How to Create an Enticing Menu Brochure for Restaurant ( 10 Tips )

Last Updated on December 13, 2023 by Packoi Team

To do that, you need to go through a meticulous process that balances the need to be visually appealing, informative, and convincing. You have to know who your audience is so you can meet their expectations while you present your offer strategically.

In this article, you’ll understand why a well-designed brochure is important. You’ll also discover effective tips that can create the most enticing menu for your restaurant, plus tips that’ll help you collaborate with a printer to produce the right brochure to grow your food business.

The Impact of a Well-Designed Menu Brochure

A menu brochure is not what you present to the customer when they dine in. It’s a smaller version of your menu. It is a marketing material that customers can take home to remind them of what your establishment offers.

The moment your diners step out with the brochure in their hand, it becomes a representation of your business. It plays various roles that can help increase your sales and grow your food business.

1. Sets the Tone

This marketing material gives your customers a visual of the meals that you offer. Whether they got it off the streets or after dining in your establishment, this brochure sets the tone for what they should expect from you.

So if your menu looks elegant, that’s the ambiance that they’ll expect once they decide to dine in. If it’s family-friendly, that’s what they’ll expect as well.

Your brochure can also reflect the cuisine (e.g. American, Mexican, Asian, etc). Let the brochure give cues that’ll entice diners to come and visit your restaurant.

2. Creates Anticipation

Part of setting the tone is creating a sense of anticipation for the dishes you offer. This is why this brochure should create a vision for the culinary experience that the customer will get from you. Be careful so you’re not misleading them.

Choose the right images and text descriptions to give customers a mouth-watering vision of your offer – but make sure you’re ready to meet those expectations.

3. Guides Diners

A well-organized menu guides your diners as they select the dishes that they will eat. It should encourage customers to look over everything so they know what their choices are. Menus should also have categories to make browsing easier.

Having said that, your menu mustn’t overwhelm them with a load of information about the meals you offer. Give enough description about the dish without flooding the brochure with too much text.

4. Highlights Special Dishes

The menu brochure is also your chance to highlight the special dishes that make your restaurant unique. Choose one or two meals that you can promote to be the best among other restaurants. This is the meal that people can only experience from you.

Emphasize these unique offers and put them in a strategic place on your menu.

5. Stirs Hunger Through Food Photography

Images can evoke powerful emotions. It’s more effective than words. With the right photos, your brochure can show dishes that are good enough to tantalize the senses. Use vibrant photos so the colors can create an enticing image.

Make the food photos come alive to stir the appetite of the one viewing them.

6. Forms a Connection

As a marketing tool, brochures are there to represent your brand. It can create a connection with the customer by showing something that resonates with them. It could be a cultural connection. Or a food preference.

The visual design of your menu should reflect your branding so people can associate themselves with it. No matter how much your menu changes, they’ll still feel a connection through your brochure.

7. Enhances Perceived Value

The design of your menu can also affect the customer’s perception of the value of your restaurant. It’s connected with the way it can set the tone and expectations of your diners.

If the menu feels luxurious, diners won’t question the high prices of your dishes. They’ll feel that it’s justified, but again, you’ll have to make sure you can meet the expectations of your customers. If it’s a premium value that you provided, that’s what you should serve.

8. Build the Restaurant’s Image

If you can impress customers with the menu brochure, this can build a positive image for your restaurant. When done right, a brochure can promise more than just a good meal. It’ll show an exclusive culinary experience.

Make sure you’re communicating the right image so you can connect to the right diner and meet their expectations.

9. Turns Diners Into Advocates

What happens if you give out a great menu brochure? It can be used by your customers to advertise your restaurant. This becomes more powerful when customers share their personal experiences with others.

This is a free advertisement for you. When customers advocate for your restaurant, they’ll have a visual of what you can offer. This increases the chances of drawing more customers to your establishment.

Imagine if they shared it online. That’ll widen your market reach and it wouldn’t have cost you anything.

10 Tips to Create a Menu Brochure That’ll Increase Revenue

A survey revealed that more than 50% of the respondents choose their restaurant based on what’s on the menu. If you can make your menu brochure visually attractive and enticing, you can win over new diners.

The question is, how can you design a brochure that will leave people wanting more from your restaurant? Here are tried and tested tips that you can use.

1. Know Who Your Diners Are

The best way to start is to understand who your diners are. Is it family-friendly? A place for couples wanting a romantic culinary experience? Maybe your place is for teens and students who want to hang out? Or is it for professionals who want to discuss their business over lunch or dinner?

These are different demographics that have different preferences for their dining experience. If the target diners influence the ambiance of the restaurant, make sure it also reflects on the menu brochure.

2. Identify the Signature Dishes for Proper Positioning

Before you list the dishes your restaurant offers, identify the signature dishes first. These will be the highlight of your menu. It’ll be positioned in such a way that’ll enhance the premium quality of the meal. Put an image to entice customers into ordering it.

Remember, it should be the first thing that people will see when they look at your menu. Since it’s your best dish, you want new diners to try it first. That can increase the chances that they’ll come back to your restaurant to dine again.

3. Hire a Professional Food Photographer

If you want high-quality images that can entice your customers to order or dine in your restaurant, invest in a professional food photographer. They know the right angles and effects to enhance the visual enticement of a dish.

Prepare the meal well and take nice photos of it. Show a smoking hot grill with juicy meat on it. Plate a dish in a way that’ll make people want to take a bite.

4. Plan the Menu Structure

Think about the visual hierarchy in your menu. How will you categorize the dishes that you serve? Group the appetizers, entrees, sides, desserts, and beverages together. Determine the font style, color, and symbols that mark every section. Choose a different look for the heading, the name of the dish or beverage, the description, and the price. You can also change the colors to separate the different categories.

When coming up with the hierarchy, make sure the profitable dishes are the ones they’ll see first.

5. Use a Descriptive or Storytelling Approach

Writing the description should be done with a storytelling approach. Describe the unique flavors, special ingredients, and even how it’s cooked.

Instead of just putting “Grilled Angus Ribeye Steak” write how it tastes and how it was prepared. Something like, “Primed Angus Ribeye beef marinated in special spices and expertly seared to perfection, producing a blend of savory goodness and a hint of smokiness from our grill. Served with roasted vegetables from our garden.”

Or instead of writing Garlic Bread, write “homemade buttery garlic bread seasoned with herbs and spices, served fresh from our oven.”

Engage the senses of the diners so they can visualize the taste of what you’ll serve.

6. Position the Prices Strategically

This is a tricky part of the menu. Most diners are heavily influenced by the price of the dishes. Even if they like to eat it, they’ll choose something else if they think it’s too expensive. This is why you need to set your prices strategically.

You want to be transparent without deterring customers from ordering the dish. This requires a bit of psychological pricing strategy.

For instance, you can put the price below the description of the dish and print it without the currency. They also avoid rounding off numbers. If a dish costs $15.00, they’ll put 14.99 or 14.95 instead. This makes it seem like diners are getting a discount.

7. Incorporate Subtle Upselling Techniques

Use your brochure content to encourage higher sales. Sometimes, diners would rely on your recommendations on how to pair dishes served in your restaurant. Help them by adding simple sentences or phrases to encourage customers to pair their chosen dish with another item. So if you serve pasta dishes, for instance, add at the bottom “best with our freshly baked garlic bread” or “try this with our side salad.”

This technique is a great way to increase your sales.

8. Create Bundles or Combo Meals

Another way to increase your sales is by combining dishes into a bundle or combo meal. For instance, put together an entree, appetizer, and beverage. Price them lower compared to when the items are purchased separately.

You can even create new meal combinations that cost less than your usual dishes. Offer this during lunch hours or specific times of the day to increase your sales. Make sure it’s clear on the menu when these dishes are available.

9. Add Limited Offer Dishes or Beverages

If you have anniversaries or events coming up, you can create limited offer dishes for your customers. For instance, create a couple’s meal deal for Valentine’s Day. Or offer seasonal dishes at specific months of the year.

The fact that there’s a time limit to the dish would make your diners feel like they have to grab it immediately.

10. Make It Interactive

Since we’re in the digital age, it’s best to make your menu brochure interactive. Add a QR code that customers can scan to get more information about your dishes. If you have the budget for it, create an app where your customers can order online.

On your social media page, ask customers to scan something on the brochure to get the chance to win a free meal or a discount.

These will create hype around your restaurant and get your diners interested in dining more.

5 Important Menu Brochure Elements to Discuss with the Printer

All these tips can help you put together an impressive menu brochure that’ll increase revenue in your restaurant. But there’s one more thing that you have to consider: the printer.

All your ideas won’t matter if your printer doesn’t get the right instructions from you. Make sure you clearly explain how you want your menu to look so they can give you the best options to produce them. Here are some of the things that you need to discuss with them.

1. Paper Weight and Size

Since this is a menu brochure that you’ll give away to diners, it doesn’t have to be a big one. You can create a smaller version of your actual menu – but make sure it’s still readable.

Apart from the size, the thickness of the paper for the brochure doesn’t have to be the same as your real menu. You can choose a lower paper weight as long as it’s not too flimsy to tear easily. Remember, the quality of the brochure will reflect on your restaurant.

It’s best to ask the printer about their paper stock so you can consider using them. This might help you get a better deal on the brochure printing package.

2. Font and Typography

Although your menu brochure is a smaller version of the actual one, it should be done in an easily readable way. Choose a font that’s similar to what you use in the restaurant. But it has to be simple enough to be readable, even if you print it small.

Whatever you choose, consider the theme of your restaurant so it’s still aligned with your brand image. Most printers have a design team that can help you with the creative side of the menu brochure. It’s best to take advantage of their expertise since you already have access to it.

3. Layout of Images

Since you’re working with a smaller surface, you’ll have to choose the images that you’ll put in the brochure. Pick the best ones that you know will stimulate the appetite of your customers. You can also choose your signature dishes or meal deals.

Once you have chosen the images, add them to the brochure. Position them near the dish description so people can make the right connections.

Like the font and typography, you can ask the design services of the printer if they can help you with this. If they have templates that you can use, it’ll help you lay out the design of your brochure.

4. Color Psychology

The color selection is another concern for your brochure. Align it with what your restaurant has to offer. Use color psychology as a reference. If you want to emphasize the freshness of your ingredients, opt for green in your menu. If you run an Italian restaurant, opt for the colors of the country you’re honoring.

Of course, you can also follow the colors used in your menu at the restaurant. Make sure the printer of the brochure can follow the exact shade by sending a Pantone reference number.

5. Printing Technique

Finally, talk to the printer about the printing techniques that they use. This will affect the final output of your menu brochure. If you want a vintage appearance, using offset printing may be the best option to achieve the look you’re aiming for.

If you want vivid images, ask the printer what’s the best way to achieve it.

Let’s Talk about Your Menu Brochure Design. Packoi Printing Can Share Design Expertise and Print High-Quality Brochures.

A menu brochure is a powerful marketing tool that can help you get more diners to visit your restaurant. With the right design, information, and images, you can stimulate their hunger and encourage them to try out your dishes.

If you need an expert to help you design your menu brochure, Packoi Printing is here to help. We offer design services to help you create enticing brochures so your restaurant can earn more.

Call us so we can discuss the menu you want to create. We’ll get back to you with a quotation in no time.