How to brief an AI to design your menu (with 12 prompts that work)
What to put in a design brief for an AI menu designer: mood, references, constraints, and a dozen copy-paste prompts for bistros, bars, cafés and fine dining.
An AI designer is a very fast junior with excellent taste and no memory of your restaurant. The quality of what it produces depends almost entirely on the brief. Here is what to include, and twelve prompts you can paste into Menu Atelier.
The four parts of a good brief
- Mood in three adjectives and a reference (“warm, unfussy, Parisian; think Le Comptoir”).
- Palette or materials (“cream paper, oxblood, brass” or “take colours from the logo”).
- Structure (“lunch formula boxed at the top, wines on the back, prices without decimals”).
- Constraints (“must fit one A4 face, body text at least 11 pt”).
Upload references, they matter more than words
A photo of the room, the façade, a plate and the logo tell the AI more than a paragraph. It reads colours, materials and tone from them. Two to four images is the sweet spot.
Twelve prompts that work
- Parisian bistro, cream paper, oxblood accents, classic serif, plat du jour boxed top right, prices without decimals.
- Bologna trattoria, kraft texture, olive and tomato, friendly rounded serif, small basil ornament between sections.
- Modern minimal, pure white, black Inter, one hairline per section, lots of air, prices right-aligned.
- Speakeasy cocktail bar, midnight navy, brass geometric frame, drink names in caps, base spirit in small caps.
- Specialty coffee, slate chalkboard, cream lettering, drinks grid with three sizes, hand-drawn steam ornament.
- Tasting menu, warm white, editorial light serif, courses centred with hairlines, pairing in small grey, one price at the bottom.
- Omakase counter, washi texture, black ink, single vermilion seal, numbered nigiri in two columns.
- Greek taverna, whitewash and Aegean blue, tile pattern border, generous headings, fish by weight section.
- Brunch café, pastel peach and sage, playful geometric sans, egg icons, all-day section first.
- Wine bar, deep burgundy, gold hairlines, wines grouped by region with a one-line note each.
- Burger joint, bold condensed sans, mustard and charcoal, big numbers, combos boxed.
- Bakery counter card, flour white, soft brown, serif italics for names, pastries listed with weights.
Iterate in sentences
Do not start over. Tell the AI what to change: “more room between courses”, “warmer paper”, “move desserts to the back face”, “make the logo smaller”. Each revision keeps everything else, so five short sentences beat one long re-brief.
The studio on the Menu Atelier home page runs these prompts against your real menu text. Paste yours and try two or three moods before you sign up.
