Fresh Ideas to Create an Exceptional Restaurant Menu

Visual appeal is an important component of a restaurant. So, you've nailed the atmosphere with your interior designer or design skills, but what about your menu? While the menu is not the first thing your customers see, it is a close second. If your menu is strategically designed and printed professionally, say by the best printing hub in the Midwest, it can be a huge asset to your advertising and product promotion.

As the premier printing service at the Lake of the Ozarks, Lake Printing strives to provide bold, eye-catching designs to demand attention and convey your company's message to your audience. Continue reading our blog to learn more about how to create the perfect menu for your restaurant!

Keep it Simple

Your customers don't want to read an entire novel just to try and decide what to eat, keep it concise! While you may think that having a photo for each and every dish is essential, it actually overloads the menu with content, making it far too lengthy and cumbersome. A good alternative to the photos is to list the ingredients of the dish using the attractive dining language to enhance the dish presented. You will want some photos of key dishes, so be sure to hire a professional photographer to capture the perfect image to present it.

Appropriate Sections

It is imperative that your customers can quickly and easily locate a dish that they are looking for on your menu. Think logically about where specific dishes should be located within your menu, and if you were the customer, where would you expect to find certain dishes. Research has shown that a customer's eyes will generally lead them to the center of the first page on a menu. Capitalize on this by featuring any specials that the restaurant has. As for your main course/entree items, these are best featured in the top right corner of the menu. This allows room for an appetizer section to be placed in the top left corner to catch the customers' attention, and hopefully increase your dollar per ticket.

It's a good rule of thumb to consider using boxes around dishes that you'd like to promote. These boxes help to direct attention to the specific dish and place emphasis on it. This can help to promote higher-priced dishes or specials to your customers.

The Importance of Font

While you may want to utilize a fancy font to make your menu appear more elegant, a hard to read font will quickly frustrate your customer. It's also not good for business if your customers are having to take 30+ minutes to order because they're trying to decipher your menu. Your menu can be enhanced by using bold text, font size, and color techniques to distinguish sections, dishes, and ingredients. Just ensure it is concise, appealing, and in theme with the restaurant. 

The Dollar Sign

While a vast majority of restaurants utilize the "dollar sign" to accompany their prices on the menu, excluding some upscale restaurants, it's not necessary. The idea of the dollar sign is that it immediately keys in the customer that they are spending money. Let them focus on your picturesque dishes and delicious ingredients while looking at the menu and dream about the meal to come,  instead of the fact they are spending their hard-earned dollars.

Choosing a Color Scheme

Think about the theme of your restaurant when designing a color scheme for your menu. You want the menu to match the vibe set by your restaurant. You can even color coordinate based on the type of cuisine you serve. When both the atmosphere, menu theme, and cuisine flow together it creates a full experience for your customer's senses, sight, smell, taste, and touch. 


So, whether you already have an existing restaurant and want fresh ideas for your menu, or are starting a new restaurant, Lake Printing and our team of graphic designers at the Lake of the Ozarks are ready to help. Count on Lake Printing to deliver bold, one-of-a-kind graphic and print services for the Midwest, we'll help you stand out from the competition. 

 You Can Trust Lake Printing for Your Large & Small Print Needs



6815 Hwy 54 • Osage Beach MO 65065
573-346-0600


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Location: Osage Beach, MO 65065, USA

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