5 DIFFERENT TYPES OF RESTAURANT MENUS

Menu is essential for all restaurants and it plays an important role in promoting the business.
A menu not only provides information about the food articles available at the restaurant
along with prices, but also tempt the customer to order the food. Menu should be attractive
and informative as in not long but it should be able to provide the necessary information.
Different restaurants have different approaches on serving the food and fixing prices for
each item. Similarly different restaurants follow different menu styles. Here we are going to
talk about the most commonly used five different types of restaurant menus.
Static Menu
This is the most common type of menu which has been accepted widely. Different food items
will be categorized into different groups and subgroups such as appetizers, entrees, salads,
soups, desserts etc. This type of menu will be kept laminated for easy cleaning and will
contain several pages. Most of the fast food restaurants use this type of menu.
A’la Carte Menu
When different food items are sold individually, this type of menu will be the best. For
example, when you order a steak, it will not accompany salads and potatoes. You will have
to order them separately. In such restaurants, the prices of each item should be shown
individually.
Table d’hote Menu
In some restaurants where food items are sold as multi course meals. Here the choices will
be less and the charges will be for the meal not for individual items. Customer will not have a
choice to order individual items. In such restaurants “Table d’hote” type of menu will be the
best choice. This is also known as “Prix Fixe Menu”.
Du Jour Menu
When food items are being changed constantly, this type of menu will be the best choice. It
is a practice of many restaurants to offer special foods on seasons or even daily. In such
restaurants Du Jour Menu can be used. This is also known as “Chalkboard Menu” as making
changes in the menu will be easy in this case.
Cycle Menu
Several restaurants have the practice of offering specific food items on specific days. For
example, fish will be served on Fridays, Chinese will be on Sundays, Continental on
Mondays etc. In this case, the best choice is Cycle Menu Covers. A cycle can be weekly, bi-
weekly or monthly.
There are several other types of menus that are not popular. The type of menu card can be
selected based upon the nature of food served and also on the nature of foods.
However, one should take extra care while designing menu cards, irrespective of the type of
menu. Type of menu will suit your business but cannot promote it until and unless it is
attractive and informative. Hence, it is always better to take the help of a professional to get
the restaurant menus designed and printed. Remember that the amount you are spending on
professionals will not go in vein as a good and professionally designed menu can improve
your business