Restaurant menu design: 15 ideas that help UK menus sell

Good restaurant menu design makes your menu quick to read and steers guests to the dishes that earn you the most. Keep it short, group dishes in the order people eat, put your best-margin dishes where eyes land first, write short appetising descriptions, and show prices clearly without shouting about them. Then add the UK basics: prices including VAT and an allergen line.

Below are 15 menu design ideas, a step-by-step method and a simple way to find your best and worst dishes.

How to design a menu in 6 steps

1. List every dish with its cost and price. You can't design a menu that sells well until you know which dishes make money. Use the GP calculator.
2. Cut the list. Remove slow sellers with low margins. A shorter menu is quicker to read and cheaper to stock.
3. Group dishes in the order guests eat: nibbles, starters, mains, sides, desserts, drinks.
4. Pick a size. A4 for most table menus, A5 for cafés and cocktails, DL leaflets for takeaways.
5. Lay it out and write descriptions. Start from a free menu template or design your menu online free.
6. Check the UK details, then print and put it online. VAT-inclusive prices, allergen line, service-charge wording.

15 menu design ideas

Layout

1. Keep it to one page if you can. A single A4 page, or a folded card, is easier to take in than a booklet. If you need more, split food and drinks.

2. Use the "sweet spots". Guests tend to look at the top of each section and at anything set apart from the rest. Put a high-margin dish first in each section. This is long-standing industry advice, not a law of nature, so test it on your own sales.

3. Box one dish per page. A simple border or tinted panel around your signature dish (a Sunday roast, a fish and chips special) makes it stand out without a photo.

4. Leave white space. Crowded menus look cheap and slow guests down. Margins and space between sections make the page calmer.

5. Don't line prices up in a column. A neat right-hand column of prices invites guests to scan for the cheapest dish. Put the price just after the description instead.

Wording

6. Describe, don't list. "Beer-battered haddock, triple-cooked chips, mushy peas" sells better than "Fish and chips". Keep it to one line.

7. Name where it comes from, when it's true. "Welsh lamb", "Cornish crab", "local sourdough". Only claim origins you can prove: false descriptions on menus can break consumer protection and food information law, which trading standards enforce.

8. Use plain English for the dish, and a translation for the term. A guest may not know plat du jour or table d'hôte. Our menu terms guide explains the common ones.

9. Write prices simply. "12.50" or "£12.50", not "£12.50p". Keep pricing style the same across the menu.

Type and colour

10. Two fonts at most. One for headings, one for dishes. The dish font must be easy to read in dim light. Test it at arm's length.

11. Go big enough. Older guests struggle with small print, especially in low light. If you're squinting at your own proof, it's too small.

12. Strong contrast. Dark text on a light background is easiest to read. Avoid text over busy photos.

Pictures and extras

13. Use photos sparingly on paper. One or two good photos can sell a dish. A photo next to every item makes a menu look like a fast-food board. Save the full photo set for your online menu.

14. Clear dietary marks. Use V, VG and GF with a key at the bottom. Only write GF if you can control cross-contact in your kitchen.

15. Add a QR code. A small code in the corner can open your full online menu, with photos, allergens and ordering.

Menu engineering: find your stars and dogs

Menu engineering sorts each dish by two things: how many you sell, and how much profit each one makes. It's a classic method from hospitality management, and you only need your sales report and dish costs.

Example: Your burger sells 300 a month at £5.80 profit each. Your risotto sells 40 at £9 profit. The burger is a star; the risotto is a puzzle. Move the risotto to the top of the mains and give it a better description. Check again in a month.

Use the menu price calculator to set new prices that keep your margin.

Menu design ideas by venue

Menu card design: sizes and paper

Thick card (300gsm or more) or lamination lasts longer on tables. Ask your printer. For leaflets, see our takeaway menu printing guide.

Online menu design is different

A phone screen is narrow. A good online menu:

• shows one dish per line, with a photo you can tap
• has category tabs at the top, so guests can jump to desserts
• marks sold-out dishes instead of letting guests order them
• shows allergen information on each dish

A PDF of your paper menu doesn't do any of this. Guests have to pinch and zoom. A proper digital menu is built for the phone. For screens behind the counter, see digital menu board design tips.

UK checklist before you print

• Prices in £ and including VAT (if VAT-registered)
• Allergen line near the top, such as "Food allergies? Please speak to us before you order", and an allergen matrix for the detail
• Service charge (if any) as clear as your prices, and whether it's discretionary
• Calories and the "Adults need around 2000 kcal a day" statement, only if you have 250+ employees in England
• Drinks measures on the drinks menu (for example 25ml or 35ml spirits, 125ml wine)
• No card surcharge (banned for consumer cards since January 2018)
• Every price proofread against your till

Common menu design mistakes

• Too many dishes. More choice can mean slower decisions and more waste.
• Prices in a straight column with dotted leaders. Guests read down for the cheapest.
• Clip-art and five fonts. Keep it simple.
• Old prices crossed out. It looks tired. Reprint, or use an online menu you can edit.
• No allergen line. It's a legal duty to give allergen information, and guests look for it.

Turn your design into a menu that takes orders

Once your menu looks good on paper, put it online:

1. Sign up free and upload the PDF or a photo. AI reads your dishes and prices; check them before you save.
2. Add photos, sizes and add-ons, and tag each dish's allergens and calories. Customers see them when they open a dish (every plan, including Free).
3. Print the free QR code on your tables or leaflets.

Free plan: QR codes, unlimited items, 0% commission.

Create your free ordering page