Restaurant menu template

The structure diners expect

A dinner menu is read slowly, usually twice: once to get oriented and once to decide. The sections do the orienting. Starters, mains, sides and dessert, in that order, mirror how the meal unfolds, so a guest can see the whole evening at a glance. Resist the urge to invent new headings for every section; “To begin” and “To finish” are charming, “Edible Journeys” is a hurdle.

This template is deliberately restrained. It is a classic bistro layout: a centred title, a double rule border, small-caps section headings and dotted leaders between each dish and its price. It prints well in black and one dark ink colour, which matters if you run copies on the office printer between services.

How many dishes

For a single page, 14 to 22 dishes is the working range. More than that and the page either shrinks text below comfortable reading size or becomes a wall. A tight list also helps the kitchen: fewer SKUs, less prep, fewer 86’d items by Saturday night. If you genuinely need more, split into a food page and a drinks page; multi-page menus are part of Pro.

Where prices sit, and what they should look like

Align prices in a single column on the right. Diners scan down that edge and compare; ragged prices make a menu feel haphazard. Use the same number format throughout: all whole numbers (14) or all with decimals (14.00), never a mix. Many restaurants at the higher end drop the currency sign and the trailing zeros entirely, because a column of bare numbers reads as less transactional. The tool has a currency selector with a “no currency sign” option, so you can see both versions in seconds.

Typical dinner price ladders

Course	Casual bistro	Upper casual
Starters	$9–14	$14–20
Mains	$18–27	$28–42
Sides	$6–8	$8–12
Desserts	$8–10	$11–15

These are broad US-city ranges; check them against your three nearest competitors rather than treating them as targets. A useful habit is to keep your price steps small within a section so no single item looks like the obvious trap.

Descriptions that help rather than decorate

One line per dish, naming the main ingredient and the technique: “Pan-roasted salmon, lentils, leeks, salsa verde.” Skip claims you cannot prove such as “award-winning” or “the best in town”. Sourcing words like “local” are fine only if true. If a dish takes 25 minutes, the menu or the server should say so.

Allergens and dietary marks

Add V, VG and GF marks where they are accurate, and add a clear line asking guests to mention allergies. In the EU and UK, the 14 major allergens must be communicated; in the US, practice and local rules vary but a visible allergy prompt is standard. Rules change and differ by location, so confirm with your local environmental-health office. The generator never invents allergen data: tags are only added when your text says so or when you toggle them by hand.

Service charge and footnotes

If you add a service charge, a cover charge or a surcharge for large parties, print it on the menu in plain words. The footnote field sits under the sections for exactly this. Surprises on the bill cost more in goodwill than the charge earns.

Print notes

Choose Letter or A4, print on a heavier paper such as 100–120 gsm, and test one copy before running thirty. If you are cutting dishes to fit, the tool shrinks text a little to hold everything on one page and warns you when it has gone too far.

Questions about this template