The Menu is the most important sales person in the restaurant. This is because all of your customers will look at the menu to choose what they want to purchase.
There are many ways to design and present your Menu. In this blog post, I am going to point out some of the key features to include when making a great Menu.
Where should you put the best selling item?
Have you realised that whenever you look at a menu, your eyes will start from the top right hand corner, then move to the top left corner, all the way to the bottom, then back to the right hand side to finish reading through. That is why you will notice that some menus will have a BOX at the top right corner for the best selling item. This is because you will look at that area at least twice.
Choose your words carefully.
Why choose your words carefully ? Here are 2 reasons:
1) 99% of the customers that visit your restaurant will have a main course, so the margin depends on whether they will have anything else on top of the main course (e.g. a starter, sides, dessert, drinks, etc.). Some restaurants will only have side on their menu, instead of starters. Personally, I will choose to have starters rather than sides, or side/starter. Reason being, 'starters' make customers feel like they should have one before their main course. However, 'sides' doesn't sound like a necessity, but merely an add-on, and it is a less powerful word. Furthermore, when 3 out of 4 people at a table have ordered starters, the 4th person is more likely to order one as well. Sides don't have this power. Another reason is that food is an emotional product. We try our best to get customers to use their imagination about how a dish will look, smell, taste, sound, feel and even its temperature. That's why it is essential to use descriptive words like: drizzled, melted, scrumptious, fresh, sizzling, crunchy, chewy, juicy, warm - all of these words trigger imagination.
Local suppliers
Many people like supporting local businesses. Therefore, if you give details of your local supplier on your menu, it will allow customers to feel safe to enjoy their food (as they know exactly where it is coming from), while also feeling as though they are supporting their local community.
Tell your story
We often remember stories about a company. Customers love stories behind your food and your brand. Share your point of view and how you see your restaurant. At the end of the day, it's all about branding.
Money sign
Avoid the money sign (£, $, etc). For example, when a dish is '£12.50', simply put '12.5' on your menu. Can you see a difference? The money sign is highly sensitive. There are studies that prove that absence of a money sign, will lead to customers spending more, without really thinking about the money.
Photographs
Most people will look at photos before reading the description. Basically, with photos, we are trying to lead or hint to them what to buy. You can put lots of photos for your Starters to match the point above. We want customers to get EMOTIONAL. Photos are one of the best weapons.
Put your Weekly Events or other Function at the end /back of your Menu
Our job is to pass the message to our customers. We need to let the customers know what else we offer beside food and drinks. For example, Private Hires, Online Bookings, Masterclasses or Weekly Events.
Pair your Wines, Cocktails or Champagnes with your Food Menu.
On your Drinks Menu, you should point out which drinks are best paired with dishes you offer. Help make the customer's decisions for them when it comes to ordering drinks; you don't want them to end up just ordering tap water.
But, before you do all the above, you need to remember to...
Give Information
To avoid any problems, it is essential to give information that may cause problems if not mentioned, or information which will help customers and your business. This includes Food Allergies, Vegetarian Options, Spice Levels, Service Charge, Social Media, Online Booking, etc.
Here is a simple but powerful rule: always give people more than what they expect to get. – Nelson Boswell
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