People do not order from a restaurant or takeaway without a menu as they will not know what you offer or how much something costs. The menu can be seen as the first step to a new, satisfied customer. Just as bad as a missing menu is if you have a poorly designed menu. After all, the menu is the main star and represents the business. Therefore, it is important that you spend enough time on the menu so that it reflects your business and advertises what you have to offer.
The perfect menu
The menu is the business card of your company and an essential advertising medium in the restaurant sector. In this respect, the menu can have a major influence on whether your business is successful in the end. The design must be visually appealing, stimulate the appetite and at the same time reflect the style of the establishment. Therefore, it is important that you take enough time for the menu design. First of all, consider how we read a menu card. We read from top to bottom and from left to right. Therefore, a menu always starts with the starters, continues with the main courses and ends with the dessert. There should be a logical order so that customers can find everything immediately. You can highlight special dishes with a frame or bright colour scheme and thus increase your sales.
What should I look for in a menu?
The menu design is very important because it determines whether a customer will order or not. The menu will act as a customers first impression of your restaurant. There must be a perfect interplay of text, colours and graphics. It is important that the menu reflects the style of the restaurant. This means that if you own a typical Italian restaurant, you play with typical Italian visual elements. It is essential that you do not overdo it. The menu card should not look too busy or elementary, but should reflect the high quality of your food. In addition, the design should be oriented towards the price range of your restaurant. If you own an upscale establishment, colourful cards with large pictures look out of place. Such menus are more common in fast-food restaurants and takeaways, as customers only have to point to one picture. So always make sure that the menu design harmonises with the atmosphere and style of the establishment.
Is a drinks menu necessary?
After the food, the question arises: where to put the drinks? If your restaurant has an additional bar area or in-house creations, you should create a separate drinks menu. The design should be based on the style of the menu. If, on the other hand, you only have a few drinks or no particular selection, you can list the drinks directly behind the dishes. This also makes sense for a delivery service.
Be careful with graphics and images
Images and graphics are not a must, but can enhance a menu positively. The cheapest, quickest and easiest option is to use stock materials, i.e. purchasable image material from the internet. There are numerous offers so that the right image is available for every dish. Alternatively, you can use illustrations. They stimulate the appetite and have a much more unobtrusive effect than photographic material. No matter what type of graphics you use, use them: The appearance must not appear cluttered. In addition to graphics and images, you must attach great importance to appropriate colours and fonts. These must not appear obtrusive, but should “invite” the customer to browse further. Especially if your business is located in an area where pubs are lined up next to each other, it is important that your menu has that certain something. The font should always be easy to read. The descriptive texts can be short so that the customer does not have to read for a long time.
Advantages of a digital menu
Only a few restaurants still focus only on walk-in customers, because many more people can be addressed via delivery. Food delivery is simple and fast, and it is also possible for guests to pick up the ordered products. A delivery service with a professional shop system has the advantage that you can spread your offer via an app or website. Interested parties can comfortably and without time pressure click through the app and find exactly the food they are looking for. Of course, such a shop system offers many more possibilities for optimising your delivery service. In addition to the customisable design, it is possible for guests to reserve tables or pre-order. An overview of additives and allergens is also integrated, as is a telephone contact, push messages, special offers and loyalty bonuses. There are many more ways in which you can expand your shop delivery service.
Enter the digital world and expand your customer base!
