Designing a well-engineered menu is an important part of any food and drink operation. A well-designed menu can increase sales for any restaurant.
Here are some of most common menu design mistakes we see.
Too many menu items.
Having too many menu items can be overwhelming for diners, making it difficult for them to scan the menu, which leads to diners taking longer to order. Large menus also lack focus and can create confusion around the identity of a restaurant. The other problems with having too large a menu are as follows; 1 The need for more stock which will create more wastage, this will have a negative impact on a restaurants profits. 2 Labour costs will be higher because a restaurant will need more kitchen staff doing more hours which will result in higher wage bills. 3 It takes longer to produce food when you have less multiple orders of the same items being made at the same time; it also takes longer for front of house staff to input menu items into an EPOS system, meaning a restaurant will not be able to serve as many diners in that given period of time.
Poor design and layout.
Restaurant menus should be clear and readable. Using the wrong font style, colour and having long descriptions can make it difficult for diners to scan a menu, and can also give the impression a restaurant lacks style and sophistication. Use short, concise and accurate descriptions.
Some restaurant operators worry too much about being everything to all people, this doesn't work in the long run. Smaller menus are more efficient and more profitable!
A restaurant menu is a reflection of a brands identity and it's values. If menus are worn and stained, a restaurant will appear to be cheap, dirty and old and will give a negative first impression. Always make sure menus are in excellent condition.
Another blog on menu design will be posted in the future.