The menu: what should I pay attention to?
By Freepik
You find them in every restaurant, in different sizes; the menu. Some restaurant owners are very creative with their menu to turn them into an eye catcher, some restaurant owners don’t really care. What should you pay attention to as a restaurant owner whilst designing your menu?
The design and vibes
Design the menu in a way that it suits the wishes of your audience perfectly. Make sure not to design the menu exactly as you like it. It is possible that your wishes are different than the wishes of your guests. Guests do not buy based on technical data, but based on emotion. Tell about the origin of your products and about the history of the restaurant. Tell your story and emphasize with the emotions of your guests.
Readability and contrast
A menu should be perfectly readable. Some menus do have a background with colours which are too bright. The text on the menu won’t be readable because of this. The same with contrast; make sure the background and the colour of the text are complimentary to each other so it is readable. Grey text on a black background is a no-go.
Clear and structured menu
Make sure your menu is organized and clear. Make different categories for your dishes (starter, main, etc.) and take care of consistency in structure and design. Let your guests think along about your designs. The guests will look at it differently than you do. Make sure not to put too many dishes on the menu, this prevents that your guests do not know what to choose.
Psychology: it’s all in the mind
There have been several studies on which dish sell the best, based on their place on the menu. Studies show that dishes that are at the top or the bottom of the menu sell the best. So place dishes with the most marge at the top or bottom of the categories of your menu.
The quality of the menu
A lot of times the menu is dirty, there are stains and fingerprints on it or the corners are damaged. These are blemishes that occur regularly. Don’t forget that your guests hold the menu in their hands for quite some time and are looking at it very carefully. A menu that looks neat and professional says a lot about (the rest) of your restaurant.
Tip: because a lot of people check out the website of the restaurant they are going to visit, it is wise to place a digital menu on your website. The guests know exactly what to expect! You can do this as PDF, it is even better to place the text on the website itself.
For inspiration and other tips take a look at the website of Horécards.
