Free café menu template for UK cafés and coffee shops
Updated 20 October 2026
Copy the free café menu template below, add your coffees, food and cakes with £ prices, and print it on A5 or A4, or make it in our free menu maker and download a PDF. It's laid out for a UK café: coffee with sizes and milk choices, breakfast and lunch, and a "today's cakes" line you change each morning. It also shows how VAT changes between eat-in and takeaway, because the same sandwich can be zero-rated to go and 20% at a table. Then let regulars order ahead online for collection.
In short
- Hot drinks are 20% VAT whether drunk in or taken away; HMRC lists tea, coffee and hot chocolate as hot food and drink.
- Cold food to take away is mostly zero-rated, but 20% when eaten in. A cake left to cool naturally and sold to take away is zero-rated.
- Toasted sandwiches and paninis are 20% even to take away, because they're heated to order.
- Price list at the door: cafés must display prices at or near the entrance (Price Marking Order 2003).
Make this template in the free menu maker
| Setting | Table or counter menu | Board above the counter |
|---|---|---|
| Design | Café | Bold board or Ledger |
| Size | A5 (the A4 layout printed smaller) or A4 | Counter board, A4 landscape or A3 |
| Currency | £ | £ |
| Sections | Coffee, tea and hot drinks, cold drinks, breakfast, lunch, cakes | Coffee and the five best sellers |
| Foot line | Allergy notice; "Oat, soya or almond milk +[__]p" | Allergy notice |
In the printable menu maker, press Paste your menu and paste one item per line with the price at the end. A line with no price starts a section. Cakes change daily, so print the menu without them and put today's cakes on the free today's specials board.
Copy-ready café menu template
[YOUR CAFÉ NAME] Open [days and times] · Order at the counter, or order ahead online for collection
Food allergies or intolerances? Please ask us before you order. Allergen information for everything we sell is available.
COFFEE regular / large Espresso · £[__] Americano · £[__] / £[__] Flat white · £[__] Latte or cappuccino · £[__] / £[__] Oat, soya or almond milk · +[__]p · Extra shot · +[__]p · Syrup · +[__]p
TEA AND OTHER HOT DRINKS Pot of tea · £[__] · Hot chocolate · £[__] / £[__]
BREAKFAST (served until [11:30]) Bacon roll · £[__] · Avocado on sourdough (VG) · £[__]
LUNCH Soup of the day, bread (V) · £[__] Toasted panini: [filling] · £[__] Sandwich: [filling] · £[__] (Contains: gluten, milk)
TODAY'S CAKES: see the board · from £[__]
(V) vegetarian · (VG) vegan · Prices include VAT.
Eat-in and takeaway VAT on a café menu
| Item | Taken away | Eaten in |
|---|---|---|
| Coffee, tea, hot chocolate | 20% | 20% |
| Cold sandwich | 0% | 20% |
| Toasted sandwich or panini (heated to order) | 20% | 20% |
| Cake or pastry, cooled naturally, not sold as hot | 0% | 20% |
| Soup (hot) | 20% | 20% |
| Bottled soft drink | 20% | 20% |
These follow HMRC's VAT Notice 709/1: hot food and drink, food heated to order and anything eaten on your premises are standard-rated; cold food taken away is generally zero-rated, though confectionery, crisps and soft drinks are standard-rated as usual.
What it does to your margin. If you charge £4.50 for a cold sandwich either way, a takeaway sale keeps all £4.50, while an eat-in sale includes 75p of VAT (£4.50 ÷ 6). Some cafés charge the same and accept the difference; others price eat-in a little higher. Work out the numbers with the free menu price calculator, and read VAT on takeaway food for the full rules.
What a UK café menu must show
| Must show | Rule |
|---|---|
| Prices at or near the entrance | Price Marking (Food and Drink Services) Order 2003, article 7, applies to cafés selling food or drink to eat on the premises |
| Prices including VAT | The price the customer pays |
| Allergens | All 14, in writing or with a sign telling customers to ask; plant milks matter here (almond is a tree nut, soya is soybeans) |
| Calories | Only for businesses with 250+ employees in England, with the 2000 kcal statement |
| Extra charges | Show a plant-milk or syrup charge as clearly as the drink price |
Order ahead and loyalty
Upload this menu to Menuthere and regulars can order ahead for collection on your own page, with 0% commission. Coffee sizes and milk choices become a size and an add-on group; breakfast items can show only until 11:30. On Lite (US$17 a month) customers pay by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay through your own Stripe account. For a paper stamp card, use the free loyalty card maker; loyalty points are on Pro. See the digital menu and QR code ordering.
More layouts: breakfast menu template, afternoon tea menu template and all UK menu templates.
FAQs
Is this café menu template free?
Yes. Copy the layout into Word or Google Docs, or make it in the free menu maker and download a PDF. There's no sign-up, email or watermark.
What size should a café menu be?
A5 suits a table or counter card; A4 suits a longer menu. For the board above the counter, use A4 landscape or A3.
Is coffee to take away zero-rated for VAT?
No. HMRC treats tea, coffee, hot chocolate and other hot drinks as hot food and drink, standard-rated at 20%, whether they're drunk in or taken away.
Why is a sandwich 0% VAT to take away but 20% eaten in?
Cold takeaway food is generally zero-rated, but anything eaten on your premises is a supply in the course of catering, standard-rated at 20%. A toasted sandwich is 20% either way because it's heated to order.
Should I charge for plant milk?
That's your choice. If you do, show the charge on the menu as clearly as the drink price, and list the allergens: almond milk is a tree nut and soya milk contains soybeans.
Sources (4)
- HMRC, VAT Notice 709/1 (Test 1 hot food examples incl. "tea, coffee, chocolate and other hot drinks", "hot soup"; Test 2 heated to order incl. "toasted bread, sandwiches, panini"; Example 4 cakes and buns allowed to cool naturally; on-premises consumption standard-rated): gov.uk/guidance/catering-takeaway-food-and-vat-notice-7091 (accessed 20 Oct 2026)
- The Price Marking (Food and Drink Services) Order 2003, article 7: legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2003/2253 (accessed 11 Oct 2026 for the live UK menu-templates hub; not reachable by script on 20 Oct 2026)
- FSA, Allergen guidance for food businesses (updated 17 July 2026; 14 allergens incl. tree nuts "such as almonds", soybeans, milk): gov.uk/government/publications/allergen-guidance-for-food-businesses/allergen-guidance-for-food-businesses (accessed 20 Oct 2026)
- DHSC calorie labelling implementation guidance: gov.uk/government/publications/calorie-labelling-in-the-out-of-home-sector/calorie-labelling-in-the-out-of-home-sector-implementation-guidance (accessed 20 Oct 2026)