The menu is the original “program” of the institution, which includes: design, font, paper, positive composition and design. This task, like the compatibility of different dishes, is directly interlinked with the menu. A successfully designed menu design pays attention to the compatibility of items, if they are introduced into everyday use for a long period of time.

Menu options for a cafe, restaurant, bar

The menu should be comfortable, cute, ideal in terms of literacy. The design of the menu can make the most popular dishes from disadvantageous dishes, bringing a significant profit to the owner. The design of the menu, which is the magic means of transforming the ordinary menu into a highly effective trade tool, is based on the following factors:

The design of the menu, which is the magic means of transforming the ordinary menu into a highly effective trade tool, is based on the following factors:

precise planning of all menu items;

customer psychology;

price overview;

definition of “winning” and “unprofitable” dishes.

The list of dishes in the menu should consider the tastes of possible visitors in order to obtain the desired profit.

Prices are obliged to arrange continuous visitors and not to scare off random.

And the design of the menu should attract attention, cause dreams to try those or other dishes. Successful registration causes the visitor different associations, affects the well-being, and therefore, to choose from. Unsuccessful design of the menu does not affect anything. If the content of the menu attracted the visitor, he will certainly study it along and across. In memory, there will certainly remain the name of those dishes that the visitor has not tried and in the future he will want to come to the restaurant again and enjoy new dishes.

The design of the menu is, so to speak, a package that contains a present. To get to the presentation, you need to investigate the packaging carefully.

Especially convenient are the following menu design options:

a list of dishes located on one page, but the “main” dishes must be located on the top half of the sheet; list of dishes, located on 2 sheets (spread). In this case, the shape and size can be the most diverse.

However, it should be noted that oversized dimensions make it difficult for the visitor to view the menu. Also, do not make the menu small, small print is difficult to read.

On the two-page menu, the “main” dishes must be located in the upper right corner. The menu can be placed on 3 sheets. In this case, the main dishes must be located on the top of the central sheet.

The design of the menu is not only a list of dishes and decoration. Design is development, and prices are strictly enforced in it. They can be high and low, the main thing is that they arrange a customer and be available. So when setting the price in the menu you need to consider the average level of profits of the residents of your city.

Thus, the menu design considers attention to such factors as the list of dishes, menu design and prices.

The design of the menu is connected with the interior of the restaurant in the most intimate way. Luxurious finish requires a luxurious menu design, high prices and more than a primitively good service. A simpler finish of the establishment assumes a more modest menu design, much lower prices than in the first case. Service should be at a high level, no excess in this case is not expected.

When making the menu, you must try to take into account the tastes of all types of visitors: the elderly, middle-aged people, young people, teenagers, children. In the menu must be dishes, which, according to advance predictions, will certainly be to taste one or another type of visitors.

Attention to the process of developing a menu design involves studying the main components of the restaurant’s work.

It is necessary to pay attention to the following factors:

kitchen settings,

presence of necessary equipment,

degree of training of attendants,

interior design,

restaurant location.

The menu can be completely or partially changed periodically.

The design of the menu should be a real masterpiece of art, otherwise there will be no proper impact on the visitor.

Sheet design – executes the menu function

Certainly you need to pay attention to the color scheme and it is desirable that all colors match the colors that were used to decorate the room.

It will not be superfluous to provide the menu with a drawing. The genre of these drawings directly depends on the concept of the restaurant.

In the design of the menu, all the colors of the rainbow can be used, but it must be remembered that this or that color can cause a guest not at all the feeling that was originally planned.

For example, each restaurant is decorated in a luxurious and simple style, and the menu is surprisingly multicolored. In this case, the design of the menu is obviously not in harmony with the design of the restaurant, which can cause internal irritation to visitors. On the contrary, too strict design of the menu in combination with the “cheerful” design of the whole institution may also not like the guests.

It is very important to prefer the font of the restaurant menu

The font should be clear, distinct, the name of the dishes and drinks, prices and norms of leave should be easy to read. Spelling errors, incorrect names, correction by hand, strikethrough – completely excluded.

If the restaurant is decorated in the genre of a medieval castle, the best option would be a gothic font look. The well-chosen font reflects the individuality of the restaurant. But if you use an unusual font, it can distract attention from the illustrations. In this case, the pictures and photographs should be applied as little as possible.

It must be remembered that some types of fonts are very difficult to read. It is better to choose a clear font, one that will decorate the menu and will be in the optimal way in harmony with the restaurant concept.

You should not use several types of fonts in one menu, it is better to select some dishes with a background, frames or place a number of photos and illustrations.

Be sure to pay attention to the line spacing. It should be chosen so that the text is easy to read. The space between the individual letters must also be thought out. You can expand the space, but you can, on the contrary, arrange the letters very tightly, pushing them towards each other. The text should look, first, beautiful, and secondly, it should be easy to read.

Important choice is the paper on which the menu is printed. The menu is printed on traditional glossy paper, also on paper that resembles velvet, leather, suede or birch bark. It is necessary to make a separate laminated cover where the list of dishes will be inserted.

Using common headings, a single font and other factors will cause each dish to be treated equally. The content and design of the menu is the most important step in the development of the restaurant, consequently, the menu should be developed taking into account the chosen type of restaurant, traditional for this type of food, the presumed or real preferences of the customers of the establishment.

When developing the menu, you must exclude all valid errors. The page menu should be divided into two columns. In one column will be the name of the dishes, and in the other column – the prices.

Folders of the menu are artistically designed, and the design should reflect the style and thematic focus of the restaurant or café. The number of menu folders should correspond to the number of tables in the hall. Occasionally, the first sheet indicates the profile of the restaurant and the type of dishes served in it, and after that meals and drinks are listed.

In many establishments claiming the prestigious rank, in the menu, in addition to the list of dishes, there is a message about the ingredients from which this dish is made. The menu can absolutely be called advertising, if it contains a message about the ingredients or the method of making the dish. After all, often the visitor skips past the ears advertising on television, radio or the one that is printed in newspapers and magazines. But the menu is such printed advertising, which the visitor is likely to read very observantly, consequently, the menu should be made as informative as possible.

It is absolutely necessary to describe the dishes so that the imagination of the guest will be painted stunning pictures. The text should be as laconic as possible, but at the same time it should truly fascinate the visitor, force him to buy what in the traditional situation he never orders.

Why it is important to describe the dishes in the restaurant menu:

Firstly, in order to prevent the visitor from thinking that he is buying a “cat in a sack”;

Secondly, the presentation of the dish is a testament to the prestige of the institution.

Long menu reading slows down the order process, so you need to be as short as possible, accurate and honesty in the likelihood. If the method of preparation is unique, then it is necessary to indicate such information. Say, frying in the oven, grilling, frying in a frying pan, smoking, etc.

If you use ingredients that you can call unusual and unique, you can specify this. You can list all the ingredients from which this or that dish is made.

It is also possible to emphasize the geographical origin of products, the method of decorating the garnish and more. If a well-known, traditional name for dishes is used, it is not necessary to describe the method of preparing the dish.

How the name of the dish is formed: much depends on the imagination of the chef. Often used foreign words, in order to attract the attention of the visitor. This is an absolutely effective method of influencing the imagination of the customer, because the visitor immediately begins to imagine some ideal dish, unimaginable, fantastic. But when using foreign words, you need to explain what kind of dish is.

From the above, you can make an extremely important conclusion – the design of the menu should become a real art

Only then there is a chance not only to attract the attention of visitors, but also to win his sincere disposition.

It’s not a bad thing to provide the menu with fascinating information about different dishes, drinks and ingredients, but do not overload one menu with additional information. To do this, you can make several menus: ordinary, dessert, wine, baby.

The menu should change periodically, which means that the information will also change. Usually the visitor read through the entire menu, which means that he will appreciate the original approach to its design. Thus, the menu should be comfortable, cute, ideal in terms of literacy.

The following system of organizing information in the menu – this is one of the permissible options.

Cover of the restaurant menu

The name of the restaurant is usually in the form of a logo and brand name. The inside of the cover. Traditionally does not contain any information, or with it immediately starts the menu (this is often found if the menu is made in the form of a booklet).

First and second page

On these pages, menus can start immediately, but they can also be used for inserts with the following information:

restaurant legend;

history of the origin of oriental cuisine and features of European cuisine;

special menus (corporate, banquet, children’s, seasonal, etc.);

information about the events held in the restaurant (banquets, corporate events, presentations);

Information on discounts and other incentive programs.

Other menu pages

Part of the information that is placed on the first 2 pages can be transferred to internal pages (for example, if there are discounts on spirits – then at ease into this category, a special children’s menu can be placed at the end of the main menu or at the very end) . Apply for more information more than 2 pages is inappropriate, because it starts to irritate visitors.

Holidays and menus

In recent years, virtually every restaurant as an additional opportunity to promote its services on the market uses holidays, festivals of cuisines – domestic and foreign. Anyone – from the real, to the “own” invented.

In some cases it turns out to be necessary to declare a holiday, in some cases it is necessary to make changes in the appearance and interior of the restaurant, visitors can be offered show programs and other entertainment events that do not take place on ordinary days. Undoubtedly, the menu of the restaurant participates in the festivals in one way or another. It participates in a different way – the appropriate inserts can be made with a solemn menu, a small print run of a new menu with appropriate design can be printed.

The solemn menu

It should not be huge, because it is one-time. Traditionally it is up to ten kinds of different kinds of different dishes. Dishes, specially used for the holiday, and not taken from the ordinary menu. They must be located on a separate sheet and put in the main menu or placed on the table. Information that the restaurant will celebrate a particular holiday should be provided to visitors in advance.

The festivity of the menu is estimated first of all by its design, by name and presentation.

Children’s menu

In the last few years, there has been one more tendency in restaurants: children’s menus. Working with children requires serious preparation and a number of new solutions. Consequently, the result of the introduction of the children’s menu in the “adult” restaurant may not bring the desired result. (Read more about the features of the children’s menu.)

A special children’s menu can be introduced in principle in any restaurant. It depends first of all on the owner and on how far he is ready to go, so that the spent efforts would benefit.

We can consider the children’s menu as prerogative of first of all democratic restaurants. In most cases, this is the case, however, no one prohibits expensive prudish institutions to carry out relevant work in this direction.

Seasonal menu

Seasonal menu is a menu made with the use of products that match the season. That is, if this summer – then, then, an abundance of fresh vegetables, fruits. Closer to autumn – more mushrooms, all kinds of pickles, etc. In addition, the seasonal menu is a menu made up based on the temperature characteristics of a particular season. In the summer it is allowed to offer okroshka, sorrel soup, gazpacho and increase the supply of all kinds of soft drinks. Severe in winter, when many calories are lost, it is more expedient to offer visitors all kinds of meat dishes.

If you explore the restaurant market, you can notice that the seasonal menu is interpreted more extensively – it often becomes a marketing device designed to attract additional attention of potential clients to the institution. Seasonal menu has become a special offer of the restaurant, timed to this or that season. The backbone of the menu remains the same, and the seasonal menu refreshes and complements the offer.

Very often the seasonal menu is another full menu containing not only those dishes that can be attributed to seasonal ones, but everything that the restaurant visitors wanted to show in the season.

Summarizing the above, the different types of menus and recommendations for their compilation can be combined into the following scheme:

As already noted, the menu can not exist in isolation from the general concept of the restaurant. It determines the composition of the menu, and the requirements for exposition.

If there are difficulties in selecting a number of dishes that fit into the concept, then it is quite possible to take a fairly neutral dish that does not have a rough binding to a certain kitchen, and literally process them, which is called beyond recognition.

At the same time, ethical relations with visitors will be absolutely respected, since the famous dishes are not taken for this, besides, the essence of the dish is deciphered, and the visitor can make a choice, not only relying on the emotionally liked description, but also on the basis of his taste interests.

Outdoor advertising makes visitors want to go to a particular restaurant. And the menu makes him want to become a private guest in it.

In fact, with confidence, we can say that the development of the menu design is not worth the regret of money and time. However, to develop a menu design, you need to have some theoretical training. After all, in this issue there are no trifles.