7 Deadly Mistakes of Restaurant Menu Design

Posted on | October 1, 2010 | Comments Off on 7 Deadly Mistakes of Restaurant Menu Design

The following is a list of some of the most common mistakes associated with the initial design and updating of your restaurant menu. They are easily avoidable and many are common sense. Call for help on the design and printing of your next menu. 

  1. Hand-written changes on the menu. Digital printing allows for quick and inexpensive menu updates so it is better to reprint when making pricing changes or discontinuing items. Not only is it time consuming making manual changes, it always looks “last minute” and adversely affects the look.
  2. Misspelled items and text. These errors can be eliminated with careful attention and editing by more than one person. If you design your own menu it is very easy to miss common errors that spell checkers do not detect.
  3. Listing items that are not regularly available. Don’t set people up for disappointment by advertising items they can’t have.
  4. Too many or too few items. Too many items can confuse customers and make it difficult to identify your specialties. It can also be costly to your business. Too few items and customers may decide to go elsewhere if they can’t order something they want.
  5. Changing items too frequently. Repeat customers commonly want to order the “regular” and can be disappointed if it is suddenly no longer available. Even if it is not on the regular menu you may want it to still be available.
  6. No signature “specialty of the house” items. These are the items you should be famous for and are essential to building your brand. It provides a basis for your advertising by distinguishing you from competitors. It can also make it easy for customers to decide what to order. It doesn’t have to be the most expensive item on your menu but it can be one of the most profitable.
  7. Not engineering your menu to showcase items properly. Customers can spend several minutes pondering your menu. Proper design can showcase signature items, increase the sale of add-ons and impact your bottom-line. The overall design must suit the type of restaurant and the image you are trying to create.

This list is adapted from the original article by Andreas Breitfuss, menu designer and restaurant consultant. Follow this link for the complete article: http://www.squidoo.com/restaurantmenudesigner#module4518402

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