Restaurant
menus come in all shapes and sizes, but nowadays they offer more
information than just what’s cooking in the kitchen. When you sit down
to dine, your menu could speak volumes about the establishment you’re
sitting in, providing details about everything from the history of the
building to setting the tone of the eatery.
More
than ever before, a menu represents the level of service customers can
expect – so it ideally needs to reflect a brand’s inherent values in its
design, tone of voice and materials. Menus can also be useful
persuasive tools, which influence diners in their mealtime choices.
What makes a menu?
Tone of voice
Every
restaurant has a unique character, so its personality should be
reflected in the language used within the menu. For example, the menu
for Buffalo Bill’s restaurant
in Disneyland Resort Paris includes descriptive words to paint a
picture in the theme of the Wild West. Simple re-naming of the foods to
“Texan skillet”, “Cattleman’s chilli” and “Old-style potato wedges”
flavours the food cowboy-style, before you’ve even picked up a fork.
This
is a rather extreme example, but it is implemented throughout the
restaurant industry to dictate everything from exclusivity in high-end
establishments to cool, teen talk in burger joints.
At
the other end of the spectrum, Gordon Ramsey’s Menu Prestige says it
all in the title. The “Menu Prestige” offers a sense of high-end decorum
from the amuse bouche to the mango parfait coconut dacquoise. This use
of language fuels the fire that this is a high-brow establishment.
Imagery
Gone
are the days when a menu consisted of a single printed sheet of white
paper; these days image is everything. Loud, bright colours and cartoon
characters shout about a place that serves up fun with every bite. They
also point towards food that is saturated fat-heavy and full of
calories.
This
menu shows imagery in which the main ingredient appears to be is cheese
– so avoid venues with menus like these if you are trying to eat
healthily. Unhealthy male and female diets are often encouraged by these types of advert, which promote binge eating with
their eye-catching graphics, bright colours and descriptions like
“overloaded” and “feast”. If you are dieting, it is a good idea to walk
past diners like this with your eyes averted.
Many
fast food outlets are trying to reinvent themselves at the moment, by
promoting an image that’s less garish and offers a “healthier” option.
Many McDonald’s restaurants have toned down their bright imagery,
instead offering more muted pictures of wraps and salads to entice the
healthy eating crowd.
Materials
Today
you can create a menu out of anything – cut out an exotic shape in
laminated card, print on recycled parchment, or bind your menu books in
wood. Every choice a restaurant makes speaks volumes about the character
of the place.
A
vegan restaurant might choose to use only recycled materials, and
obviously not bind their menus in leather. This furthers the notion that
the restaurant is a sustainable, eco-conscious establishment, which
truly believes in the idea that animal produce should not be used. If a
restaurant has gone to the extent of sourcing all its food sustainably,
there is no reason why it shouldn’t offer the same care and attention to
all its peripheral materials. Re-usable chalk boards might be a good
substitute here.
Menus with additional information
As a restaurateur, you may wish to provide extra information within your
menu, which speaks of history, heritage, your business’ roots or your
granny’s influence on the home-made meatloaf. The menu is the ideal
location in which to do this, as it offers diners the opportunity to
become invested in your brand values.
By
offering these extra touches, you promote a restaurant with personality
and flair – rather than a run-of-the-mill establishment – which allows
people to “buy into” your idea. How many people would rather spend their
money in a friendly, family run diner, as opposed to a faceless chain?
But even faceless chains can stamp their own personality on the diner –
Portuguese chicken chain Nandos, for example, provides lots of facts and
jokes about Portugal and poultry on its menus. It can make for quite an
interesting read.
So wherever you eat next, take a look at the menu – what does it say about the restaurant you’re eating in?