Menus are synonymous with restaurants yet are often still misunderstood. Let’s take a look at the point of a menu, some problems with the menu and how we can improve this.

What’s the point of a menu?

Menus generally serve three fundamental purposes:

1. To tell customers what food and drink an establishment offers.
2. To inform customers how much it will cost to dine somewhere.
3. To create anticipation and excitement.

Most restaurants and people utilise menus effectively, however, there are a surprising amount who misunderstand the point of the menu.

The problem with menus

From a customer perspective, the most frustrating thing is when a restaurant doesn’t have a clear identity and has an incredible number of items on its menu. To the point where it becomes hard to decide what you want. If you’ve been in this scenario, you know exactly what I mean. Where you are turning pages, can’t decide and usually panic choose when the server comes over and you’ve let the rest of the table order.

I’ve discussed this at length with a couple colleagues and we settled on a 12-item menu as a good menu. There’s more detail on this which I will likely do a post on in the future.

From the restaurant perspective, the problem with menus is sometimes people don’t read them properly. Which if you think about it is just bizarre! This happens in two main ways:

1. They assume you should carry a product. For two years I was asked if I could serve people Budweiser. We didn’t sell Budweiser. Which was clear as it wasn’t on our menu.
2. They don’t read the products listed in a dish and then complain when there’s something on their plate they don’t like.

So, how can we improve this situation?

First and foremost, is more specialized menus. Almost any restaurant, independent or chain, that is successful over a long period of time either does one or a few things well. Think of the most popular chains over the last 10-15 years: Pizza Express, Nando’s, Honest Burger and so on. They all essentially do one thing well repeatedly. Or if you look at higher end dining, take Petrus by Gordon Ramsey – to my earlier point, it has 12 items on it’s a la carte menu. 4 starters, 4 mains and 4 desserts. So work out what you do well, what your customers like, and price it appropriately.

Simplicity is so key to restaurant success and communicating to your customers what you do.

Being a customer, I would say the main thing is be more curious in the menu itself. This could be working out what is the best value to you as a customer. For example, are you willing to pay a higher price for a steak than another dish even though you may get the same satisfaction from both dishes? There may also be things you don’t know and can ask your server about. The restaurant could use an ingredient you haven’t heard of before so ask about it. This is especially important for allergies as well.

Also, better customer etiquette is always nicer. Hospitality workers want to connect with their customers. Menus are an easy way to do this. Being polite and asking sensible questions are going to help you enjoy your experience so much more.

Conclusion

The menu is an intrinsic part of the dining experience. It is often the key to understanding whether you want to eat at a restaurant and without it would lead to some rather long conversations with servers.

It should not be a novel but rather a clear and concise summary of what food and beverages you can enjoy. And it is something to be read by customers. It is there to help people maximise their night out. So read it!!