Menu planning advice

Quantity of dishes

One key piece of advice you’ll hear from any successful chef or owner is not to have a huge menu. 6-8 starters and 6-8 main courses are generally considered the right balance.

As for the balance of proteins, research shows the percentage of fish and seafood dishes on menus has increased to 30%. There’s also a growing trend towards “grazing” – tapas-style dining where people choose 2 or 3 smaller dishes.

Menu descriptions

Menu descriptions are your most important tool. (However, don’t forget that once they’ve chosen their meal, it’s the food that diners will remember you for).

The majority of your guests will come in without knowing what they’re going to eat. It’s your printed menu which will influence their decision most.  Whilst it’s important that all waiting staff know all the dishes on the menu and are equipped to answer questions, the majority of diners will feel awkward about asking, and are more likely to choose another dish than ask a question. So as well as creating great tasting, appealing dishes, it’s crucial that you also get the language right on your menu.

Be descriptive about what produce is being used and how it’s cooked, but keep to the point and avoid being too flowery.

Provenance is important. Always try to include the country or area of origin of the main ingredient in your menu description along with any other marketable facts such as “line-caught”, “new season” or “sustainable” wherever applicable.

• Good: ‘Pan-seared New England scallops with pea puree’
• Flowery: ‘Scallops served on a bed of pea puree drizzled with basil oil’

Fish bones

Research shows that 82% of consumers are prepared to choose fish when eating out, but the thought of bones can be off-putting to many. 

However, it’s easy to satisfy these consumers’ needs:

Offer a dish using a boneless portion (as well as more adventurous options).

State this on the menu. Our research suggests the best term to use is "off the bone". See examples below:

• ‘Pan-fried line-caught yellowfin tuna off the bone with roast Mediterranean vegetables'
  
• ‘Oven-baked wild turbot portion off the bone with hollandaise sauce and new season asparagus'