Restaurant Menu Printing and What to Include Before You Print

Our intention is to help restaurant owners and managers create and print mouth-watering to Go Menus. When eating out, we’ve observed as customers and designers 3 simple ideas that can help your restaurant sell more food and simplify the ordering process.

1. We Eat with Our Eyes

If you’ve heard the expression “A Picture’s Worth A 1000 Words” really consider this saying when printing your to go Restaurant Menus.

Not too long ago I ordered Eggs Benedict from a menu that had no pictures just words. Thinking all Eggs Benedict were created equal I ordered with confidence, excited for my plate to arrive. However, when my plate came I was shocked.

A large single piece of ham with 2 potatoes acting as the English muffins had arrived at my table.

When I first read the menu I thought the potatoes were going to be on the side and not act as the actual bun.

Needless to say, I was very disappointed with my food choice and experience.

I took full responsibility for my choice in breakfast that morning and ate a quarter of my breakfast, however, you can see how leaving images out of your restaurant menu can affect the ordering process and the customer’s experience.

I was expecting a traditional Eggs Benedict with regular English muffins, ham and hollandaise sauce but instead, I received 1 potato cut in half and a larger than a normal piece of ham.

If the menu showed me a visual image of how the Eggs Benedict looked like I would have ordered something else that day.

When a customer opens your restaurant menu and the majority of the menu is written out, the brain will switch to an analytical state if he or she is new to your restaurant.

This is good for when we problem solve, however, the text or the written word may not be the best option for presenting cooked meals.

This analysis will call for more time spent on your server’s behalf answering questions that can easily be answered with a simple image.

We’re not saying to get rid of all written text, however, we’re suggesting that a picture can explain more than words can describe.

Because an image is picked up by our brain faster than a short descriptive sentence the customer will know exactly what he or she is getting with their meal.

Without a Visual Reference, picking the wrong dish can ruin your customers dining experience.

Having well-lit pictures of your meals is something to consider when Menu Printing. By looking at an image we can also predict and decide within seconds if we will enjoy the food or not.

At the same time, the restaurant removes the friction of having a new customer “overthink” what meal to eat, saving your staff valuable time and the restaurant cost on returned meals.

2. Placing Your Best Selling Dishes Up Front

Try placing the best-selling dishes on the inside first page when opening your To Go Menu, this applies for breakfast lunch and dinner.

This simple trick can speed up the ordering process and help the server or the person taking phone orders from spending too much time with the guy or gal that has your menu at home.

Although it’s a small amount of time per customer adding multiple take out orders and customers in a day can add up.

By placing the best-selling dishes upfront and having the drinks or smaller dishes in the back part of the menu or in writing you remove paralysis by analysis, the person who can’t make his mind up will see the best-selling dishes upfront before going to the end or back of the Menu.

This leaves room for the best-selling dishes to be a No Brainer Impulse Purchase Decision when it comes time to order the dishes that are prominent and upfront.

Having too many images might cause your customers to take more time in selecting what to eat so its safer to have the top five dishes when selecting what dish to place in a highly visible area on the menu.

3. Where’s Your Brand At?

Your Brand and Logo should be displayed on your to-go menu prominently but not distract or take too much space on your menu.

Most of the materials your customers interact with should bare your company’s logo, by placing your restaurant logo on to go menus your brand is more likely to connect with your customers than a non branded menu.

The logo that you place serves as the spokesperson that represents your restaurant’s values and taste when the customer takes your menu home.

Your Logo must appear clean and clear to the customer so that he or she can create a positive association to good food and dining experience.

Visual Branding is what Starbucks, Chipotle, Subway, and all major restaurant chains have on their restaurant materials that aim to brand you and others. Think of it as another form of advertising to spread your message and brand.

The goal of branding your marketing materials is to leverage your customer’s purchase to spread your word to new and curious customers that have never tried your food or visited your restaurant.

This common and overlooked part of your marketing strategy can have a big impact on sales and brand recognition when you print out your to-go menus.

Resource Free Printable Brochure Menus by Brother makes it easy to have a basic brochure design template that you can use without a designer.

If you would like to get a custom quote for a particular To Go Menu Size please feel free to email us at info@laprintanddesign.com