How to design and print your restaurant menus

Your menu is the single most important piece of marketing you own. A great menu does more than just list dishes; it reflects your brand, tempts customers, and makes it easy for them to order. The key is to create a design that is clear, on-brand, and includes all legally required allergen information before you send it to be printed.

1. Finalise Your Content First

Before you think about fonts and colours, you need to know exactly what's going on the page. A messy, last-minute approach to content is a recipe for mistakes and expensive reprints.

1. Confirm Dishes and Prices: Make sure your list of dishes, sides, and drinks is final. Double-check your costings and confirm the retail price for every single item.
2. Write Tempting Descriptions: Don't just list ingredients. Use descriptive words that make the food sound delicious. For example, instead of "Chicken, mash, gravy," try "Pan-roasted chicken breast with creamy mashed potato and a rich red wine gravy." Keep descriptions short and appealing.
3. Gather Allergen Information: This is a legal requirement. For every dish, you must know and record which of the 14 major allergens it contains. You'll need this information clearly available for customers.

2. Design for Sales and Readability

The design should guide your customers' eyes towards the items you want to sell most, particularly those with high profit margins. This is often called 'menu engineering'.

• Layout: Organise your menu into logical sections (e.g., Starters, Mains, Desserts, Drinks). People's eyes are often drawn to the top right corner, making it a good spot for a high-profit special. Using a box or a subtle icon can also draw attention to specific dishes.
• Branding: Your menu should feel like it belongs to your restaurant. Use your logo, brand colours, and fonts consistently. The material you print on also matters—a rustic pub might use thick, uncoated card, while a modern bistro might prefer a sleek, minimalist design.
• Readability is Key: Avoid hard-to-read, elaborate fonts. Choose a clear typeface and make sure the text size isn't too small. Leave plenty of white space so the page doesn't look cluttered and overwhelming.

Top Tip: Consider having separate menus for different things. A dedicated drinks list or a separate dessert menu can make ordering easier for customers and allows you to present them at the perfect moment during their meal.

3. Meeting Legal Requirements

In the UK, you are legally required to provide information on 14 specific allergens if they are used as ingredients in the food you sell. You must make this information available to your customers in writing.

You have two main options for your menu:

1. On the menu itself: Use a key with symbols or letters next to each dish (e.g., G for gluten, N for nuts).
2. A clear statement: Include a prominent sentence on your menu directing customers to ask a member of staff for allergen information, which you must have available in a written format (like a chart or folder). For example: "Please speak to a member of our team if you have any allergies or dietary requirements."

4. Printing Your Menus

Once the design is finalised and proofread, it's time to print. Professional printing will always look better than using an office printer.

• Choose Durable Materials: Restaurant menus get a lot of handling. Choose a thick card (at least 300gsm) and consider getting it laminated or using a wipe-clean synthetic paper to protect against spills and make them last longer.
• Proofread, Then Proofread Again: A typo or an incorrect price looks unprofessional. Read every single word carefully. Then, ask at least two other people to do the same. It's amazing what a fresh pair of eyes can spot.
• Order the Right Quantity: You'll need enough menus for every table, plus a good number of spares for busy services and to replace any that get damaged.