What Everybody Ought To Know About Restaurant Menu Designs

In my previous article, I talked about restaurant design being the face of your business, the first link to communicating with your customers. So okay. After impressing them with your interior designs, what’s next? They sit down at one of your tables and begin to order, and this is where restaurant menu design comes in.

Big things come from small beginnings.

The next key ingredient to a successful restaurant marketing plan is a great restaurant menu design. It shows your eating personality, establishes your budget, and embeds your brand firmly in the customer’s mind.

Here’s what you need to know about restaurant menu design.

Q: What’s the purpose of a good restaurant menu design?
A: Simply put, your restaurant menu design represents your restaurant and its services. It’s like your restaurant is saying, “This is who we are and what we can offer you.”

Aside from the staff, the restaurant menu design is also a way to convey your personality to the customer, dine-in or take out. A great restaurant menu design creates an impression that stays in the customer’s mind long after the waiter or waitress walks off with it.

Q: What do I need to know before I go designing my restaurant menu?
A: Nothing good ever comes out of not doing research before engaging in any business practice. Especially in the foodservice industry.

You need to conduct research, a feasibility study, before you can start to even think about your restaurant menu design. Begin by looking at your own numbers, such as budget and prospective financial goals. Then consider your competitors. Analyze their websites and menu prices and their way of doing business. The saying goes, “Keep your friends close…”

Around 80% of any restaurant’s business comes from residents within a 10-minute drive to your location. Remember this, and then ask yourself these questions.

• What can I offer customers that other businesses in the area don’t?
• What dishes do I have in common with other restaurants in the area? Are my dishes superior?
• Are my prices just right?
• Am I offering more menu variety than others?

These factors should put you in the right frame of mind in creating your restaurant menu design.

Q: Can you give me tips on how to design my menu?
A: Of course! This is why I’m here, writing this article, in the first place.

As the restaurant operator, you should have a pretty clear picture which dishes sell the most on any given day. Put all of them on the Manager’s Choice or Chef’s Recommendations part of the menu. This is usually on the first page of the restaurant menu design, where the customer brings his or her eyes to first and gets the most attention.

Use pictures, labels and boxes to highlight signature dishes.

I don’t know if this needs saying, but arrange your menu items in columns, not rows. Putting everything in one column exhibits sophistication, two columns shows a sense of playfulness, etc.

Making a restaurant business work is no easy task. You need a little bit of everything—management skills, ample leadership traits, good chefs and an even better team, and lots of luck—if you want to be able to make a name in this industry.

A well-run restaurant is like a winning baseball team. It makes the most of every crew member’s talent and takes advantage of every split-second opportunity to speed up service.

David Ogilvy.

Start by getting your restaurant menu design right.