Is your menu design on the money?

A successful menu lures your customers in off the street or the internet, it keeps them coming back for more and it connects your culinary vision with their needs and wants. In short, your menu design needs to be on the money to make your venture a success but what exactly does that involve?

What’s on your menu?

Getting the content of a menu right is one of the most difficult things for a new culinary enterprise and its something that requires regular review to ensure continued success. One of the trickiest things to get right and the downfall of many a menu is balancing your own personal taste with that of your target market and everyday customer. Depending on what type of business you are running and the location of it, you may need to factor in a lot more of the locals’ tastes than you’d like to ensure year-round business. If you’re confident you can persuade people to travel to your eatery you’ll need a menu that impresses enough to make a buzz.

While you probably have a target demographic in mind for your menu there are specific groups that you’ll need to factor in whatever your direction. The oft-overlooked vegetarian in a group of friends tends to have the steer on where they choose to dine, so it’s important to have an inclusive menu that offers them more than carbs plus cheese. You may also want to offer something that appeals to children – though this doesn’t necessarily mean creating a kids menu.

Finally, you need to decide on the format of your menu – will it cover the standard courses of starter, main course and desserts or factor in the rising trend for smaller bites and sharing plates? Will you allow customisation of your menu or keep it fixed?

Have you got the legalities covered?

Did you know it’s now a legal requirement that you label any foods that might contain allergens on your menu? You can find out more about this on the Gov.uk website. It’s not currently a legal requirement to display nutritional information or calorie count on menus but it may be in the future and if you’re trying to appeal to a health-conscious crowd you may consider its inclusion. You may also want to display information relating to how hot or spicy a dish is.

What does it look like?

Getting your menu on brand and beautiful is almost as important as knowing what you are going to sell, it helps to differentiate your business and persuade your customer to part with their cash. From a purely aesthetic perspective you will need to make sure the design matches your interior, fits with the items you sell and appeals to your target demographic. If you’re going to use photographs ensure they are of a professional quality – images of plastic-looking plates will not impact sales positively.

The layout of menus can have a psychological impact on customers and influence what they order, so think carefully about what you include and where. In this article from the Guardian, Professor Brian Wansick explains “we generally scan the menu in a z-shaped fashion starting in the top left hand corner.” With this in mind, you may want to make sure the items you want to sell most of are within this pattern. Pullout boxes, shading and other means of highlighting items can also be used to draw the eye.

Keeping your menu simple will ensure your customers are not overwhelmed by choice and help you in the kitchen too. Since a vast menu generally requires a lot of advanced prepping or frozen foods a succinct one will reassure your clientele about the freshness of what you are serving.

While some establishments excel when clouded with a little mystery it can pay to put your menu online – if there are eaters in the party with special dietary requirements they are more likely to visit if they can plan their meal in advance. You may even want to make it possible to order and pay in advance online, which is something new payment types are promoting to appeal to younger tech-savvy diners.

What does it sound like?

The tone and style of the words on the page need to match up with your design and ethos and excellent spelling and grammar should come as standard to build trust. Even if your offering is at the lower end of the price spectrum you may want to include some more expensive items to make the rest of the menu seem more appealing in comparison, establishing your business as a desirable place to eat.

While you want the items on your menu to sound appealing it’s incredibly important that you keep it factual. There’s nothing worse than ordering a roasted peach and whipped goat cheese salad only to find out when it arrives at the table that you’re actually getting some slightly warm pan-fried peaches and a lump of feta. If something is off the menu or has been altered be sure to tell your customers in advance. Don’t forget to emphasise the things that matter too; if you source your food locally say so. Let customers know what great quality they are getting for their money.

When did you last update your menu and the physical designs of your menus? Is it time for an overhaul? Do you use menus at all or prefer to use a specials board only? Share your experiences below.