Restaurant Promotion Ideas #11. Menus

Another great promotional tool that is often overlooked is your restaurant menu. Like I have mentioned in my Previous Post “Creating Great Customer Service Culture", first impression counts. Remember that the entire menu will compliment the restaurant theme. If your menu is not appetizing to look at, people will have the same impression of your food. Most restaurants put fancy words to describe their food. But fancy words and fancy fonts to me can be a deterrent for people to order something different from what they know. Most people will not take a chance in ordering an item that they are not sure about or they might not like. Also avoid jargons or terms that only a few people can understand. I have seen some menus that are so beautiful like a works of art, a masterpiece but if your customers finds it hard to read then what's the point. It’s like a beautifully painted house without any door, you can't get in. The menu must also be easily readable, so the size of the font is equally as important as what font you plan to use. The lighting in your place is another factor to consider when choosing your characters. If your place is designed to be dimly lit, then a bright colored font will be great. Usually, dark colored font on a white or light colored paper is much easier to read. I worked in a pub where the words in the menu were luminous as the place was dark. I felt that this is a great idea.


Recently in the Coffeeshop that I manage, I have added pictures of the food to our menu. I recently took up another hobby. Its photography which I took up after our owner gave the hotel a DSLR camera. Reason is he saw that with today's technology we could add food pictures to our printed materials and didn't need a professional to take out the photos for us. We could do it by ourselves and put in on the menu easily. By adding pictures next to the description of the food, I have noticed that the customers were more adventurous. Trying out different items. But make sure your kitchen brings out the food exactly as what is in the picture, or else you will have a lot of problems. Take mouthwatering shots like the pink area of a lamb, the juicy part of the steak. I usually use Google Image to see what other restaurants use to get an idea on how my pictures should look like. In this sense the saying “A picture says a thousand words" it’s true. A beautifully photographed picture of your food is thousand times better than all the description you can write.

Also pay attention to how your menu looks. If it’s old and tattered discard it. A dirty menu will also turn away the guest.

For more of my Restaurant Promotional Ideas, please go to my website Restaurant Promo Ideas