Menus are a tender subject for me. As a busy single mother, I taught my son to read with restaurant menus. (Yes, I actually read books to the boy as well, but menus were a big part of the process.) Now I’m writing about the ideal menu length.
In 1994, Allen H. Kelson, in Restaurant Hospitality Magazine, referred to menus as “the ability to place an advertisement in every customer’s hand before they part with their money.” Put in that context, their importance shines through. Menus express in words all the life that is in your kitchen, so you find yourself asking a question. “Yes, but how many words?” Most of us have nodded off when the sermon was too long.
The same is true of menus. Some national chains have menus which are longer than Dr. Seuss books. They’ve undergone revamping by menu engineers and consultants. They combine graphic design and psychology to create manuscripts to lure us into trying new options. Their collected wisdom seems to be, the longer the menu, the more photographs you’ll need. These long menus, once organized, color-coordinated, and adorned with glowing descriptions, have slightly increased business for restaurants which already had long menus. If you own a national franchise, problem solved, but if you’re an independent restaurateur, you might still be grappling with it.
To be competitive, you need to consider different types of diners, for example, young children , but many well-loved restaurants are thriving with shorter menus geared more towards identifying their style than accommodating every style. You want your menu to be long enough to appeal to a variety of customers while remaining short enough for us to be able to answer when asked, “What type of restaurant is it?”
Eating is a social event. When everyone in the booth is satisfied, you’ll see them again. Your menu should be mindful of various tastes and medical realities but short enough to help us make choices. Three or four pages is of sufficient length to cover appetizers, salads, entrees, desserts and drinks. Offer half a dozen or so strong choices in the major categories, and we assume we’ll love one, because you’re relying on it. When your kitchen isn’t spread thinly, you have specialties. Shorter, more powerful menus define your restaurant and keep us coming back for a touch only you have.
