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Guide · Menu

Menu & pricing

The menu is your business plan on one page. Small menus make money.

Japanese sashimi and sushi platter with salmon and tuna

Quick answer

Price each dish from its food cost: ingredient cost divided by your 30% to 35% target, rounded to a clean number. Keep the opening menu under 40 items, photograph your top sellers, keep online prices the same as dine-in on your own ordering channel.

Under 40items on a strong opening menu. You can always add later.
30–35%food cost target. A few star dishes can run higher if they fill tables.
8 secondsroughly how long a first-time guest reads before deciding. Photos win.

Small menu, deep flavor

The hundred-item menu era is ending, and good riddance. Pick the dishes your family is known for and cook them better than anyone in town.

  • Anchor dishes: three to five things people drive across town for
  • Every dish should share prep with at least one other dish
  • Vegetarian and gluten-free options are table stakes now. Plan them in from the start, do not bolt them on later
  • Keep grandma's recipe. Simplify the garnish, never the flavor.
Overhead view of a generous sushi spread on a restaurant table

Pricing without guilt

Immigrant restaurants have underpriced themselves for two generations. Stop. Divide the plate's ingredient cost by 0.32 and round to a number that ends in.95 or a clean digit. Do not price against the buffet down the street.

  • Cost every dish once a quarter; sauces and oil prices move
  • Charge for the extras: protein swaps, extra noodles, sauce on the side
  • Raise prices a little, yearly, quietly. Never 20% at once with an apology note.

Design, translation and photos

Your menu is marketing you hand to every guest. Keep the original dish names, since they carry the story, and add a one-line English description underneath. And photograph the food properly once; those photos work on the menu, on Google, and on your online ordering page.

  • Original name + short English description beats a paragraph every time
  • Mark spice levels and the big allergens; servers answer fewer questions
  • Ten great photos beat forty mediocre ones. Shoot your bestsellers
  • QR menu and paper menu must match. Nothing erodes trust like two prices.
Japanese dishes photographed from above for a menu

Menu design and photo help

You do not need an agency. You need clean templates and one good photo session.

Canva

DIY design

Restaurant menu templates you can edit yourself, including bilingual layouts. Free tier covers most needs.

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MustHaveMenus

Menu-focused

Built only for menus. Print, QR and digital boards stay in sync when you change a price.

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Fiverr

Hire help

Freelance menu designers and food photographers by the project. Check portfolios for food work specifically.

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Common questions

Should my menu be in English or my own language?

Both. Keep the original names in your script with short English descriptions. It reads as confidence, not as a barrier.

Should delivery prices be higher than dine-in?

On marketplace apps, most owners add 10% to 20% to cover commission, and that is fair. On your own ordering site keep prices matched to dine-in.