Takeaway Menu Design Tips

A takeaway menu is a key advertising tool that should communicate a restaurant’s personality and encourage sales. Therefore, all takeaway restaurants should have a tantalising takeaway menu design to lure customers in, stimulate appetite and inform them of the delicious dishes on offer. Fundamentally, a takeaway menu sets your restaurant apart from competitors, so it’s essential your design is professional, attractive and informative. There are a lot of points to consider when designing; therefore, we have put together some essential tips for effective takeaway menu design.

Colour Scheme

All colours have connotations, so use this common colour knowledge to your advantage. Warm, welcoming colours like orange, yellow and red, work especially well for takeaways offering spicy food. Earthy tones, like browns and greens, have links to health, so these colours would work well for restaurants serving fresh salads and sandwiches and those that cater to vegetarian and vegan diets.

Dark colours like black create a sophisticated feel; pair this with a pop of colour such as red to create an interesting and professional menu. On the other hand, blues can be effective for seafood restaurants. Finally, bright colours such as pink are great for dessert takeaways, and the fun colours play well with the exciting and indulgent sweet treats you offer.

Typography

Effective typography will communicate a restaurant’s brand and result in an easy to read menu. The selection of typeface may depend on a number of practical factors, such as the amount of text that will comfortably fit on the page. Using more than one typeface – for example, distinguishing the names and descriptions of menu items – may help guide customers through the menu.

Contact Information

One of the most important aspects of your takeaway menu are your contact details. These should be large and visually distinguishable from the rest of the text. This way, customers can easily find the details they need to place an order. Alongside these contact details, outline your opening times for takeaway pickups and, in smaller text, information about minimum order amounts and delivery radius.

Allergen Information

You must declare if your cuisine contains, or may contain, the following allergens:

• Cereals containing gluten
• Nuts including peanuts, almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, Brazil nuts, cashews, pecans, pistachios, macadamias and Queensland nuts
• Fish and crustaceans (includes crabs, lobsters, shrimps and prawns)
• Molluscs (includes mussels, cockles, oysters, scallops, squid and octopus)
• Sesame seeds
• Eggs
• Milk and milk products (including lactose)
• Soybeans
• Celery
• Lupin
• Mustard
• Sulphur dioxide and sulphites at levels above 10 mg/kg or 10 mg/litre expressed as SO2

To make this easier for customers, it is a good idea to include the following abbreviations to inform customers of dishes that are suitable for specific diets:

• DF – Dairy-free
• LF – Lactose-Free
• VG/Ve – Vegan
• V – Vegetarian
• GF – Gluten-free
• PL – Paleo

Categorisation

Try using boxes or frames to separate key groups or highlight certain dishes. The more you use this technique, the less effective it will be, so use it sparingly.

Research has shown that customers usually spend the most time looking at the first and last items of a menu, so try and make these items your most profitable dishes.

Your takeaway menu design should be easy to navigate so customers can understand and locate all the necessary information. Therefore, it is a great idea to separate pieces of information into appropriate categories, such as types of dishes, set meals, vegetarian options and specials.

Photos of Your Food

We are tempted by what we see, and if there are delicious-looking dishes incorporated in your takeaway menu design, then this will likely boost sales! It is important to ensure these images are taken professionally to make your food options look appetising. – use them sparingly.

Alternatively, instead of photography, try using illustrations – they are more likely to be universally appealing and can help communicate the restaurant’s personality.

Selecting Your Leaflet Type

Once you have designed your takeaway menu, the next step is selecting a leaflet type that will effectively showcase your information. We recommend an A3 leaflet with a roll fold. With this design, you get four pages, so there is plenty of space to showcase your great cuisine. When folded, the leaflet is 297 x 140mm, making it easy for customers to store in drawers for future use and return sales.

Takeaway Menu Design Summary

If you follow these tips, you are sure to design an enticing takeaway menu. To showcase your beautiful takeaway menu design, it is important to get quality printing. At Sherwood Universal, we specialise in professional and affordable takeaway menu printing and can effectively bring your takeaway menu design to life!