in a Multiple group with More than one of each switched on, which is the default. The order shows it as, for example, "Ranch ×2" and charges the extra price twice.
Do modifiers print on the kitchen ticket?
On Menuthere, yes. The size and the chosen add-ons become part of the dish's line on the order, so they print with the dish on the kitchen order ticket.
Sources (2)
- Menuthere help: Sizes and portions (variants), updated 6 Oct 2026 (Variant Name, Base Price, Delivery Price per size; pick exactly one; "Variant prices are used"; size in the order line, e.g. "Chicken biryani (Half)"; per-size switch): https://menuthere.com/docs/menu/sizes-and-portions-variants (accessed 20 Oct 2026)
- Menuthere help: Add-ons and choices, updated 12 Oct 2026 (Single choice / Multiple; Required; Up to; More than one of each on by default; 2 Coke + 1 Sprite = 3; Extra Price added once per unit; empty = free; option photos; "Required · choose 1"; "Select options"; "Spicy Mayo ×2"): https://menuthere.com/docs/menu/add-ons-and-choices (accessed 20 Oct 2026)