Chinese New Year menu templates for UK restaurants and takeaways
Updated 20 October 2026
Chinese New Year 2027 falls on Saturday 6 February, so put a set menu for two, four and six people online by early January and take reunion-dinner pre-orders for Friday 5 February. Most UK Chinese restaurants and takeaways sell the new year as banquet set menus priced per person or per table. The templates below are free to copy into Word, Google Docs or our free menu maker. They work for the dining room and the takeaway counter, and the same menu can go online with a QR code.
Chinese New Year 2027 and 2028
| 2027 | 2028 | |
|---|---|---|
| New Year's Eve (reunion dinner) | Friday 5 February | Tuesday 25 January |
| Chinese New Year (first day) | Saturday 6 February, Year of the Goat | Wednesday 26 January, Year of the Monkey |
| Lantern Festival (15th day, the end of the celebrations) | Saturday 20 February | Check nearer the time |
Dates are from the Hong Kong Observatory's lunar calendar. The new year follows the lunisolar calendar, so it moves each year between late January and mid-February. The Year of the Goat is also called the Year of the Sheep or Ram.
In 2027 the eve is a Friday and the first day a Saturday, so the busiest nights are likely to be Friday and Saturday. Some venues keep the set menu on until the Lantern Festival.
Choose a Chinese New Year menu
| Template | Best for | Price it as |
|---|---|---|
| Banquet set menu for 2, 4 or 6 | Restaurants | Per person, minimum two people |
| Takeaway set meal | Takeaways and delivery | Per box, sized for 2 or 4 |
| Reunion dinner pre-order | Families ordering for the eve | A set price, ordered ahead |
| Blank template | Any venue | Fill in your own |
Banquet set menu (for 2, 4 or 6)
Chinese New Year Banquet · [your restaurant name] £____ per person · minimum 2 people · served 5–20 February
To start: Spring rolls · Steamed dumplings (served as 4 per person) · ____________ Soup: ____________ Main courses to share: Steamed whole fish with ginger and spring onion · ____________ · ____________ · Seasonal greens with garlic Rice and noodles: Egg fried rice · Longevity noodles Dessert: Tangyuan (sweet rice balls) · ____________
Tables of 4 add: ____________ · Tables of 6 add: ____________ and ____________ Vegetarian banquet available: please ask when you book. Food allergies or intolerances? Please speak to us before you order.
Takeaway Chinese New Year set meal
New Year set meals · [your takeaway name] Set meal for 2: £____ · Set meal for 4: £____ Order online from 1 February. Collection or delivery 5–7 February.
Set meal for 2: ____________ · ____________ · ____________ · ____________ · egg fried rice Set meal for 4: everything in the set for 2, plus ____________ · ____________ · ____________ · noodles
Prices include VAT. Allergen information for every dish is on our online menu.
Reunion dinner pre-order note
The reunion dinner on New Year's Eve is a family meal, so many families order it ahead. Add this note to your menu, receipts and social posts.
Reunion dinner, Friday 5 February. Pre-order your banquet for collection between ____ and ____. Order by Wednesday 3 February at [your ordering link or QR code]. Whole fish and roast duck are limited, so order early.
Blank Chinese New Year template
[Your restaurant name] · Chinese New Year [year] £____ per person · minimum ____ people To start: ____________ · ____________ Mains: ____________ · ____________ · ____________ Rice / noodles: ____________ Dessert: ____________
Dishes guests look for, and why
Many families choose dishes for what they stand for. Keep the descriptions modest on your menu, and let the dish speak for itself.
| Dish | What it is usually linked with |
|---|---|
| Dumplings | Wealth: their shape is said to look like old silver ingots |
| Whole steamed fish | Surplus for the year ahead: "fish" (鱼 yú) sounds like "surplus" (余 yú) |
| Long noodles | A long life, so they're served uncut |
| Spring rolls | Wealth, from their golden colour and bar shape |
| Tangyuan (sweet rice balls) | Family reunion; they're also eaten at the Lantern Festival |
How to price a banquet set menu
Price a banquet per person from the cost of the full table, then divide by the number of guests. The figures below are an example, not a benchmark.
| Step | Figure (banquet for 4) |
|---|---|
| Food cost for the table (starters, soup, five shared mains, rice, noodles, dessert) | £33.60 |
| Food cost per person (÷ 4) | £8.40 |
| Target gross profit (GP) | 70% |
| Price per person before VAT (£8.40 ÷ 0.30) | £28.00 |
| Add VAT at 20% | £33.60 |
| Menu price per person | £33.50 |
| Table of 4 pays | £134.00 |
A whole fish costs much more than a stir-fry, so cost the fish course on its own and re-check your supplier price in January. Our menu price calculator prices each dish for dine-in, takeaway and delivery.
UK rules for your new year menu
- Allergens. Chinese dishes often contain several of the 14 regulated allergens: soya and wheat (gluten) in soy sauce, sesame oil and seeds, peanuts, crustaceans (prawns), molluscs (oyster sauce), egg in noodles and fried rice. A banquet for four can hold a dozen dishes, so check each one from its recipe. Our allergen chart maker builds the matrix, and the 14 allergens guide explains the rules.
- Show the set price. Under the Price Marking (Food and Drink Services) Order 2003, a set menu needs its price shown before guests sit down; the dishes inside it don't need separate prices. "Minimum 2 people" should be just as clear.
- Prices include VAT. Show the price customers pay, such as "£33.50 per person".
Not sure whether to call it a set menu or a banquet? Our guide to menu terms explains set menus and table d'hôte.
Timeline for Chinese New Year 2027
| When | What to do |
|---|---|
| Early December 2026 | Cost the banquet and set meals. Order whole fish and duck early with suppliers. |
| Monday 4 January 2027 | Publish the menu online and in store. Open banquet bookings. |
| Monday 25 January | Open takeaway pre-orders for 5–7 February. |
| Wednesday 3 February | Last day for reunion-dinner pre-orders. |
| Friday 5 – Sunday 7 February | Peak nights. |
| Saturday 20 February | Lantern Festival: last day of the set menu for some venues. |
Put your Chinese New Year menu on Menuthere
- Add each set meal as one dish with sizes, such as "for 2", "for 4" and "for 6", each with its own price. Sizes are on every plan, including Free, with 0% commission on every order.
- Show the menu in Chinese too (Lite). Switch on other languages and choose Chinese: customers tap a language button to read your menu in it.
- Take pre-orders for the eve (Lite). Turn on prebooking with a date range of 5 to 7 February and fixed collection slots. Choose Specific items so only the banquet boxes need ordering ahead, and set the Earliest booking time to the notice your kitchen needs.
- Take banquet bookings (Lite). Guests book a table, a time slot and the number of people from your menu.
- Run a new year offer. A discount code can run from 6 to 20 February, or only on chosen weekdays, with a minimum order. It can't be limited to a time of day.
- Spread the word. Make a new year poster with the free festival poster maker, and print a QR code for your window. Customers who use your own branded app can get a push notification when the banquet menu goes live.
Lite costs US$17 a month (billed in US dollars), with a 7-day free trial; a card is needed to start, and nothing is charged until it ends. See pricing, and see how takeaway ordering and table booking work. Next up after the new year: Valentine's Day menus on 14 February. Every date is in our restaurant marketing calendar, and our Christmas menu templates cover December.
Then to open new year pre-orders.
FAQs
When is Chinese New Year 2027?
Saturday 6 February 2027, the start of the Year of the Goat. New Year's Eve, the night of the reunion dinner, is Friday 5 February. In 2028 the new year falls on Wednesday 26 January.
What should a Chinese New Year set menu include?
Starters such as spring rolls and dumplings, a soup, several shared mains with a whole fish, rice and long noodles, and a sweet such as tangyuan. Price it per person with a minimum of two.
How do I price a banquet menu per person?
Cost the whole table, divide by the number of guests, divide by (1 − your GP target) and add 20% VAT. A £8.40 food cost per person at a 70% GP comes to about £33.50 a head.
How long should I run a Chinese New Year menu?
Some venues run it from the eve until the Lantern Festival, the 15th day. In 2027 that is from Friday 5 to Saturday 20 February.
Which allergens should I check on a Chinese New Year menu?
Soya, wheat, sesame, peanuts, crustaceans, molluscs and egg come up most often, through soy sauce, sesame oil, oyster sauce, prawns and egg noodles. Check every dish in the banquet from its recipe.
Can my online menu show dish names in Chinese?
Yes, on Menuthere's Lite plan. Switch on other languages and choose Chinese, and customers tap a language button to read the menu in Chinese.
Sources (4)
- Hong Kong Observatory, Gregorian–lunar calendar conversion: 6 Feb 2027 (Year of the Goat, first day of the first month), 5 Feb 2027 (last day of the twelfth month), 20 Feb 2027 (15th day), 26 Jan 2028 (Year of the Monkey). Accessed 20 Oct 2026. https://data.weather.gov.hk/weatherAPI/opendata/lunardate.php?date=2027-02-06
- Food Standards Agency, Allergen guidance for food businesses (GOV.UK). Accessed 20 Oct 2026. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/allergen-guidance-for-food-businesses/allergen-guidance-for-food-businesses
- The Price Marking (Food and Drink Services) Order 2003 (SI 2003/2253). Accessed 20 Oct 2026. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2003/2253
- HMRC, VAT Notice 709/1: catering and take-away food. Accessed 20 Oct 2026. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/catering-takeaway-food-and-vat-notice-7091