Our Top 5 Menu Design Tips

Menu design is an essential service for restaurants across the world. While it may seem like just groups of dishes linked together under a specific heading, menu design is so much more. Effective menu design combines elements of colour theory, psychology and design to help focus attention, point customers in the direction of certain items, and increase guest spend.

Below we’re going to look at some of the facts of menu design, the fundamentals to consider and our top 5 menu design tips and ideas.

What is menu design?

Menu design is more complex than just listing food items - it's the art of crafting a visually appealing and psychologically persuasive guide to your restaurant’s offerings.

A menu is a strategic blend of aesthetics, information, and psychology that influences customer decisions and shapes their dining experience. When you walk into a restaurant and are presented with a menu, do you just browse casually, or have you ever considered:

• Is it visually cluttered and overwhelming, or clean and inviting?
• Are the descriptions vivid and enticing, or bland and uninspiring?
• Is the layout intuitive and easy to navigate, or confusing and frustrating?

Every element of your menu design, from the fonts and colours to the layout and descriptions, plays a role in shaping customer perception and influencing their choices.

Key Elements of menu design:

• Layout and organisation: A well-structured menu guides customers through your dishes. To utilise your menu to its fullest potential, categorise dishes logically, use white space effectively and highlight signature items strategically.
• Visual appeal: High-quality photos, appealing fonts, and a cohesive colour scheme can elevate your menu and make it a pleasure to hold and browse. Additionally, a menu that feels cheap or off-brand can deter from the overall opinion and feel of your restaurant, so it’s important to consider this too.
• Descriptive language: It’s important that when you’re designing your menu, you don't just list ingredients - paint a picture with your words. Use sensory details to evoke excitement and entice customers to try your dishes.
• Psychological tactics: Apply subtle nudges to influence customer behaviour. Use the "Golden Triangle" to highlight profitable items, leverage price anchoring to make moderate options seem attractive, and limit choices to reduce decision fatigue.
• Brand consistency: Your menu should be an extension of your restaurant's overall brand identity. Use colours, fonts, and imagery that reflect your unique concept and personality to contribute to a consistent and visually appealing brand.

Why is menu design important?

Menu design is about crafting a strategic communication tool that influences customer decisions, boosts profits, and shapes brand perception. Below is a list of benefits of strong menu design:

Enhanced Customer Experience

A well-designed menu is intuitive and easy to navigate, guiding customers effortlessly through your offerings. Clear categories, logical flow, and white space prevent overwhelm and frustration, making the decision-making process enjoyable. Imagine the difference between deciphering a cluttered mess of words or browsing a visually appealing, organised guide – it sets the tone for the entire dining experience and ensures diners choose what they want, rather than what is sat in front of them because they’re overwhelmed.

Influences Choice and Boosts Sales

Menu design psychology isn’t just a buzzword, it’s a real thing. Strategic placement, descriptive language and visual cues can subtly nudge customers towards certain choices. Highlighting signature dishes in the "Golden Triangle" mentioned earlier, increases their visibility and likelihood of being ordered. Vivid descriptions using sensory details make dishes more tempting, leading to higher spending. Scarcity tactics, like limiting options, can reduce decision fatigue and encourage customers to splurge on the available choices.

Builds Brand Image and Trust

Your menu is a physical extension of your brand identity. A cohesive design that reflects your restaurant's atmosphere, personality and values builds trust and strengthens brand perception. Imagine a dimly lit, upscale restaurant with a menu adorned in neon colours and comic sans font – it's jarring and disorienting, dislocated from the wider experience. Comparatively, a rustic Italian restaurant with a menu featuring warm hues, handwritten fonts and descriptions using Italian culinary terms creates a sense of authenticity and immersion in the brand experience.

Increases Profitability

A well-designed menu doesn't just improve the dining experience; it can directly impact your profits. By influencing customer choices towards higher-profit margin items, using price anchoring tactics to make moderate options seem attractive, and encouraging upselling through strategic placement and descriptions, you can boost your revenue. This is menu psychology working at its finest!

Top 5 tips for menu design

Considering all of the above, below are our top menu design ideas and tips for crafting an effective menu for your business!

Ensure that the text is clear, readable, and well-organised.

• Use simple but enticing language: Avoid overly technical terms or jargon unless your audience is familiar with them. Aim for straightforward, concise yet imaginative sentences that sell the dishes.
• Structure for understanding: Organise your thoughts logically, using headings, subheadings, and bullet points to break down complex information and guide readers through your message.
• Be specific: Back up your claims with evidence, data, or examples to give your text credibility and make it more impactful.
• Font size matters: Choose a font size that is comfortable for everyone to read, considering factors like lighting and viewing distance. For general text, a font size of 12-14pt is often a good starting point.
• White space is your friend: Don't cram text together. Use sufficient white space between lines, paragraphs, and sections to avoid overwhelming your readers and improve visual flow.

Organise the menu logically.

• Group similar items: Create clear categories based on common themes like protein type (starters, mains, desserts), cooking method (grilled, fried, baked), or dietary restrictions (vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free). This helps customers scan quickly and find what they're craving. Pair this with some menu design hacks and colour theory and you’ve crafted a clever, easy to digest and delicious menu.
• Use intuitive headers: Label each category with concise yet descriptive headings that instantly tell customers what they'll find within. Avoid vague terms like "Specials" or "Other" – be specific like "Grilled Seafood" or "Light Salads."
• Subcategorise for detail: If categories get too broad, consider subcategorising further. For example, under "Main Courses," you could have separate sections for pasta, pizzas, and grilled meats. This additional level of detail helps customers pinpoint their preferences easily.
• Maintain order and flow: Arrange categories in a logical sequence, such as appetisers first, then mains, and finally desserts. This intuitive flow mirrors the typical dining experience and guides customers naturally through the menu.

Use attractive and well-designed headings for each section.

• Go beyond generic labels: Instead of "Salads," pique curiosity with "Fresh from the garden, a bounty of salad leaves topped with…” Paint a picture with evocative language that hints at the taste and ingredients within. Words like succulent, melt in your mouth, juicy, zesty, etc, all encourage association and make readers more hungry!
• Don't be afraid to experiment: Use a larger, bolder font for headings or highlight them with a different colour. This instantly draws attention and creates a visual hierarchy on your menu.
• Use headings to showcase your specials, popular dishes, or unique offerings. "Chef's Recommended Risotto", for example, will entice customers to try something new.

Maintain consistency with your overall brand, including colour schemes, logos, and the overall aesthetic.

• Colour symphony: Your menu is an extension of your brand, so adorn your menu with the hues that define your restaurant – warm terracotta for a rustic vibe, cool blues for a modern seafood bar, or vibrant splashes for a playful pop-up or American style restaurant.
• Logo: Don't forget to enforce your brand identity where possible. Integrate your logo subtly but strategically throughout the menu. Place it discreetly on the cover, subtly woven into the background pattern, or sitting playfully near your star dishes.
• Font choice: Choose fonts that convey the vibe and feel of your brand. Classic serif fonts for an elegant establishment, playful script for a quirky cafe, or bold sans-serif for a modern bistro – this is essential for conveying personality.
• Design consistency: Maintain a consistent design throughout the menu. Align text boxes, use uniform spacing, and let your chosen fonts and colours guide the eye effortlessly.

Provide information on allergens and dietary preferences.

• Customer safety and inclusivity: Providing accurate allergy information can prevent serious allergic reactions and make your establishment a safe and reliable dining option for individuals with dietary restrictions.
• Trust and transparency: Openly displaying allergen and dietary information demonstrates your commitment to customer well-being and fosters trust. Customers appreciate knowing they can easily identify suitable options without having to ask. Additionally, having allergy information easily accessible doesn’t alienate customers who may not want to discuss their allergies at the table.
• Customer satisfaction: When customers can readily find information about allergens and dietary needs, they'll feel free to make informed choices, leading to a more positive dining experience.

For more detailed information or advice on how to present allergy information on your menu, please get in touch with us directly.

Menu design facts

Did you know?

• Our eyes naturally gravitate towards the top right corner of a menu, then down to the centre, and finally to the top left corner of a page. This forms the "Golden Triangle," and studies show that dishes placed within this area are 86% more likely to be ordered.
• Vivid descriptions using sensory language can increase perceived value and willingness to pay by up to 27%. Words like "sizzling," "fresh," and "aromatic" trigger our taste buds and make dishes more appealing.
• Limiting the number of options on your menu (around 7-10 per category) can reduce decision fatigue and encourage higher spending. It also makes your offerings appear more curated and exclusive.
• Red stimulates the appetite and evokes excitement, making it a popular choice for highlighting signature dishes or action words like "new" or "special." Green signifies freshness and health, making it ideal for vegetarian or salad options.

We can help

In conclusion, good menu design is an investment that pays off. Clever menu design enhances the customer experience, influences choices, builds brand trust, increases profitability, and acts as a silent marketing tool. By taking the time to craft a strategic and visually appealing menu, you can elevate your restaurant and leave a lasting impression on your diners.

From the feel of the menu in your hands to the charming presentation of character with the colour choice and font, all the way to the way the dishes are described, delivered and taste… a menu is incredibly important in the entire dining experience. As mentioned above, great menu design goes far beyond just aesthetics. To ensure your menu influences customer’s choices , enhances the customer experience and increases profitability, you’ll need a hospitality agency with proven menu design ideas and tips. If this sounds like a service that would greatly benefit your business, please get in touch with the Cab Hospitality team.