Your restaurant menu is more than just a list of dishes—it’s the foundation of your sales strategy and directly influences your revenue.
A perfect menu is one that not only lists items but actively shapes customer behavior and encourages them to order more. Many restaurant owners miss out on maximizing this potential.
In this article, we’ll showcase restaurant menu examples and explore the best design ideas to inspire your next menu update and drive more sales.
Key Takeaways
- Restaurant Menus as Sales Tools: Menus are essential for motivating customers to order both online and in-house.
- Limit Menu Items: Keeping the menu concise improves customer decision-making and experience.
- Brand Alignment: Ensure your menu design reflects your restaurant’s brand and theme.
- Color and Photos: Use strategic color theory and high-quality photos to enhance the visual appeal and influence customer choices.
- Menu Readability: Focus on clear fonts, layout, and structure for easy navigation and readability.
- Use Modifiers and Cross-Selling: Incorporating cross-selling tools and menu modifiers can increase both the restaurant revenue and the average check by encouraging customers to add more to their orders.
What are examples of menu types?
We can distinguish many different types of menus, for example:
- Static Menu: A fixed menu that stays mostly the same. It is mainly used in fast-food restaurants and multiple locations.
- Seasonal menu: This menu type changes regularly, for example, each season.
- A la carte Menu: Each menu item is offered individually, and customers can create customized meals. This menu type is popular in fine-dining restaurants.
- Daily/Weekly menu: This menu type changes frequently and usually goes hand-in-hand with a restaurant style that offers more dynamic dining, like food trucks or a coffee shop.
- Prix-fixe menu: An existing menu that provides a predetermined number of courses at a fixed price, limiting customers to choose from a few options for each course.
- Diet-based menu: A menu type that is dedicated to a group of customers who need to follow some dietary restrictions, for example, gluten-free, lactose-free, etc.
Examples of 50 restaurant menu design ideas
Here are some examples of restaurant menu templates, which include both paper and digital restaurant menu examples.
1. Bistro restaurant menu
Features:
- Bright and transparent menu design template
- Attractive pictures of dishes
- Menu item labels
- Easy to navigate menu
2. Green table restaurant menu
Features:
- Bright and transparent design
- Attractive pictures of dishes
- Easy to navigate menu
- Clear division of menu categories
3. Pastel restaurant menu
Features:
- Pastel colors used in the restaurant menu template
- Easy to navigate page menu
- Enticing pictures of dishes
- Clear division of menu categories
4. Bobby Burger restaurant menu
Features:
- Attractive pictures of dishes
- Information about the ingredients used to prepare menu items
- Information about promotions
- Bright and transparent design
5. Sushi Kushi restaurant menu
Features:
- Contrasting colors in a restaurant template
- Pictures of dishes seem to pop up
- Easy to navigate menu
6. Meet & Fit restaurant menu
Features:
- Clear division of menu categories
- Contrasting colors in a restaurant template
- Easy to navigate menu
- Pictures of dishes seem to pop up
7. Kura Warzyw restaurant menu
Features:
- Attractive and appetizing pictures of dishes
- Easy to navigate menu
- A complete and clear division of menu categories
8. One Happy Bowl restaurant menu
Features:
- Pastel colors used in the restaurant menu template
- Easy to navigate menu
- Additional add ons (custom dishes)
- Attractive pictures of dishes and their fresh ingredients
- Clear division of menu categories
- Information about discounts
9. Pasibus restaurant menu
Features:
- Clear division of menu categories
- A focus on contrasting colors in the restaurant template
- Easy to navigate menu
10. 7 Street restaurant menu
Features:
- Contrasting colors design
- Attractive pictures of dishes
- Easy to navigate menu
- Information about bestsellers and promotions
- Clear division of menu categories
11. Paper modern black & white REYLA restaurant menu
Features:
- Transparent colors
- A lot of white space
- No currency symbols
12. Paper Michael’s Pizzeria fine dining restaurant menu
Features:
- Transparent colors
- No currency symbols
- The clear division into menu categories
13. Paper colorful pizza menu
Features:
- A short menu with no more than 4 menu items in each category
- Restaurant specials are highlighted
14. Paper original seafood menu
Features:
- Calm colors
- Local special is highlighted
15. Paper Mexican menu with illustrations
Features:
- Colorful, Mexican restaurant menu design
- Menu enriched with illustrations that draw the customer’s attention
16. Paper seafood menu with illustrations
Features:
- A limited number of menu items in each menu category
- Menu enriched with illustrations that draw customer’s attention
17. Paper Rosie’s coffee menu
Features:
- Short, simple menu
- No currency symbols
- Using boxes to divide the menu into categories
18. Tamashii Ramen restaurant menu
Features:
- Pictures of dishes seem to pop up
- Information on allergens
- No currency symbols
19. The secret bar restaurant menu
Features:
- Original, colorful menu with drawings
- Short, simple menu
20. Cataluna restaurant menu
Features:
- A limited number of menu items in each menu category
- Simple and transparent design
- The clear division into menu categories
21. Muhabbet bar menu
Features:
- Colorful and optimistic menu with illustrations
- The clear division into menu categories
22. Doña Pita restaurant menu
Features:
- Optimistic, colorful and creative restaurant menu design
- Clear division of menu items in boxes
- Menu specials are highlighted
23. Perdida restaurant menu
Features:
- Colorful and optimistic menu with illustrations
- The clear division into menu categories
24. Locanda Vittoriae restaurant menu
Features:
- Nice color palette
- Beautiful typography
- Interesting arrangement of menu sheets
- The clear division into menu categories
25. Leadbelly’s restaurant menu
Features:
- Color consistency
- Beautiful menu cover
- Menu divided into categories
26. Stone Lodge restaurant menu
Features:
- No currency symbols
- Clear menu division into menu categories
- Menu specials are highlighted
- Clear menu with illustrations
27. Muchacho 2.0 Menus
Features:
- Colorful and optimistic design
- Clear menu division into menu categories
28. Cocktail restaurant menu
Features:
- Simple design
- Menu divided into categories
- No more than 7 menu items in each menu category
29. Fast Food restaurant menu template
Features:
- Color consistency
- Menu divided into categories
- Menu recommendations
30. Salad restaurant menu
Features:
- No currency symbols
- Information about ingredients
- Simple and clear design
31. Café B menu
Features:
- Light colors
- Brand and color consistency
- Simple menu with illustrations
- No more than 7 menu items in each menu category
32. AMAVİ SEAFOOD & COCKTAILS menu
Features:
- Untypical shape of cocktails menu
- No currency symbols
- Brand consistency
- Simple, elegant restaurant menu design
33. Till & Sprocket restaurant menu
Features:
- Simple design with illustrations
- No currency symbols
- Brand consistency
34. Mama Fried Menu
Features:
- Single page menu divided into boxes
- Menu enriched with illustrations
35. Davenport’s Brunch Menu
Features:
- Short and simple brunch menu
- No currency symbols
36. The loft restaurant menu
Features:
- No currency symbols
- A perfect example of brand consistency
- Calm and elegant menu design
37. Square Ruth breakfast menu
Features:
- Colorful menu
- Menu divided into menu categories
38. Alchemy restaurant menu
Features:
- A lot of white space
- Lack of currency symbols
- Beautiful colorful drawings
39. Noble Experiment menu
Features:
- Elegant menu with gold elements and embossed letters
- Elegant menu cover
40. Batince restaurant menu
Features:
- Colorful menu design
- No currency symbols
41. Pacific Catch restaurant menu
Features:
- Menu specials are highlighted
- Clear division into menu categories
- No currency symbols
42. Flavio’s Burger Menu
Features:
- Short and simple menu
- Illustrations refer to the menu
43. B.C. Catering Menu
Features:
- Simple and readable design
- Boxes show menu categories
44. Hula de Hawaii restaurant menu
Features:
- The logo refers to the graphics on the postcard
- Optimistic and simple menu
- Dessert menu printed on a postcard
45. Vera restaurant menu
Features:
- Wooden menu printed manually in a restaurant
- Simple menu design which refers to the restaurant brand
46. The Brass Onion restaurant menu
Features:
- No currency symbols
- Colorful and simple design
47. Super Loco restaurant menu
Features:
- Colorful and optimistic menu design with illustrations
- Menu divided into categories
- No currency symbol
48. Belgo restaurant menu
Features:
- The menu looks like a newspaper page
- No currency symbols
- Beautiful illustrations
49. Vieste Simply Italian restaurant menu
Features:
- Elegant Italian restaurant menu
- No currency symbol
- The clear division into menu categories
50. The Sandwich Gallery restaurant menu
Features:
- Great idea to show a restaurant menu in the form of a journey to different countries
- No currency symbol
- Menu item labels
How to design a food menu?
Here are a few basic rules to help you create a menu that reflects your brand identity and gets you seen by potential customers:
1. Use design to emphasize key dishes
It’s great to highlight the dishes you want to sell through your restaurant menu design. One of the strategies is to follow the golden triangle rule and place your most profitable menu items in this area.
For more details, you can check our guide on menu engineering.
2. Don’t put too many menu items on your menu
According to Miller’s Law, people can only retain seven plus or minus two items in their short-term memory at once, making the number seven ideal for memory recall. This principle also applies to menu organization; offering 5 to 7 menu categories strikes a balance between variety and simplicity.
Check our step-by-step guide on how to make a restaurant menu for more details.
3. Create a menu that aligns with your restaurant’s branding
Use the same colors and include your restaurant logo in your menu to match your restaurant website in order to maintain good restaurant branding consistency.
4. Remember the color theory
The colors of your restaurant’s theme affect your customers’ perceptions of your restaurant. Make sure that the colors you use match your branding.
5. Don’t forget about photos
When it comes to adding photos to the paper menu, opinions are divided, and you need to analyze the pros and cons before deciding on using photos of your menu items in your restaurant food menu.
For an online menu, remember that the quality of your images is the highest priority.
Check our food photography tips to make sure you add outstanding pictures of your dishes to your restaurant menu.
6. Use menu modifiers and suggestive selling tools
While creating your online restaurant menu, use menu item modifiers and suggestive selling to increase the sales of your restaurant dishes.
For example, if a customer orders a pizza, you can suggest they add a beverage to that.
7. Keep your menu readable
Remember that your restaurant menu needs to be easy to understand. Don’t use bizarre fonts, icons, and an excessive amount of colors. Simplicity is what makes a good first impression on your clients.
8. Hire a professional or use available tools to design your menu
Examples of tools to design your menu:
9. Use templates for menus to sell food online
To sell food online, you can use ready menu templates to design your restaurant menu. Then, use a menu management system to add your restaurant menu and start selling food online to boost sales.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
How do you write a good restaurant menu?
To write a good restaurant menu, follow these key suggestions:
- List Menu Items: Compile a full list of the dishes and beverages you plan to include.
- Set Pricing: Decide on menu pricing for each menu item based on food costs and profitability.
- Write Descriptions: Create concise descriptions for each dish.
- Choose Fonts and Layout: Select appropriate fonts, spacing, and layout to ensure readability.
- Select Colors: Choose colors that align with your restaurant’s branding.
- Add Allergen Information: Clearly mark dishes that contain allergens to accommodate dietary restrictions.
Learn more about how to make a restaurant menu.
What is a restaurant menu design?
Restaurant menu design is the process of creating a well-organized menu that enhances the dining experience. It involves choosing fonts, colors, and images that reflect the restaurant’s branding while strategically placing popular or high-profit items to influence customer choices and help increase restaurant revenue.
What to include in a restaurant menu?
When designing the perfect menu for your restaurant, it’s essential to focus on key elements that enhance both functionality and branding. Here’s what to include when designing your restaurant menu:
- Concise Descriptions: Write short, enticing menu descriptions for each dish to appeal to customers.
- Organized Menu Categories: Structure the sections of a restaurant menu into clear groups like lunch, dinner, dessert, or kids’ options to make it easy for customers to find what they want.
- Branding: Use your restaurant logo and a matching color palette to align the menu with your brand identity.
- Legible Font: Ensure the fonts are clear, easy to read, and complement the restaurant’s theme.
- Contact Information: Include essential details like address, phone number, and social media links.
- Durable Materials: For physical menus, use long-lasting materials like plastic, wood, or metal.
- Dietary Sections: Offer specialized sections for allergens or dietary preferences to cater to all customer needs.
Learn more about how to make a restaurant menu.
