When executed to perfection, “menu” is more verb than noun. It is a presentation, celebration, and adoration of food that, in concert with a well-versed server, paints a pleasant and highly expectant dining experience. “The best menu,” says Izzy Kharasch, president of Hospitality Works Inc., a leading consultancy in hospitality and menu design, “is one that makes everything sound so delicious I want to try it all. I enjoy reading well-thought-out menu descriptions, not recipes.” Kharasch also echoes the sentiments of members of the multi-billion dollar Baby Boomer industry that a pleasant menu experience means “not pulling out your reading glasses.”

Blair Clark, president of Monastery Hill Bindery, a 130-year-old designer of menu covers, wine lists, and other hospitality amenities, stresses, “The menu is often the first touch point and impression of the restaurant for a guest. A quality cover with nice design should match the guest’s expectation for the entire dining experience.”

“Baby Boomers are demanding ‘readable’ menus with larger, bolder, and cleaner type fonts,” says Phyllis Weege, president of Menu Masters, a restaurant and hospitality marketing and menu design company. She says menu basics should not be taken for granted, and selection of type font and size, as well as use of color can determine the success or failure of a menu. Positioning of feature items on the page is also critical.

For casual dining restaurants, Weege says digital technology makes full-color printing and photos of feature items affordable to independent and corporate restaurant groups.

“Quality printed menus help build identity and increase sales,” says Weege. “We encourage clients to work with our designers and their key suppliers to create a partnership that develops a menu resulting in a powerful sales tool.” Weege also encourages incorporating supplemental menu pieces into the main menu. The goal is to immediately focus the diner's attention on the restaurant's highest-profit specialty items and to increase beverage sales. These menus are usually designed and produced in full color with photos of entrée presentations. Plus, the final menu piece can be die cut to a unique size and shape.

Kharasch agrees and notes that, although his firm spends a lot of time training servers on the verbal presentation of specials, “we also make sure servers present a ‘specials’ card they leave at the table with guests. We have found that this increases sales [of specials].”

Clark adds that, in addition to a menu’s look, a menu’s texture or sense of touch is important.

“We are seeing a lot of properties looking for new materials with a unique look or texture.”

BRANDING ON MENUS: PROS & CONS
The issue of branding elicits a range of opinions from hotel F&B professionals. Gary Swanson, Holiday Inn’s senior food & beverage strategist, says branding is a key component of Holiday Inn’s menu, and he touts the success of its Best-4- Breakfast® and Best-4-Value™ menu components featuring Quaker, Folgers, Tropicana, V8, Egg Beaters, Dannon, and other nationally recognized brands. Swanson says branding is an important component of all of Holiday Inn’s foodservice and is a key ingredient to the “Room Service Right … On Time” menu.

Seeing the benefit of some branding, “we discourage clients from using a laundry list of branding on menus,” says Weege. Our designers have developed techniques that incorporate subtle branding into the menu design. This accomplishes the objective of branding without destroying the overall image we are developing for the property.”

“If by branding you mean creating signature items, we are all for that,” says Kharasch. “We look to the chef for what those items will be and then strategically place them on the menu so they get the most attention.”

Finally, Clark believes branding can be advantageous to the F&B operation if executed well. “By using a special decorating technique, you can highlight the logo and incorporate that piece into the design concept of the menu cover (and menu). A well-designed layout with good descriptions that is not too overwhelming is the best format. Also, it is a nice touch if the sheet is printed with the logo in a halftone behind the printed menu text.”

“A bad menu experience,” says Clark, “is if the menu is not well-organized to match the timing of the various courses. It should be very readable, so you must take into consideration the font size and lighting in the restaurant. Also, it doesn’t work when the cover does not match the décor or vibe of the location and type of dining experience you hope to project.”

Poor quality, old, and tattered menus are disastrous to profitable F&B. Weege observes, “A menu handed to you that is torn, soiled, and with prices/items crossed off or written over in pen speaks volumes about what is going on in the back of the house. What else is being cut to save money? Quality of ingredients? If the menu is dirty, I would be afraid to see how the kitchen and coolers look. Cheaply produced menus on lightweight paper, spelling errors, small type, etc., make the same statement. Image is everything in the restaurant and hospitality industry.”

Kharasch says menus have always been essential to the success of a restaurant. He believes many restaurants that close within five years of opening can attribute failure to a poorly designed menu. “A bad menu is one where everything sounds so dull I feel as if I'm ordering the best of the worst,” points out Kharasch. “Also, menus that have a lot of spelling, grammatical, or historical errors bother me. The most disappointing thing is ordering something that sounds good but when it comes out is nothing like what I read on the menu.”

Weege says restaurant owners and F&B executives must recognize the impact a professionally designed and produced menu can have to the bottom line. She believes the trend of in-house menu production is disappearing and that partnering with professional menu companies enhances not only the profitability of an operation but also a diner's first impression. “Our customers are also demanding more unique looks to their presentation. We have stepped up to the plate and are creating menu covers using materials with unique textures, color, and a combination of materials, whether used in fine dining or casual bistros.”

Clark points out that food and beverage professionals need to think outside the box to get away from the same routine. “We research different industries such as industrial wall coverings and jewelry displays,” Clark reveals, “to find the best materials … materials that are durable with nice textured patterns that will catch the customer’s eye and have a good feel when held.”

Whether you work with a professional menu company or design menus inhouse, menus must be pleasantly narcissistic, boldly saying “Look at me!” They must exhibit aesthetic delight, both on the outside and inside.

Win Davis is a frequent contributor and industry relations editor for HOTEL F&B.