Blog

Notes from the atelier

Menu engineering, typography, print prep and how to brief an AI: what we learn designing menus, written down.

Print & paper
· 5 min read

Menu paper weight guide: 250, 300 or 350 g and what each one feels like

What paper weight means in grams per square metre, how 250, 300 and 350 g boards behave in the hand and at the fold, and which to pick for each menu format and venue.
Menu engineering
· 5 min read

Set menu vs à la carte: how to structure both on one page

How to lay out a set menu and an à la carte selection on the same menu without confusing guests: hierarchy, pricing logic, supplements, and the layouts that work.
Menu engineering
· 5 min read

Raising menu prices without losing guests: design, timing and wording

How to raise menu prices when costs climb: which dishes to move first, how much, when to reprint, and the design choices that keep the increase from being the story.
Menu engineering
· 5 min read

Menu analysis: the five numbers to track every month

A monthly menu analysis routine: sales mix, contribution margin, popularity index, attachment rate and item count, with the thresholds that trigger a change.
Menu engineering
· 5 min read

Kids' menu design: what parents trust and children actually order

How to design a kids' menu that works for both readers: portion logic, pricing, allergen clarity for parents, and type, colour and format choices for children.
Menu engineering
· 5 min read

Upselling with menu design: sides, pairings and the second glass

How a printed menu sells the extras on its own: where to place sides, how to write pairing lines, pricing wine by the glass to invite a second, and what to leave off.
Menu engineering
· 5 min read

Menu engineering for cafés: pastries, add-ons and the coffee ladder

How café menus make money: building a coffee price ladder, placing pastries where they sell, pricing add-ons like oat milk and syrups, and laying it out on a board or card.
Menu engineering
· 5 min read

Seasonal menu rotation: how often to change it and how to announce it

A working rhythm for seasonal menu changes: which dishes rotate, which stay, how many times a year to reprint, and how to signal the new season on the page.
Menu engineering
· 4 min read

From food cost to menu price: a pricing method that holds up

A step-by-step method to turn recipe food cost into a menu price: target ratios, contribution margin, price anchoring and how to present the result on the page.
Menu engineering
· 4 min read

Decoy dishes and anchoring: pricing tactics that actually work

How decoy dishes and price anchors work on a printed menu, when they insult the guest, and how to set one real expensive neighbour without inventing a fake plate.
Menu engineering
· 4 min read

Boxes and chef's picks: emphasis that does not cheapen the menu

How to highlight a dish on a restaurant menu without turning the card into a flyer: one box, one mark, better type, and the emphasis habits that kill trust.
Menu engineering
· 4 min read

Should you remove currency symbols from your menu?

When dropping the euro sign from a restaurant menu calms the card, when it confuses guests, and how to set a legal, quiet price column in print.

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