For Mexican restaurants and bowl shops
Kitchen management software for Mexican restaurants.
Taquerias, burrito shops and fast-casual bowl lines run on a long steam table and a cold rail of salsas. Zatila puts the scoop for every part in every size, the hot and cold holding checks and tomorrow's prep on a tablet the whole line can read. Upload your menu and prep sheets, and Zatila sets up everything for you.
30-day free trialNo card neededUnlimited tablets
What does kitchen management software do for a Mexican restaurant?
Kitchen management software for a Mexican restaurant keeps portions even down the line and the steam table safe. Zatila shows each burrito, bowl and taco plate step by step with the scoop for every part in every size. It records hot and cold holding temperatures in timed line checks and asks what was done when a reading is out of range. It also times the salsa and guacamole pans, dates every marinade, and sets prep pars for each day of the week.
- Sizes
- Regular and large bowls, with the amount of each part in each
- Line checks
- Hot well and cold rail readings, with an action when one is off
- Time limits
- Timers for guacamole and salsa held out of the cooler
- Prep pars
- A bigger par for Taco Tuesday than for Monday
The problem
Where a Mexican or bowl line loses money and time
A build-your-own line is fast for the guest and hard on the kitchen: twenty pans, a dozen choices and every scoop by eye.
Scoops grow during the rush
A regular bowl gets a large scoop of steak, a burrito gets an extra spoon of rice. Across a thousand orders a week, the protein given away is real money, and regulars notice when two bowls don't match.
The steam table drifts
Rice, beans and carnitas sit hot for hours. If a well slips under 135°F after lunch and nobody checks until close, everything served from it all afternoon was out of range.
Salsa and guac run on a clock
Pico, salsa verde and guacamole are made fresh and held cold or on time. Without a start time on the pan, nobody knows whether this batch came out at 11 or at 3.
Marinades need a day's notice
Al pastor and carne asada marinate overnight. Miss the evening prep and tomorrow's lunch runs short, and there's no way to catch up once the doors open.
No two days sell the same
Taco Tuesday and Saturday lunch need twice the tortillas and protein of a Monday. One par for every day means waste on slow days and an 86'd steak on busy ones.
New crew, every season
Fast-casual teams turn over quickly. Each new hire has to learn every build, every size and every allergen without slowing a line that's out the door.
How Zatila handles it
How Zatila runs a Mexican and bowl kitchen
Portions at the line, readings on the steam table, and a time or a date on every pan.
Portions and sizes
The right scoop, in every size.
Each burrito, bowl and taco plate is a guide with its parts in order: base, protein, toppings, salsa and finish. Give an item sizes, like a regular and a large bowl or a two- and three-taco plate, and set the amount of each part in each size. The cook taps the size, and every step shows the scoop for that size, so 4 oz of chicken in a regular never becomes 6.
- Up to 6 sizes per item, with a part left out of a size when it doesn't belong
- Allergens at the top of every guide, like milk in the queso and crema
- Out of carnitas? Every guide that uses it says so
Hot and cold holding
Line checks that record the temperature.
Put a reading on any checklist step: the rice well at 135°F or above, the cold rail at 41°F or below. The line check comes due at the times you set, and the cook types each reading. If one is out of range, Zatila asks what was done about it, like "reheated the beans to 165°F", before the check can be finished, and can send the failed reading to your managers right away.
See food-safety logs in detail
Salsas, guacamole and marinades
A start time on the guac, a date on the marinade.
When a pan of guacamole or pico goes out on time control, start its timer on the tablet: it runs on the home screen and alarms when the pan has to go. Pans that live in the cooler get a use-by label instead, and so do marinating meats, with the item, the made date and who made it. The Labels screen lists what to use today and what to throw out now.
- Several timers at once, still counting when the Wi-Fi drops
- Thrown-out pans go straight onto the waste log
Batch recipes
Salsa roja for Saturday, scaled.
House salsas, adobo, rice and beans live as recipes with their shelf life and where to store them. The batch scaler goes from half a batch to 4 batches and works out every amount, so the opener who makes 3 batches of salsa roja for Saturday doesn't do the math on the back of a ticket.
More on recipe guides
English and Spanish
The line reads it in Spanish. You keep the records in English.
Every kitchen tablet works in English and Spanish, with one tap on EN | ES, and each tablet remembers its choice. Zatila translates your own builds, salsa recipes, prep and line checks into the everyday kitchen Spanish your crew uses, and the scoop sizes, temperatures and units stay exactly as you wrote them. You can review and change any line in your admin.
- A cook on the grill reads Spanish while the build line stays in English
- Hold ES to see the same screen in English, to check a step together
- Temperature logs and reports stay in English for managers and inspectors
Pars by weekday
Give tortillas, steak and chicken a par for each day, and the prep board marks them low against today's number, not an average.
A board per station
The grill tablet shows proteins and the cold rail shows salsas: each tablet filters the prep board to its own station.
Allergen chart
Milk, wheat, soy and the rest across the whole menu, on the tablet and printed for the counter, from the allergens you enter.
Line check targets
Holding targets for a Mexican line
The checks most taquerias and bowl shops build into their line check, and what the cook writes down when one is off.
| What to check | Target | If it's out of range |
|---|---|---|
| Hot well: rice, beans, proteins | 135°F or above | Reheat to 165°F, or throw it out if you can't say how long it was low |
| Cold rail: salsas, crema, cheese, lettuce | 41°F or below | Move the pans to the walk-in and check the unit |
| Guacamole or pico held on time | Up to 4 hours out of the cooler | Throw it out at the time limit and log it as waste |
| Cooling beans and braised meats | 135°F to 70°F in 2 hours, then to 41°F within 4 more | Reheat to 165°F and cool again, or throw it out |
| Marinating meats in the walk-in | 41°F or below | Move them to a working cooler and tell a manager |
How it works
Get your Mexican kitchen on Zatila
- 01
Choose Mexican and bowls
Start with example burritos, bowls and tacos, prep items, recipes and checklists you can change.
- 02
Upload your menu
Your menu board, spec sheets and salsa recipes, with sizes and portions set up for you to review.
- 03
Pair the tablets
One at the build line, one on the grill, one at prep. Every plan has unlimited tablets.
- 04
Run the line
Guides at the line, readings on the steam table and the board at prep, all visible in your admin.
How do I keep bowl and burrito portions consistent?
Set a portion for every part and show it at the line. In Zatila, each item's guide lists its parts with their amounts, like 4 oz of chicken and 3 oz of rice, and marks the parts for the current step, so every cook builds it the same way.
Can a regular and a large bowl have different portions?
Yes. Give the item up to 6 sizes and set the amount of each part in each one. The cook picks the size on the tablet, and the guide shows the portions for that size on every step.
How long can guacamole and salsa sit out?
Under the FDA Food Code, cold food held without temperature control is usually thrown out after 4 hours, if your health department allows time as a control. Check your local rules. In Zatila, start a timer when the pan goes out, and the tablet alarms when it has to go.
Does Zatila keep a HACCP line check log?
Yes. Each reading in a line check is saved with the time, the target, OK or out of range, the cook's name and the action taken. Managers filter the log by date and location and download it as CSV for an inspector.
Can my crew use the tablets in Spanish?
Yes. Any cook can tap EN | ES on a tablet to switch it to Spanish, and that tablet remembers the choice. Zatila translates your own menu, recipes and checklists into kitchen Spanish, and you can review and change any line in the admin. Amounts, temperatures and units never change, and records and reports stay in English.
Does Zatila take orders like a POS?
No. Zatila runs the kitchen side: guides, prep, labels, timers and checks. It works next to the POS, online ordering and ticket printer you already use.
Pricing
Mexican kitchen software, priced per location.
Every plan has every kitchen tool and unlimited tablets, and coming soon and closed locations are free.
Starter
For one kitchen getting organized.
$39per location
/ month$35 from the 5th location, $29 from the 10th
Start free$390per location
/ year$32.50 a month, billed yearly. $350 from the 5th location, $290 from the 10th
- Menu guides, recipes and the prep guide
- Prep board, checklists and use-by labels
- Food-safety timers with temperature logs
- Unlimited tablets
- Zatila sets up 50 items a month for you
Recommended
Pro
For busy kitchens and growing teams.
$69per location
/ month$59 from the 5th location, $49 from the 10th
Start free$690per location
/ year$57.50 a month, billed yearly. $590 from the 5th location, $490 from the 10th
- Everything in Starter
- Zatila sets up your whole menu, with no monthly limit
Chain
For groups with 10 or more locations.
Talk to usCustom
- Everything in Pro
- Setup help for every location
- Custom terms and invoicing
Coming soon and closed locations are free.
30-day free trial, no card.
Prices in US dollars. Tax is added where it applies.
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