Restaurant and cafe menu template

How to design a restaurant menu with this template

1. Pick the example closest to your place: Café, Burger restaurant or Saudi kitchen, or start blank.
2. Type the restaurant's name and choose a layout: classic list, two-column café board, or a card for each dish.
3. Edit the sections and dishes: name, price, calories and a short description. "+ Dish" adds a line to a section and "+ New section" adds a section.
4. Say whether the prices you type include VAT or not, and whether calories are shown.
5. Download the menu as a PDF for the printer, or as an image for your social media accounts and delivery apps.

Advanced mode adds a line under the restaurant's name, a line at the bottom for the order number, the VAT rate, the calorie note text, and a small QR code at the bottom of the printed menu that opens your online menu.

What a menu is and why its design matters

The menu is the first thing guests read after your sign, and it decides what they order and how much they spend. Section order steers the eye, which starts with the first section and the first dish in each one. Prices lined up in one column invite guests to compare on price alone; a price placed right after the dish and its description is read with the dish. Put the dishes you want to sell first in their section, and avoid sorting a section from cheapest to dearest.

How to choose a restaurant or cafe menu template

The classic list, with a double frame and dotted leaders, suits family restaurants and traditional kitchens that keep the menu in a folder. The cafe board is a dark two-column sheet for the wall above the counter or a screen. Cards give each dish a box with a bold price, which fits fast food and social posts. The same menu switches between the three with one click.

The PDF is A4; a print shop can scale it up to A3 for a wall poster or down to A5 for table menus without changing the layout. If the dishes no longer fit one page at a readable size, split them into two menus, food and drinks. If your prices change often, the Menu QR code tab draws a code for a menu page your restaurant owns, as one counter card or six table cards on an A4 page. We do not host menus or store the link.

Tips for writing and pricing your menu

• Section names guests understand at a glance: hot coffee, burgers, mains. Three to six sections are enough for most places.
• Dish names as guests say them at the counter, with the size where it varies: "Latte, medium".
• One-line descriptions with the ingredients that set the dish apart or matter for allergies: "150 g beef, cheddar".
• Prices as the guest pays them. Work out each dish's cost from its recipe first, then lead each section with the highest-margin dishes, not the best sellers, and keep prices within a section close to each other.

Calorie and allergen display guidelines

Showing calories next to each item in restaurants and cafes in Saudi Arabia is part of the Saudi Food and Drug Authority's requirements, and registered businesses are expected by the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority to show VAT-inclusive prices. The template puts calories under each dish and adds a VAT line and a daily-needs note at the bottom, editable in advanced mode. Calculate calories per portion as served, and name common allergens such as nuts, milk, wheat and egg in the description of the dishes that contain them.

Example: a restaurant types 28 riyals before VAT for its beef burger. With "Before VAT" selected the menu shows SAR 32.20, because 28 × 1.15 = 32.20. If it types 28 and selects "VAT-inclusive", it stays at SAR 28.

Common menu mistakes

• Menu prices that no longer match the till after a change, so the discussion with the guest starts at payment.
• Prices shown before VAT without saying so, so the guest is surprised by a higher total.
• Estimated calories that do not match the actual portion size.
• Long descriptions that fill the page until the price gets lost.
• A QR code that opens a temporary link or a dead page, or is printed under 3 cm wide so it will not scan from a seat.