Menu in Bengali: how to write a Bangla menu card

A Bengali (Bangla) menu is written in the Bengali script, the same in Kolkata and in Dhaka, but the dishes and some words differ. Bengali menus often name fish dishes by fish and gravy, such as মাছের ঝোল (fish curry) or সর্ষে ইলিশ (hilsa in mustard), and English spellings follow Bengali sounds: Kosha Mangsho, Rosogolla, Mishti Doi. Write the Bengali names yourself, choose your digits, and let customers switch the rest of the menu into বাংলা.

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Bengali script on a menu

• Headline bar. Like Hindi, most Bengali letters hang from a line along the top, but the letters are different, so it needs a Bengali font.
• Joined letters. Many food words use conjuncts, such as ল্ল in রসগোল্লা or ষ্ট in মিষ্টি. Copy-pasting from a PDF can break them. Check on a phone.
• Digits. Bengali has its own digits: ০ ১ ২ ৩ ৪ ৫ ৬ ৭ ৮ ৯. They're common on menus and price boards in Bangladesh; Kolkata menus mostly use 0–9. Pick one style and use it for every price.

How Bengali dish names are spelled in English

Bengali pronounces the inherent vowel as "o", so English spellings from Bengal look different from Hindi ones for the same food.

Use the Bengal spelling for Bengali dishes. It's what your customers expect, and it shows the menu was written by someone who knows the food.

Kolkata and Dhaka menus

Useful Bengali menu words

Example: a Bengali menu section

A short sample for a Bengali restaurant.

Who needs a Bengali menu

Your own Bengali menu has 0% commission on every Menuthere plan.

Set up a Bengali menu in Menuthere

1. Name each dish in Bengali (every plan). Edit Kosha mangsho in Menu, tap Add secondary name and type কষা মাংস. The Bengali line sits under the English name and carries through to the order.
2. Add বাংলা to the language button (Lite). In Settings → Store details → Currency & Language, turn on Offer other languages and tick বাংলা. Bengali readers then get your names first and the rest translated.
3. Choose the opening language. In Bangladesh, consider setting বাংলা as primary; customers can switch to English, and their choice is remembered.
4. Have a Bengali reader check it, especially fish names, which machine translation often gets wrong.

Bengali on the language button is a Lite feature, US$17 a month, with a 7-day trial (card required to start, no charge until it ends).

Bengali menu checklist

• Bengal spellings on the English side (Rosogolla, Kosha Mangsho).
• One digit style for all prices.
• Fish dishes name the fish (ইলিশ, hilsa; চিংড়ি, prawns).
• Beef and halal clearly tagged where they apply.
• A Bengali reader has checked the menu on a phone.

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