We don’t live in a time when a diner has to come into your restaurant to get a glimpse of the menu. It’s the digital age and diners already know what they want to eat from your menu even before they set foot into the restaurant. A couple of clicks on Zomato and the menu is on their screen. And in even shorter time, they know if they’re going to that restaurant or not. Menu plays a key role in decision making today and not just ordering food. Menus have also evolved from plain text of 200 odd dishes on paper and laminated with plastic to them being professionally designed.

At a few restaurants, the menu is turned into a USP by playing around with designs and shapes of the menu itself. There have been newspaper style menus, menus on wine bottles, wooden planks, so on. What it says is that restaurants in the past few years have been investing in not only the content of their menus, but also the design and concept of them. In a previous post about menu pricing tips we spoke about only pricing. This time, let’s zoom out and look at the bigger picture.

Groundwork:

Check out your competitors’ menus to get an idea of what kinds of design are current. This is only to analyze and not to simply replicate another’s menu. One of the things for you to look at is the price point. What are the dishes priced at, and would you be able to compete with them? Will your dishes stand out against theirs, and will they be of more value to diners? See what kind of menus are out there. You can take inspiration from them and put your own spin to your menu.

Layout:

The colour scheme and font of your menu should reflect the kind of restaurant yours is. The same colour palette won’t work across all kinds of restaurants. A fine dining restaurant anywhere has a much cleaner and sharp looking menu when compared to a hip cafe. Either way, the basics still remain. Make sure the categories are well defined and well spaced. Do away with any distractions like animated images or pixilated food pictures. They don’t add any value and will only create clutter on the menu.

Description:

When your menu is clean, tight and well laid out, you can have descriptions that help the diner further with making an informed choice. The idea is to highlight the hero of the dish along with one or two supporting ingredients. Avoid too many adjectives and over explaining a dish. For instance, using words like slow-roasted, crispy, caramelized, fragrant, and the likes help understand what the flavours of the dish might be. Keep it simple and precise.

Clean:

When your menu is shorter and clutter-free, it eases the decision making process since the choices are limited. This is only because the more options one has, the more time they take to read through all of them and go back and forth. The more dishes on your menu, the more anxiety a diner goes through to make up their mind about what to order. The variety can overwhelm the diner only to affect their final decision. For instance, if the appetizers section has 15 dishes listed and a diner needs only one, it becomes a tedious process for them to make up their mind. But if there were say, seven options, it is less stressful to pick one.

Pricing:

We spoke about menu pricing in one of our posts earlier. However, it still stands to be one of the most important part of the menu. The way the dishes are listed on a menu and how the price is mentioned will always influence a diner’s decision. For example, a dish priced at ₹195 seems reasonable when compared to one priced at ₹200. It’s just a ₹5 difference, but that ₹5 tilts the scale in your favour. That’s not it, though. Many restaurant owners get their staff to push the expensive dishes like large seafood platters, for instance. A seafood lover will opt for it when they are with a group of people. You have got to push the ₹195 dishes to keep afloat. When the pricey ones sell, it’s value addition for you.

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If you’re still doubtful, just go with a simple black & white menu. Don’t overthink and ask for too many opinions. If you have a consultant, trust them. If you’re doing this on your own, play it safe by keeping it simple.