The Restaurant – an exciting, vibrant landscape bustling with people, activity, and filled with the aroma of delicious food. While everyone focuses on the differences between the front/back of the house and making everything run smoothly in between, one should never overlook the humble restaurant menu. Quiet, it sits there without judgment or complaint and so it can sometimes be underrated. But the menu is a vital part of any restaurant experience and making sure you have the best one is going to be extremely important. Below are some tips for making the best restaurant menu around!

Clean, Concise, Simple Look

If your customers can’t read your menu then you’re in big trouble. It’s a cool idea to have a menu commissioned from a local artist or to throw local landmarks or trendy places in the area to add a little dazzle but people came here to eat your delicious food. If your customers can’t read what options are available they will never go beyond the chicken tenders.

Organization

Making sure your menu is intuitive is another great way to increase customer satisfaction. If your customers know where things are it becomes easier to go along the ‘narrative’ of your meal experience – drinks, appetizers, small plates, salads, entrees, etc. The best menu will guide a customer through their entire meal experience by layout alone. Most importantly, an easy to navigate menu saves precious minutes for your serving staff (that will add up over time) while they’re upselling your menu items.

Dynamic

Keeping a menu recognizable is important for regulars but don’t be afraid to change things up. If you notice that there are food options being left behind in sales, it’s time to look at replacing them on the menu. Particularly if there are special ingredients that other options don’t use, these items need to hit the road fast!

All in all, this guide provides a great place to start asking questions. However, if you really want expert advice it’s best to seek an expert consultant. While some restaurants manage just fine without one, most restaurants fail over time. Having a hospitality industry business expert come in and evaluate your restaurant is not just a good idea – it’s the smartest thing you can do for your business. Being a passionate, caring, and attentive owner includes recognizing when it may be best to seek the advice of some industry pros wherever it is you might have a question – not just menus!