How Effective is your Menu?

Evaluating Menus

• Is the menu attractive?

• Do the colors and other design elements match the operation’s
theme and decor?
• Are menu items laid out in an attractive and logical way?
• Is there too much descriptive copy? Not enough? Is the copy easy
to understand?
• Is attention called to the items managers most want to sell,
through placement, color, description, type size, etc.?
• Have guests complained about the menu?
• Have guests said good things about the menu?
• How does the menu compare with the menus of
competitors?
• Has the average guest check remained steady or
increased?
• Is there enough variety in menu items?
• Are menu items priced correctly?
• Are you selling the right mix of high-profit and low-profit
items?
• Is the typeface easy to read and appropriate to
the restaurant’s theme and decor?
• Is the paper attractive and stain-resistant?
• Have the menus been easy to maintain so that
guests always receive a clean, attractive menu?
WHY IS IT THE SOUL OF THE FOOD
SERVICE OPERATIONS?
 The Menu Helps to Determine Staff Needs

• Variety and complexity increases, number of personnel

increases
• Production staff
• Service staff
• Back-of-house staff
 The Menu Dictates Production and Service Equipment Needs

Tableside Service

• carving utensils, trolleys, gueridon, salad bowls, suzette

pans, souffle dishes, soup tureens, large wooden salad
bowl, etc.
 The Menu Dictates Dining Space

• A take-out sandwich or pizza operation would require no dining space

and the amount of square feet required per person would be minimal.

• On the other hand, if a restaurant offers a huge salad buffet, dessert

selection or an after-dinner trolley, wide aisles would be needed to
allow guests ease of movement and moving of equipment.
 Purchase Specifications May Be Dictated
By The Menu

• If the menu offers such items as USDA Choice New York strip steaks,
quarter-pound lean beef burgers, grade AA eggs, freshly squeezed Florida
orange juice, or vine-ripened tomatoes, back -of-house procedures will
not only include receiving, storing, issuing, and producing the menu items
but also purchasing the specific products described. (When such factors as
grade and portion size are not dictated by the menu, managers and chefs
must determine purchase specifications and related quality factors.)
 How and When Items
Must Be Prepared
• To stimulate guest interest, the menu planner may offer a dish prepared in a
variety of ways:
• Cooking methods

• Poached, broiled, batter-dipped, deep fried

• The finished product must be prepared using the method indicated on the menu

• Small quantities cooking (a la carte)

• Batch cooking
 The Menu and the Service Plan

• Type and size of dinnerware

• Types of flatware

• Garnishes (place be service or production staff)

• Timing requirement for ordering

• Additional dining service supplies to serve the item

• Special serving produces

• Special information (doneness of the steaks, over easy or sunny side eggs, etc.)
 The Menu is a Factor in the Development of
Cost Control Procedures
As the menu requires more expensive food items and more
extensive labor or capital (equipment) needs, the property’s
overall expenses and the procedures to control them will
reflect these increased cost.