Menu in Arabic: how to write an Arabic and English restaurant menu

A menu in Arabic reads right to left, in a script whose letters join together, and in the Gulf it usually sits next to English. The safest way to build one is to keep your English dish names, have a fluent speaker write the Arabic name for each dish, and let customers choose the language they read. In Menuthere you type each Arabic name as the dish's second name (on every plan). It shows right to left, exactly as you wrote it, and on an Arabic menu it becomes the dish's main name. Bills and kitchen tickets can print their labels in Arabic too.

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Arabic script basics for menus

• Direction. Arabic is written right to left. A bilingual line usually has English on the left and Arabic on the right.
• Joined letters. Most Arabic letters connect to the next one and change shape with their position in the word. That's why Arabic copied from a PDF or typed in a design tool that doesn't support Arabic can come out as separate, broken letters. Always check the result on a phone.
• No capital letters. Arabic has no upper case, so there's no Title Case to worry about.
• Short vowels are usually left out. Menus write كبسة, not the fully voweled form. That's normal, and every Arabic reader expects it.
• Numbers. Gulf menus often print prices in Western digits (25), and some use Eastern Arabic digits (٢٥). Both are widely read. Whichever you choose, use it everywhere on the menu.
• Mixed lines. A name such as "دجاج 65" (Chicken 65) is fine, because the number sits naturally inside the Arabic. But a field holding a full English name and a full Arabic name together can display in a confusing order. Keep English in the dish name and Arabic in the second name.

How Gulf menus spell Arabic dishes in English

There is no single official way to write Arabic dish names in Latin letters. Restaurants use the spelling customers already know. Pick one per dish and use it everywhere: on your menu, on Google and on the delivery apps.

Loanwords follow Arabic sounds. Arabic has no "p" sound, so pizza is بيتزا and Pepsi is ببسي. A "g" is usually written ج or غ, so burger appears as برجر or برغر. Use the spelling your local customers see on other menus.

Useful Arabic menu words

Example: an Arabic and English menu section

A short sample for a Gulf café that serves Arabic and Indian dishes. On the Arabic menu the Arabic names become the main names and read right to left.

In Arabic, the dish comes first and what it's made with comes after: شاورما دجاج is "shawarma (of) chicken". That's why a word-for-word machine translation of "Chicken shawarma" can come out in the wrong order.

Who needs an Arabic menu

Delivery apps take a cut of every order. Your own Arabic menu with ordering built in has 0% commission on every Menuthere plan.

Set up an Arabic menu in Menuthere

1. Add the Arabic name to each dish. In Menu, open a dish, press Add secondary name and type the Arabic name. It shows on a second line under the English name, and on the customer's cart and order. This is on every plan, including Free.
2. Offer Arabic on the language button (Lite). In Settings → Store details → Currency & Language, switch on Offer other languages and tap العربية. On an Arabic menu, every dish with an Arabic second name shows it as the main name, right to left.
3. Choose the opening language. If most customers read Arabic, set Primary language to Arabic. Customers who prefer English can switch, and their choice is remembered.
4. Print Arabic bills. In Settings → Printing → Layout, switch on Print labels in Arabic. Labels such as Order, Date, Subtotal and Total print in Arabic on the bill and the kitchen ticket. Dish names print exactly as you typed them. The Tax Invoice layout prints Arabic and English labels together, titled فاتورة ضريبية مبسطة above "Simplified Tax Invoice". See Print labels in Arabic and Bill layouts.
5. Check it on a phone. Switch your menu to العربية and read every dish name. Ask a fluent speaker to check spellings.

Good to know: a dish has one second name, and on an Arabic menu Menuthere always shows that second name, whatever script it's in. If your second names are in Malayalam or Hindi, Arabic readers would see those. So if you offer Arabic, use your second names for Arabic. Restaurants serving mostly Malayalam or Hindi readers should read Menu in Malayalam or Menu in Hindi first.

Sending order updates on WhatsApp too? See WhatsApp order updates in Arabic.

Arabic menu checklist

• Every dish has an Arabic second name, written or checked by a fluent speaker.
• Each dish uses one English spelling (Shawarma or Shawerma, not both).
• Prices use one digit style throughout.
• Halal and allergens are tagged on each dish, not only written in the name.
• Selling in Saudi Arabia? Your calorie labels are ready (SFDA calorie label tool).
• Print labels in Arabic is on, and a test bill prints cleanly.
• You've opened the Arabic menu on a phone and read it right to left.

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