Cinco de Mayo menu templates for restaurants and caterers
Updated October 20, 2026
Cinco de Mayo falls on Wednesday, May 5, 2027, so the biggest sale may be lunch: copy a template below, add your prices and open taco bar catering orders for offices about three weeks before. There are four templates: a specials menu for the dining room or bar, a taco bar tray that serves 10 or 20, a family taco kit for 4, and a bakery pre-order list. The promo copy comes in English and Spanish. In 2028, May 5 is a Friday, which shifts the weight back to dinner and drinks.
Get the story right on your menu and in your posts. Cinco de Mayo marks the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862, when Mexican forces defeated a French army. It is not Mexican Independence Day, which is September 16. The Library of Congress also notes that May 5 is not one of the official non-working days in Mexico's Federal Labor Law. The big celebrations are in the United States.
Pick your Cinco de Mayo template
| Template | Best for | What it sells |
|---|---|---|
| Cinco de Mayo specials menu | Mexican restaurants, bars, taquerias | 4–6 specials and drinks for the day |
| Taco bar catering tray | Restaurants that cater, delis, food trucks | A taco bar priced per person, for 10 or 20 |
| Family taco kit for 4 | Any kitchen that does to-go | One take-home kit, picked up after work |
| Bakery pre-order list | Panaderías and bakeries | Tres leches, conchas, churros by the dozen |
How to use them: paste the dishes into the printable menu maker (one per line, price at the end) for a US Letter PDF, or copy the wording into Word or Google Docs. For a window or social post, pick Cinco de Mayo in the festival poster maker; it can add "¡Feliz Cinco de Mayo!" under the English greeting.
1. Cinco de Mayo specials menu
Cinco de Mayo at [Your restaurant name] · Wednesday, May 5
Tacos al pastor (3) — marinated pork, pineapple, onion, cilantro · $____ Enchiladas de mole — chicken, mole poblano, sesame, crema · $____ Elote — grilled corn, mayo, cotija, chile · $____ Guacamole and chips — made to order · $____ Drinks: ____ margarita $____ · agua fresca $____ · ____ $____
Mole poblano comes from Puebla, the city the day remembers.
2. Taco bar catering tray (serves 10 or 20)
Price per person and set a minimum. Offices order by headcount, not by dish.
Cinco de Mayo Taco Bar · [Your restaurant name] Order 2 days ahead · minimum 10 people · delivery or pickup
Per person: $____ (10 to 19 people) · $____ (20 or more) Two proteins: ☐ chicken tinga ☐ carne asada ☐ carnitas ☐ grilled vegetables Corn and flour tortillas · Mexican rice · black or pinto beans Salsa roja, salsa verde, pico de gallo, guacamole, crema, cheese, lime Chips · plates, napkins and serving utensils
Hot items packed at 140°F or above. Eat within 2 hours or refrigerate.
For bigger or unusual orders, send a written quote with the free catering quote maker. See also online ordering for catering.
3. Family taco kit for 4
Taco Night Kit · Feeds 4 · $____ Pre-order by Monday, May 3. Pickup Wednesday, May 5, from ____ to ____. 1½ lb ____ (chicken, beef or carnitas) · 12 tortillas · rice and beans for 4 Salsa, pico, crema, cheese, lime · chips and guacamole Add: churros for 4 $____ · agua fresca, half gallon $____
4. Bakery pre-order list
Cinco de Mayo Pre-orders · [Your bakery name] Order by Saturday, May 1. Pickup Tuesday, May 4, or Wednesday, May 5. Tres leches cake (quarter sheet, serves 12) · $____ Conchas, dozen · $____ Churros, dozen, with chocolate dip · $____ Polvorones, dozen · $____
Promo copy you can paste
Email to your own list (send from your email tool):
Subject: Cinco de Mayo is a Wednesday: book the office taco bar Feeding the team on Wednesday, May 5? Our taco bar serves 10 to 50, with two proteins, rice, beans and every topping. Order by Monday, May 3: [your Menuthere link]
Pop-up banner on your menu: "Cinco de Mayo taco bar for the office: order 2 days ahead. Family taco kits for 4, too." Announcement bar (under 100 characters): "Cinco de Mayo is Wed 5/5: taco bar catering and family kits, order by Mon 5/3" In Spanish: "¡Feliz Cinco de Mayo! Pide tu kit de tacos para 4 antes del lunes 3 de mayo." Social caption: "Wednesday, May 5: taco bar for the office at lunch, taco night kits for home. Order at the link."
Under CAN-SPAM, a promo email needs an honest subject line, your valid postal address and a clear way to opt out, and you must honor opt-outs within 10 business days (FTC).
WhatsApp and your Spanish-speaking customers. Pew Research Center found that 56% of Hispanic adults in the US use WhatsApp (October 2026), so order updates on WhatsApp can suit many Mexican restaurants' regulars. But Meta does not deliver marketing template messages to US (+1) phone numbers, so in the US WhatsApp sends order updates (utility messages, about US$0.0034 each), not promotions. Use email for offers. More in WhatsApp ordering for US restaurants and, in Spanish, pedidos por WhatsApp en EE. UU..
Worked example: a taco bar for 20 at lunch
These are example figures only. Use your own supplier prices and portions.
| Cost of one taco bar for 20 people | Example cost |
|---|---|
| 60 corn tortillas | $4.80 |
| Two proteins, 7 lb cooked in total, at $5.50/lb | $38.50 |
| Mexican rice and beans | $9.00 |
| Salsas, pico, guacamole, crema, cheese, limes | $14.00 |
| Chips | $5.00 |
| Foil pans, plates, napkins, utensils | $12.70 |
| Total cost | $84.00 |
That is $4.20 a person. At a 30% target cost, $84.00 ÷ 0.30 = $280, or $14 a person; a price of $14.50 a person makes the tray $290 and puts cost at 29.0%. Six office orders of 20 on the same Wednesday bring in $1,740 against $504 of food and packaging. Because every tray leaves at lunch, stagger the delivery times (for example 11:00, 11:30 and 12:00) and check your rice and protein batches against them. Try other prices in the menu price calculator.
When to get your Cinco de Mayo menu out
| When (2027) | Job |
|---|---|
| Mon, Apr 5 | Cost the taco bar and the kit; set a per-person price and a minimum |
| Mon, Apr 12 | Menu online; catering and kit pre-orders open for May 5 |
| Mon, Apr 19 | Email to office and catering customers |
| Mon, Apr 26 | Second email; poster in the window; Spanish posts |
| Fri, Apr 30 | Order proteins, avocados, tortillas against pre-orders |
| Sat, May 1 | Bakery cut-off (and the Kentucky Derby, if you also run a Derby party) |
| Mon, May 3 | Catering and kit cut-off |
| Wed, May 5 | Cinco de Mayo: catering deliveries at lunch, kits and specials in the evening |
| Thu, May 6 | Switch the Cinco de Mayo menu off; Mother's Day is Sunday, May 9 |
More dates are in April food holidays, May food holidays and the full restaurant marketing calendar.
US rules to check before May 5
- Hot and cold holding. USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service says hot food should be kept at 140°F or above and cold food at 40°F or below, and perishable food shouldn't sit out for more than 2 hours (1 hour above 90°F). A taco bar on an office table needs that line on the label.
- Cook to temperature. FSIS lists 160°F for ground meats and 165°F for all poultry, so chicken tinga and ground beef fillings must reach those temperatures.
- Margaritas and drinks to go. Drink specials, and whether you can sell cocktails to go at all, depend on your state's alcohol rules. Check with your state alcohol beverage control agency before you advertise them.
- Respectful marketing. Lead with the food and the date's real history, not costumes or stereotypes. It's also more accurate.
How to do it in Menuthere
- Put the Cinco de Mayo menu online (Free). Add the specials, the taco bar (with "10 to 19" and "20 or more" as sizes) and the kit, or upload a photo or PDF of your printed menu; AI reads the dishes and prices for you to check. 0% commission on every plan.
- Show your menu in Spanish (Lite, US$17 a month). The multi-language menu lets customers tap a language button, and Spanish is one of the languages.
- Take catering and kit pre-orders (Lite). Turn on Prebooking, choose Specific items and tick the taco bar and the kit, set the Earliest booking time to 2 days and Only made on to Wednesday. See dishes that need notice.
- Take payment up front (Lite). Customers pay the full amount online by card through Stripe, into your own account. Sales tax shows as "Sales tax" at checkout.
- Announce it (Lite). Schedule a pop-up banner from April 12 to May 3 and add an announcement bar line.
- Deliver catering with your own drivers (Pro, US$39 a month). The rider app runs on iOS and Android, and customers get a live tracking link. You assign each order with one tap. See the rider app.
There's no cap per delivery slot, so when you've sold as many taco bars as the kitchen can send out at lunch, mark the tray out of stock (every plan). With a Branded App you can also send app users a push notification. See pricing, pre-orders and table booking and our online ordering system for US restaurants.
Pre-orders and the Spanish menu start on Lite, with a 7-day free trial (a card is needed to start; nothing is charged until the trial ends).
FAQs
When is Cinco de Mayo in 2027?
Cinco de Mayo is always May 5. In 2027 it falls on a Wednesday, and in 2028 on a Friday.
What does Cinco de Mayo celebrate?
It marks the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862, when Mexican forces defeated a French army. It is not Mexican Independence Day, which Mexico celebrates on September 16.
Is Cinco de Mayo a holiday in Mexico?
Not a national day off. The Library of Congress notes that May 5 is not among the non-working days in Article 74 of Mexico's Federal Labor Law; the biggest celebrations are in the US and in Puebla.
How much should I charge per person for a taco bar?
Add up tortillas, proteins, sides, toppings and packaging, then divide by your target cost percentage. In our example a taco bar for 20 costs $84.00, or $4.20 a person, so $14.50 a person puts food cost at 29.0%.
Can I take Cinco de Mayo catering orders only for May 5?
Yes. Tick the taco bar under Specific items, set Only made on to Wednesday and an earliest booking time of 2 days. Remove the dish after May 5 so it can't be booked for the next Wednesday.
Can I send a Cinco de Mayo offer on WhatsApp to US customers?
No. Meta does not deliver WhatsApp marketing template messages to US (+1) phone numbers. WhatsApp can still send order updates, so use email to your own list for the offer.
Sources (8)
- Library of Congress, In Custodia Legis (Law Library blog), Francisco Macías, Cinco de Mayo is Not Mexican Independence Day? (May 5, 2011: Battle of Puebla, May 5, 1862; independence on September 16; May 5 not a non-working day under Article 74 of the Mexican Labor Law). Accessed 20 Oct 2026. https://blogs.loc.gov/law/2011/05/cinco-de-mayo-is-not-mexican-independence-day/
- National Day Calendar, National Days for May (Cinco de Mayo Wed May 5, 2027; Kentucky Derby May 1; Mother's Day May 9). Accessed 20 Oct 2026. https://nationaldaycalendar.com/may/days
- Pew Research Center, Social Media Fact Sheet (WhatsApp use: 56% of Hispanic adults; published October 19, 2026). Accessed 20 Oct 2026. https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/fact-sheet/social-media/
- USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service, Safe Handling of Take-Out Foods. Accessed 20 Oct 2026. https://www.fsis.usda.gov/food-safety/safe-food-handling-and-preparation/food-safety-basics/safe-handling-take-out-foods
- USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service, Safe Minimum Internal Temperature Chart (ground meats 160°F; all poultry 165°F). Accessed 20 Oct 2026. https://www.fsis.usda.gov/food-safety/safe-food-handling-and-preparation/food-safety-basics/safe-temperature-chart
- Federal Trade Commission, CAN-SPAM Act: A Compliance Guide for Business. Accessed 20 Oct 2026. https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/can-spam-act-compliance-guide-business
- Meta for Developers, Marketing template per-user limits (marketing templates not delivered to US phone numbers). Accessed 20 Oct 2026. https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/templates/marketing-templates/per-user-limits
- Meta for Developers, Pricing on the WhatsApp Business Platform (North America utility rate). Accessed 20 Oct 2026. https://developers.facebook.com/docs/whatsapp/pricing