A major ingredient behind any successful restaurant is a popular and deeply appreciated menu. From the items on your menu to how it looks, this blog will tell you everything you need to know on how to craft the perfect menu and inevitably make your restaurant the talk of the town.
Most restaurant owners have a poor menu and then wonder why their outlet isn’t receiving much traction. A perfect menu is a key recipe for a busy restaurant. A good menu not only has the most popular items but it’s also well-designed and reflects your brand identity. There’s so much that you must be careful about when designing a menu. Let’s dive into what they are.
First, Refine Your Food Items List
The first step of the way is to refine your food items. You must’ve been experimenting with different foods over the past few years, so take a meticulous look at which items performed better and which ones didn’t. This is important because you can’t just put every item on the menu because of the limited space, and you don’t want the customer to be overwhelmed by too many choices.
Next, prepare a section-by-section list for the menu. Which beef, chicken, and seafood items are going to be on the list? Do you serve appetizers and desserts? What about a “Specials” section? As a rule of thumb, we suggest having no more than 6 to 7 items per section. Cutting out extra dishes to arrive at the best ones is going to be a tough call. Make sure you make that decision based on past consumer data.
Choose a Cohesive Menu Design
The next thing you should pay particular attention to is your menu design. Our recommendation is to be minimalistic in your approach. Use colors that go with your brand. For example, if you specialize in Mexican food, a red-colored theme would go quite well because it signifies spice. If it’s Italian, go for white or gray. You can use an online menu maker like PosterMyWall, which contains dozens of menu templates, to craft your perfect menu in a few clicks!
You should have a video menu above the ordering counter as well. That’s become common practice with most restaurants as it lays out all the information to the customer without them having to sit down at the table and read the menu. Just make sure it’s colorful, vibrant, and tantalizing — the bottom line is that it should make the already hungry customer hungrier!
Make Use of Digital Signage
Many restaurant owners underestimate the power of digital signage. Digital signage is an on-screen menu. You may have seen it at McDonald’s or other major international food chains. You may even be able to place an order using these screens, which is super efficient!
The major advantage of using digital signage is that you can change anything in the menu at any time with ease without having to re-print the entire menu. However, the key is to make the user experience seamless. You’ll need to have a colorful background, and have a UX designer onboard. We suggest using these pre-built digital signage templates to cut half the work.
Pick Colors Carefully
Having a minimalistic menu doesn’t mean you’re not allowed to add in colors. But adding colors can be tricky because colors are fundamentally tied to psychology. Red indicates spice, green reflects health and nature, yellow symbolizes richness, and blue relaxes you. When creating your menu, think about how you want your customers to feel when they first come in.
Another thing to keep in mind is keeping your colors consistent with the vibe of your restaurants. If you’re using yellow lights, your menu on the table would appear a bit differently than in white lights. So, make sure the colors on the menu look good in the kind of lighting you’re using in the restaurants — all these little details count!
Don’t Forget Descriptions and Visuals
Many restaurants have menus that just list out the food items and their respective prices without saying anything about the ingredients in that dish and a picture of what it looks like. This is a super important thing to remember. People are going to be reluctant to order something they haven’t seen a picture of or don’t know what it contains.
Last but not least, make sure the images you use on your menu are original and depict the same dish you’re going to serve your customers. If it’s not the same, you’d leave a bad impression on the customers.
Some Final Thoughts
Designing the perfect menu takes time, patience, and constant revisions. It all boils down to user experience, so don’t be afraid to talk to actual customers and take their feedback about it. After all, the customer’s feedback is the only thing that will help you improve. Since every restaurant is different and serves a unique target audience, remember that there’s no one-size-fits-all solution that would work for everyone.
