Making your restaurant menu work

A restaurant menu is read slowly, at the table, by someone deciding what to spend. It needs sections a diner can scan, prices that are easy to find, and a look that matches the room it is read in.

What to write on it

  • Group dishes the way people order: starters, mains, sides, desserts and drinks.
  • Give each dish a short line on what is in it; diners with allergies read every word.
  • Add your opening hours and a note on dietary options at the bottom.

One tip

Print a few spare copies and keep the file: prices change, and a menu with handwritten corrections makes a good kitchen look careless.

What you get

  • Made at 8.5 × 11 in.
  • A CMYK print PDF with bleed and crop marks, ready for any print shop.
  • Menus & price lists come in US Letter, A4 and 11 × 17 in, one page.
  • Two AI designs from your words, logo and colours; preview free, $3.99 for the one you keep.
How do I make a restaurant menu?
Start from this one, type your dishes and prices in place of the examples, and pick between the two designs. The file goes straight to any print shop.
Can the restaurant menu be longer than one page?
This menu is one single-sided page. For more dishes, choose the larger 11 × 17 in size, or make food and drinks two separate menus.