Lead One of Edinburgh's Busiest Independent Restaurants
Some restaurants offer a management job. We're offering the opportunity to lead one!
Howies has been serving Edinburgh for over 36 years and has become one of Scotland's most respected independent restaurant groups. Family-owned, proudly Scottish, and passionate about genuine hospitality, we've built our reputation through exceptional food, outstanding service, and investing in great people.
Our city centre restaurants are fast-paced, high-volume operations serving thousands of guests every week. They're vibrant, demanding and hugely rewarding places to work.
We're now looking for an exceptional Restaurant Manager to take ownership of one of our flagship restaurants.
This isn't a role for someone looking to simply manage shifts.
It's for someone who wants to inspire a team, drive standards, deliver unforgettable hospitality, and create a restaurant people genuinely love coming back to.
The Opportunity
As Restaurant Manager you'll have full responsibility for the day-to-day operation of a busy city centre restaurant.
You'll lead from the floor, build a high-performing team, coach and develop people, drive commercial performance and create an atmosphere where both guests and staff thrive.
You'll be supported by an experienced Senior General Manager and senior leadership team, but this is your restaurant.
We're looking for someone who takes pride in ownership.
We're Looking For Someone Who...
Loves Hospitality
- You genuinely care about people.
- You know great service isn't scripted—it's created by engaged teams who enjoy looking after guests.
Inspires Others
- People naturally want to work for you.
- You coach rather than command, develop confidence in others, and create an environment where people enjoy coming to work.
Leads From The Front
- You don't hide in the office.
- You'll be visible during service, setting the pace, solving problems and supporting your team when they need you most.
Has Drive
- You always look for ways to improve.
- Better service.
- Better standards.
- Better sales.
- Better teams.
- You never settle for average.
Thinks Commercially
- You understand that brilliant hospitality and strong financial performance go hand in hand.
- Labour, GP, sales, guest satisfaction and team engagement all matter.
Thrives Under Pressure
- Busy restaurants energise you.
- You stay calm, make decisions quickly and keep your team focused, no matter how demanding the service becomes.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead the daily operation of a busy city centre restaurant
- Inspire, coach and develop a large front-of-house team
- Deliver exceptional guest experiences every day
- Maintain consistently high service standards
- Drive sales, labour control and profitability
- Recruit, train and retain outstanding people
- Manage rotas and staffing effectively
- Build a positive, motivated team culture
- Handle guest feedback professionally and confidently
- Ensure Health & Safety and food safety standards are always met
- Work closely with the senior management team to continually improve the business
What We're Looking For
- Previous experience as a Restaurant Manager or strong Deputy/Assistant Manager ready for the next step
- Experience leading teams within a high-volume restaurant
- Outstanding leadership and communication skills
- Passion for hospitality and genuine guest care
- Strong organisational and people management skills
- Positive, energetic and hands-on approach
- High standards with excellent attention to detail
- Commercial awareness and understanding of KPIs
- A desire to build successful teams rather than simply manage them
What We Offer
£35,000 Salary, Average £11,000 Annual Tronc, Performance Bonus Scheme, OTE £48,000+
Plus:
- Free meals on shift
- Staff dining discounts
- Pension
- Ongoing leadership development
- Wine and supplier training
- Structured Personal Development Plans
- Support from an experienced senior leadership team
- Long-term career progression within an established independent business
- Regular team events
Why Howies?
We believe restaurants are built by people.
The best food means nothing without a passionate team behind it.
We're looking for someone who believes in developing people, leading with integrity, setting high standards and creating memorable experiences for every guest who walks through our doors.
If you're ambitious, love hospitality, thrive in busy restaurants and want to lead a team that genuinely enjoys coming to work...
Pay: £35,000.00-£48,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Company pension
- Discounted or free food
- Employee discount
Work Location: In person
