How to Make a Menu

Your menu should be easy to read and visible, even in the dark.

Creating a menu for your restaurant isn’t a task that should be taken lightly. Your menu is what will either attract or repel customers so you want to make sure it is good. A visually appealing menu that stimulates the taste buds is one of the ways to make your restaurant a success. Here’s what to do.

Difficulty:

Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Internet Access, Pencil, Paper, Patience

1. Revisit the theme of your restaurant. Does your restaurant serve Italian cuisine or Southwestern cuisine? Maybe it’s a hamburger joint? Remember what your restaurant is all about and use it to create a menu.

2. Write down the dishes of food that go with the theme of your restaurant. If you are running a hamburger joint, hamburgers, fries and shakes should be on your menu. They match the theme of your restaurant. If you add lobster to the menu, people might get confused and it probably won’t fly with customers.

3. Pinpoint the dishes that you cook well. There is no need to put a dish of food on your menu if you don’t know how to cook it. It will turn away customers who make the mistake of ordering it and it's not available or isn't any good. Put these foods on hold until you learn how to cook them well.

4. Categorize your remaining dishes on another piece of paper. Your categories should be the usual: Drinks, appetizers, main dishes, lunch and desserts. Check for categories that are lacking and see if you can add additional items on them. You want to give your customers a decent selection.

5. Review your list and determine which dishes fit your budget and overall restaurant set up. You want to be sure that you can afford to serve the foods on your menu on a regular basis and that you have the right equipment to cook them. Trim down your list again based on this idea. Replace or alternate items if necessary. A shrimp burger might be replaced by a cod burger.

6. Get on the computer or hire a graphic artist to create your menu. Nowadays, a lot of word processing programs offer up specialty areas that will let you create a menu. They have special fonts, paper sizes and other things that will help you put together a professional looking menu. If you aren’t computer savvy, hire a graphic artist. (Extra tip: Be sure to fully describe your foods as you list them on the menu in order to tantalize your customer.)

7. Analyze your final product. Your menu should have certain things on it such as the restaurant address, phone number, cuisine and food categories and the hours that you're open. It should be easy to handle, professional and visually appealing. If it isn’t, try to weed out the kinks before you create several copies of it.

Tips & Warnings

• Be sure the font you use on your menu is readable.

• Laminate your menu if the food you serve is hard for people to eat without making a mess.

Resources

• Custom Menu Covers