Free tools
Menu calorie calculator: calories per portion
Some menus print a dish's weight and its energy per 100 g, but not the calories on your plate. Others print kcal per portion. This calculator turns either into the calories in what you ordered, adds up the meal and, if you share it, splits the total equally.
What menus print
- The EU, including Romania, and the UK. EU food law expresses energy and nutrients per 100 g or per 100 ml (Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011, Article 32), and the version kept in UK law says the same. For food that is not prepacked, such as a restaurant dish, it also allows values per portion alone (Article 33). Romania's rule for restaurants, ANPC Order 201/2022, has required the energy, fat, saturates, sugars and salt of every dish at the point of sale since 15 March 2023, and ANPC's guide asks for each dish's net quantity on the menu. Those are the two numbers this calculator multiplies.
- The United States. Restaurants in chains with 20 or more locations must show the calories of standard menu items on menus and menu boards, a rule the FDA has applied since 7 May 2018. That is kcal per item: choose "kcal for the whole portion".
- England. Since 6 April 2022, businesses with 250 or more employees must show the kcal of a single portion of food that is not prepacked, next to the food on the menu, with the size of the portion. An item made for more than one person can show the kcal of the whole item and the number of people it serves.
How it works
For a menu that gives energy per 100 g, or per 100 ml:
kcal in the portion = portion weight × kcal per 100 g ÷ 100
A value printed in kilojoules is divided by 4.184 first, because 1 kcal is 4.184 kJ. A figure printed for the whole portion is added as it is. The meal total is the sum of the dishes, and "Shared between" divides it equally. If the menu also lists fat, saturates, sugars and salt per 100 g, the same multiplication gives the grams in your portion.
Energy is rounded to whole kcal, grams to one decimal and salt to two. The total is the sum of the rounded lines, so the lines on screen always add up to it. A weight printed in parts, such as 300/50 for a soup and its sour cream, is added up: 350 g.
Worked example
The example button loads an illustrative menu, not a real restaurant's values:
| Dish | Weight | kcal per 100 g | kcal in the portion |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tripe soup | 350 g | 98 | 343 |
| Grilled pork neck | 200 g | 267 | 534 |
| French fries | 150 g | 312 | 468 |
| Side salad | 100 g | 25 | 25 |
The soup is 350 × 98 ÷ 100 = 343 kcal. The meal adds up to 1370 kcal, or 5732 kJ. Shared equally between two people, that is 685 kcal each.
No numbers on the menu?
Choose "No numbers: estimate from the dish type", pick the closest type and enter the weight. The calculator multiplies the weight by the lowest and the highest energy per 100 g among USDA FoodData Central entries for that kind of dish, and shows a range. A 300 g pizza, for example, is 300 × 244 ÷ 100 to 300 × 331 ÷ 100, or 732–993 kcal. The entries behind every range are listed under Sources. The restaurant's own recipe can fall outside the range, so a figure from the menu is always the better input.
What it can't tell you
- The result is only as good as the menu's figures, which are the restaurant's own declaration for its recipe. The portion you are served can differ from the printed weight.
- Sauces, bread, sides and drinks can have lines of their own. They count only if you add them as dishes.
- If the menu gives a soup in ml but its energy per 100 g, enter both as printed. The calculator then counts 1 ml as 1 g, which is close for a soup but not exact.
- A dish-type range is a spread of USDA reference values, not a measurement of your plate.
- This is an estimate for information, not dietary advice. If you manage what you eat for a medical reason, ask a doctor or a registered dietitian.
The menu prints both kJ and kcal. Which do I use?
Use the kcal. EU labels work out kJ and kcal separately from the nutrients, with 37 kJ and 9 kcal for each gram of fat and 17 kJ and 4 kcal for each gram of protein or carbohydrate (Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011, Annex XIV). So the kJ figure divided by 4.184 can differ from the printed kcal by up to about 2%.
Why does the calculator refuse more than 900 kcal per 100 g?
Because no food has more. Fat is the most energy-dense nutrient, at 9 kcal (37 kJ) per gram, so 100 g of pure fat is 900 kcal, or 3700 kJ. A bigger number is usually the whole portion's kcal typed as the value per 100 g: switch that dish to "kcal for the whole portion".
Only one dish was shared. What do I enter?
Enter your part of it. With a per-100 g menu, type the weight you ate: a quarter of a 600 g platter is 150 g. With kcal per portion, divide the printed figure by the number of people first, and enter the result as the portion's kcal. Leave "Shared between" at 1, because it divides the whole meal.
Sources
- Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 on the provision of food information to consumers, Articles 30, 32, 33 and 44 and Annex XIV.
- Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 as kept in UK law, Article 32.
- US Food and Drug Administration, Menu Labeling Requirements.
- The Calorie Labelling (Out of Home Sector) (England) Regulations 2021, regulations 1, 5 and 7.
- ANPC Order no. 201 of 19 April 2022 (in Romanian), its start date set by ANPC Order no. 779/2022, and ANPC's guide to applying it.
- USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy (2018), for the dish-type ranges in kcal per 100 g:
- Pizza, 244–331 kcal: 172055, 173292, 170367, 173295, 173294, 170762.
- Burger in a bun, 226–310 kcal: 173317, 172083, 170694, 170691, 170693, 170294.
- Sandwich or sub, 146–276 kcal: 170308, 170309, 170368, 170696, 170299, 170295, 170318.
- Wrap or burrito, 180–275 kcal: 173278, 172039, 170786, 170785.
- Fried or breaded chicken, 230–310 kcal: 170756, 170757, 173321, 170359, 170718, 170360.
- Grilled or roasted chicken, 151–232 kcal: 171534, 171477, 172388, 171075, 173625.
- Grilled pork or beef, 167–294 kcal: 169560, 167841, 167904, 168727, 167851, 169537.
- White fish, grilled or baked, 105–128 kcal: 171956, 175127, 173694, 175177.
- Salmon, trout, carp or mackerel, 162–262 kcal: 174185, 173718, 175168, 175120.
- Pasta with tomato or meat sauce, 104–170 kcal: 169033, 167680, 169038, 169029.
- Rice dish with meat or beans, 142–185 kcal: 168065, 168064, 167659, 167668, 168066, 167665.
- French fries, 289–312 kcal: 169836, 170698.
- Mashed potatoes, 83–113 kcal: 170493, 170699, 168555.
- Vegetable salad, no oil or dressing, 14–31 kcal: 169248, 168409, 169247, 170457, 170427, 169975, 170108, 169977.
- Coleslaw or potato salad, 143–159 kcal: 169269, 170300, 173343, 169026.
- Bread, 252–272 kcal: 172688, 172684, 174913, 174924, 172675.
- Soup with vegetables, meat or noodles, 33–53 kcal: 171546, 171559, 171148, 171190, 174073, 171550.
- Bean, pea or tripe soup, or chowder, 74–103 kcal: 168069, 171555, 174062, 171144, 168068.
- Cake, pie or pastry, 237–389 kcal: 173239, 172706, 172711, 167534, 172759, 174934.
- Ice cream or sundae, 163–216 kcal: 173274, 173276, 168810, 167575, 168809.
To work out a packaged food from its label, use the nutrition label calculator. For beer, wine and cocktails, use the drink calorie calculator.