A menu may not be the first thing customers see at your restaurant, but it is one of the most powerful communication tools in your business. A menu is a thesis of sorts — it should reflect the overall vision of your business while setting expectations for your guests early in their dining experience.

We wanted to know what it takes to create the perfect menu design — one that conveys your brand, impresses guests, and (most importantly) helps them decide what to order.

In the post-Covid world, there is a drastic change in the expectations of restaurant customers. The dine-in customers have become quite hygiene conscious. They no longer want to stand in long queues or touch the paper menus used by multiple people. In this scenario, let’s go through the menu card tips that you can try out at your restaurant. Let’s help your restaurant stand out and gain success it needs.

Top menu card tips

Introduce a digital menu

It’s time to bid goodbye to the paper menus. With a digital menu offered by India’s leading digital restaurant management platform Inresto, now you can provide diners a contactless ordering experience.

Once your customers are seated on the restaurant table, they just have to scan a QR code on their smartphones. They can view all the dishes and order as per their wish. As per the survey report released by Restaurant India, 33% of restaurants have implemented an e-menu with the QR code ordering technology.

Go for a limited menu

Restaurants have been witnessing a major drop in footfalls post the pandemic outbreak. Hence, come up with a limited menu. With the help of the restaurant management software, identify the fast moving dishes.

Retain the fast selling items in your menu and remove the low performing ones. Offering an extensive menu with a lot of items can lead to wastage of food materials.

Arrange your menu logically

While going through the menu, any diner will first look for the appetizers. Thus divide your menu in a sequential manner.

Design in such a way that the appetizers appear in the first page, followed by main course and desserts in the last page.

Remove currency signs

As per studies, customers tend to spend more when there are no currency signs on the menu. Hence, in these times of cash crunch, it’s advisable to remove currency signs from your menu.

Create Eye-Catching Menus Every Time

If you’re ever stuck for ideas on how to give your menu designs a boost, just refer to this handy checklist to get you going:

• Consider a simple one-sheet design. Reconsider the practical appeal of a one-sheet menu and create something that’s functional as well as fabulous.
• Divide up typographic layouts using a grid. Use banners, ribbons, dividers, medals and frames to break up text-heavy layouts and draw attention to special dishes and offers.
• Make an effort with photos. Don’t be lazy with your images—cut them out, place them in interesting frames, play around with effects. You’ll be surprised how much difference a little effort will make.
• For upmarket restaurants, opt for a minimal design. Minimal layouts look arty, stylish and ultra-modern—they’re a great choice for eateries looking to impress.
• For edgy restaurants, try hand-drawn styles. Hand-drawn, chalky typefaces and borders will give hip pop-ups and food trucks a cool, vintage vibe that’s aimed perfectly at their target market.
• Make food look fun with bright colors and bold type—a great style strategy for family restaurants and fun bars.
• Think Art Deco for bar menus. It’s a timeless, elegant style and suits cocktail menus perfectly.
• Get doodling! Simple, quirky line drawings of food and ingredients are awesome alternatives to photos, and look great on vintage-inspired menus.
• Use color and pattern to create an elegant decorative effect with next-to-no effort.
• Try out a novelty menu design to create a talking point. Unique, different ideas will grab customers’ attention and are a great way of boosting business.

Parting Words

With these professional restaurant menu design tips, you’re closer to creating a successful, easy-to-read menu that will keep your customers coming back for more. A restaurant menu plays a decisive role in ordering at restaurants. Hence by offering a digital menu, now you can attract a lot of hygiene conscious diners. Also, implementing the tips discussed above will help you improve your sales and focus on the fast moving dishes.