A restaurant menu is a list of meals and beverages a restaurant offers customers. It usually consists of various options divided into menu categories, including soups, main dishes, desserts, etc., with their prices.
This guide will show you how to optimize and personalize your menu to increase restaurant sales.
Key Takeaways
- Menu as a Sales Tool: A restaurant menu is an effective sales tool that can significantly boost revenue when optimized and personalized.
- Menu Categories: The number of menu categories varies based on restaurant type, cuisine, and target audience.
- Menu Management System: Use menu management software to create and customize your offerings. You can select from pre-designed menu templates for quick and easy implementation.
- Photos and Descriptions: Don’t forget about adding photos and menu descriptions.
- Variety of Choices: Provide customers with a range of choices and configurations for a personalized dining experience. For example, enable half of the menu items, if you run a pizzeria.
- Regular Updates: Update your restaurant menu and manage menu item availability regularly.
- Menu Promotion: Promote your restaurant menu using different restaurant marketing ideas.
What are the menu categories?
Menu categories are the different sections of a restaurant menu that divide menu items into specific groups.
Examples of the most common menu categories include:
- Appetizers
- Entrees
- Sides
- Desserts
- Beverages
Menu categories enable customers to find the dishes they are looking for easily.
Moreover, menu categories assist restaurants in arranging their menu items in a structured and sensible manner, ensuring that all dishes are presented coherently and logically.
It’s also important to note that there can be several types of menu, including beverage menus (non-alcoholic beverage menu, wine list, etc.), a dessert menu, a regular menu, and a prix fixe menu.
Most restaurants have one or two menus; however, it depends on the restaurant entirely.
What are the 9 categories in a menu?
The number of a restaurant menu categories depends on factors such as cuisine type, dining style (fine dining, casual, fast food), and restaurant target audience.
That’s why the number of menu categories differs for various restaurants.
However, the most common menu categories for most restaurant menus are:
- Appetizers/Starters: Small servings provided before the main course.
- Entrees/Main Course: The meal’s focal point, typically larger and high in protein, often served with sides.
- Side Dishes: Accompany main courses to enhance flavor and texture.
- Salads: Versatile dishes made with leafy greens, serving as appetizers, sides, or main dishes.
- Soups: Hearty options to start a meal or serve as a light main course.
- Sandwiches and Wraps: Convenient meals that include bread, protein, vegetables, and condiments.
- Desserts: Sweet dishes enjoyed as the final course or standalone treats.
- Beverages: Includes both alcoholic and non-alcoholic options.
- Specials: Limited-time dishes that are not part of the “prix fixe menu”, (static menu) and usually belong in a new category available for a limited time or on specific days, such as daily specials.
Helpful resources to help you create the right menu categories:
Advantages of optimizing menu categories
There are several benefits of optimizing menu categories, including:
- Improved sales: According to a study by the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration, strategically grouping menu items can increase sales by up to 27%.
- Better customer satisfaction: A restaurant menu divided into categories can increase customer satisfaction.
- Reduced food waste: Menu categories can be crucial to reduce food waste. By categorizing menu items into specific sections, it becomes easier to control portion sizes, and by offering daily specials or du jour menus, restaurants can create dishes using abundant ingredients or nearing their freshness peak.
- Better menu pricing: Menu categories help distinguish dishes like appetizers, mains, and desserts, each with varying cost structures and ingredient needs. This organization allows for effective menu pricing by setting different price ranges based on complexity and ingredient value.
- Improved staff efficiency: categories in cycle menus and prix fixe menus help organize the kitchen workflow by grouping similar dishes. This allows kitchen staff to streamline food prep, efficiently manage ingredients, and optimize their work.
How to display a restaurant menu
There are several ways to display your restaurant menu. We can distinguish the following:
- Traditional Paper Menus: À la carte menu and table d’hote menu are two examples of everyday paper menus most restaurants offer. They’re easy to read, are at hand, and are often the same year-round.
- Digital Menu: Digital menus for restaurants are used in fast food restaurants and franchise restaurants, have an easy menu setup process, and are often created with a digital menu builder. They are usually available on a restaurant’s website or digital displays.
- QR Code Menu: This type of menu is usually available at each table and requires diners to scan the QR code menu to place their food orders directly from their phones.
- Menu Board: Great for presenting dishes creatively with pictures; however, they may not suit all types of restaurants, such as fine dining.
- Table Tent Cards: Small, freestanding cards placed on tables, usually made of sturdy plastic, to display specific offers or information.
- Chalkboard Menu: This menu type is displayed on a chalkboard and is a popular and flexible option for restaurants, cafes, and other food establishments. Chalkboard menus are ideal if you have a cycle menu that you regularly update with new prices or menu items, as it’s easy to do so.
- Menu Apps: These are mobile applications that provide access to restaurant menus and online ordering, allowing customers to browse and order food conveniently.
How to create and customize a restaurant’s online menu
You don’t need to be a designer or programmer to create your restaurant’s online menu.
When you register with UpMenu, you can use menu design software to build your restaurant’s online menu.
Thanks to the menu management system, you can customize your menu anytime.
1. Choose a customizable menu template
There is a wide selection of menu templates to choose from. You can select one and publish it on your restaurant website with a food ordering system.
2. Add and personalize your restaurant menu categories
Once you choose your menu template, you can go to the ‘Menus’ tab and add your menu categories. You can personalize them by adding photos and menu category descriptions.
3. Add menu items to menu categories
Once you add a menu section, you can add menu items to it, by putting names of dishes and their prices. You can also customize menu items by adding menu descriptions and photos.
Customizing your menu items is optional, but we strongly recommend it. To increase your restaurant’s sales, check out our food photography tips and how to effectively write menu descriptions.
How to personalize your restaurant menu items
As mentioned above, customizing a restaurant menu is not only about personalizing menu categories, but you can also optimize your menu items. Check our tips below.
Tip 1. Label your menu items
To enhance the visual appeal of your menu, consider adding menu item labels to your restaurant’s menu items.
It is also helpful to inform your customers about a given dish, for example, if it is a vegan, gluten-free, or vegetarian product.
In UpMenu, you can use ready-made menu item labels. You also have the option to create new ones.
Tip 2. Consider adding different menu item sizes
Depending on your restaurant’s offer, another option to optimize your restaurant’s online menu is adding different menu item sizes.
Firstly, you need to create sizes, and once you do this, you assign them to the menu items they refer to.
Tip 3. Offer a variety of choices and add-ons
To attract more customers to order online from your restaurant, consider providing your customers with more options for ordering from your restaurant.
In UpMenu, you can use an advanced module for managing modifiers to meet your customer’s expectations. You can offer different modifiers configurations, for example:
- Adding free extras to products
- Replacement options for default ingredients
- Extras at different prices depending on the size
Tip 4. Incorporate upselling suggestions
You can use upselling recommendations in your restaurant’s online menu to increase your restaurant’s revenue.
For that purpose, you need to set up a modifier as a separate menu item instead of setting it up as an add-on to a given dish.
Tip 5. Set up menu items available for specific days and hours
Make your menu available for specific days and hours to keep it up-to-date. To do this, go to the ‘Menus’ tab on the side menu in the system and then edit the details of a given menu item.
For example, in the advanced settings, you can choose times and dates when a dish is available. You can also hide it outside its availability hours.
Tip 6. Hide menu items from the menu
When you run out of a menu item or the ingredients necessary to prepare it, you can disable it.
Disabled products and/or menu categories will not be displayed on your restaurant’s website.
In UpMenu, you also have the option to disable the purchase of a menu item visible in the menu.
Tip 7. Enable half of the menu items
To appeal to pizza lovers, enable a “half-order” feature that allows you to sell your products in halves. This option is handy for pizzerias allowing customers to select two halves of a pizza.
Tip 8. Let customers make comments on menu items
In most online ordering systems, customers can comment on the order. In UpMenu, you can also let your customers leave a note on a menu item.
It facilitates the ordering process and assists customers in personalizing their orders.
Tip 9. Set up age restrictions if necessary
In UpMenu, you can set up age restrictions on the following:
- Menu items
- Menu categories
You do this in the menu item or menu category advanced settings. Thanks to that, customers will be asked to confirm their age when they enter a menu.
You can hide selected products or whole sections if there is no confirmation.
Tip 10. Manage multiple menus
You can manage many menus from different restaurants if you run a restaurant chain. UpMenu gives you the possibility to:
- create one menu for all restaurants with the same pricing
- create one menu for all restaurants with different pricing
- create different menus for restaurants with different pricing
Tip 11. Display recommended products
In UpMenu, you can easily recommend chosen products. To do this, you need to go to Order Settings and, in Recommended Products, enable the ‘Featured’ section next to a given menu item.
Thanks to this option, you will create a menu section with Recommended products.
Tip 12. Promote your online menu
To increase your restaurant’s sales, use different marketing strategies to promote it.
Check our guide on restaurant marketing strategies and choose the ones that best suit your business requirements.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What are the main menu categories?
The main menu categories are:
- Appetizers
- Entrees
- Sides
- Desserts
- Beverages
How many categories should be on a menu?
The number of categories on a menu can vary based on the concept, cuisine, and target market. Here are some recommendations:
- Limit to 7 Sections: Aim for no more than seven categories to keep the menu focused and easy to navigate.
- Keep It Simple: A straightforward layout helps customers make quick decisions. Fewer categories can reduce confusion.
- Basic Categories: Include fundamental categories such as appetizers, entrées, and desserts.
- Focus on Your Concept: Tailor categories to highlight your restaurant’s specialties, such as a “Fresh Catch” category for seafood.
- Seasonal Options: Consider adding categories for seasonal or unique dishes to feature special items available at certain times of the year.
