Innovative Menu Options for Your Restaurant2 min read

What’s on your menu can make or break your restaurant. Yet the way you present your menu is also important. A nice-looking menu will draw in the customer’s eye, highlight specials you want to promote and have eye-catching photos that will encourage ordering, among other things. Your menu is not just an opportunity to provide information. You can also use it to market to your customers and provide them with a better experience in your restaurant.

Here are a few innovative menu options to consider for your restaurant:

iPad Menu

You can easily create a digital menu with an app and an iPad (or a smart phone). You can set up displays at the hostess stand or at each table, depending on your budget for the technology. You can also just make the app available for customers to use on their own devices. They can get more information about the dishes, such as nutritional information and ingredients. With the right app, they can even place their order.

Consider using the app with your iPad POS system to help you get the most out of your investment and make ordering and payment more convenient for both staff and customers.

Digital Display

While your customers are waiting to be seated, you can capture their attention with a digital display of your menu. You can set this up on a large, flat-screen television or a tablet mounted on a podium. Pictures of menu items can rotate through the display, featuring small blurbs about the dishes. By the time your customers are seated, they will be ready to order everything from appetizers to dessert.

3D Display

You can also create three-dimensional models of your dishes to display in a case by the hostess area or entrance. This is a popular strategy in Asian countries, and you sometimes see it here in Asian takeout restaurants. You’ll have to hire someone to create the models, and you should invest in the best materials so that the dishes all look appetizing and entice customers to order. The right models can help customers visualize the entrée in a way that pictures just can’t.

By using innovative menu options, you can present your dishes in the best way to encourage more orders. Customers will be impressed by the unique menu display, and they will order more than they might have from a plain paper menu.