Restaurant menu: how to write a clear menu for your restaurant

Before design and colours, write the full content of the menu. Every item needs these fields:

• The dish name as guests know it, and if the name is creative, what the dish actually is
• A short description with the main ingredients and the cooking method, such as grilled or fried
• The size or portion, with a separate price for each size
• Calories next to the item
• The allergens it contains, and caffeine for drinks
• A real photo from your kitchen if you have one

At the top or bottom of the menu: the restaurant's name and logo, opening hours and contact number.

Order the sections the way guests usually order, so they read the menu from start to end without flipping back:

1. 1Starters, soups and salads
2. 2Main dishes, split into groups if there are many, such as grills, rice dishes and burgers
3. 3Sides, extras and sauces
4. 4Desserts
5. 5Cold drinks, then hot drinks

If one dish is what your place is known for, put it first in its section. Keep the number of items as small as you can, since a long menu makes choosing harder and slows ordering. And when an item often runs out, mark it sold out instead of letting guests ask for it and be let down.

• Write prices in riyals the same way across the whole menu; do not mix SAR, SR and riyal
• If a dish comes in several sizes, list each size with its price, such as single, half and whole
• Paid extras such as cheese or extra sauce get their own price, so they never surprise the guest on the bill
• A limited offer shows the offer price and the original price, and leaves the menu when it ends
• When you change a price, change it everywhere: the printed menu, the menu photos on your Google profile and delivery apps

The Saudi Food and Drug Authority requires restaurants, cafés, bakeries, ice cream and juice shops to show calories on their menus. The key points of the requirements published on the SFDA website:

• Calories shown clearly next to every item, in the same font format as the dish name
• On every type of menu: paper, wall boards and electronic screens
• Separate calories for side orders such as sauces, soft drinks and ice cream, and for each cooking method such as grilled or fried
• Clear disclosure of ingredients that cause allergies, on paper and electronic menus, in Arabic
• The caffeine content of drinks that contain it, such as coffee
• Temporary and daily dishes and special orders are exempt from calories under the SFDA regulation

Calculating calories is the restaurant owner's responsibility and may need a nutritionist or analysis software. Check the SFDA website for the full details before you print.

Guests in Saudi Arabia read Arabic and English, and allergen disclosure is required in Arabic. Simple rules for a two-language menu:

• Arabic is the base for every item, with English next to it or in a second version of the menu
• Translate the name and the meaning, not just the letters. Write Chicken Kabsa, not only Kabsa, for guests who do not know it
• The same prices and calories in both languages, and the same section order
• Have someone read the English menu before printing, because a translation mistake reaches every guest

• Printed: fits a place whose dishes and prices stay the same for a long time, and guests who like to hold a menu. But every change to a price or dish means printing again
• QR digital menu: guests scan the code on the table and the menu opens on their phone, and every change shows at once without printing. It fits places that change prices or dishes often, or have guests who read English
• Many restaurants use both: a printed menu on the table and a QR code for the same menu with photos and two languages

The difference between a display QR menu and an ordering and payment system is explained in the display menu vs ordering guide. Read: display menu or ordering system?

• Old prices in the menu photos on Google or in delivery apps, so guests are surprised when they pay
• Small type or pale colours that cannot be read in the restaurant's lighting
• Photos from the internet that do not look like the real dish, which invites negative reviews
• Far too many items without clear sections
• Missing calories for some items or extras
• Literal translations or spelling mistakes in English

For a printed menu: Repma's free menu maker runs in your browser with no sign-up. Type your sections and dishes in Arabic and English with price and calories, pick a design, and download an A4 PDF or a 300 dpi image to print. Design your restaurant menu for free

For a digital menu: Repma's QR menu opens on the guest's phone at menu.repma.io with no app. You import dishes and prices from your Google profile, a photo of your paper menu or a PDF, review the draft, and the Translate button fills empty fields in Arabic and English. It has fields for calories, caffeine, the salt mark and allergens, a sold out today mark, and a studio to print the QR code in your brand. The menu is display only, with no ordering and no payment, and comes with Repma from 119 SAR per location per month with a 7-day trial. Try the demo menu