How to Make a Takeout Menu Design With Examples (Free Template)

How to Create a Takeout Menu

Takeout menus, whether published online or printed and left in a door jamb, are sales tools for restaurants. Menus are a central part of the guest experience and streamline the customer service process.

Design your takeout menus using this 10-step process. And, you can try our free, customizable restaurant menu templates for an even bigger head start.

The Power of Good Menu Design

Menus are the primary way your customers will interact with your restaurant when ordering takeout. But menu design missteps, especially online, can hurt your restaurant’s sales and profitability.

A takeout menu’s primary responsibility is to do the job of the server – it needs to guide your customer through your appetizers, drinks, and dishes and help them decide what is best for their taste.

Keep your brand’s unique look front and center on each page. For some inspiration, consult the examples we provide at the end of this article. And, you can use our templates, worksheets, and guides to create menus that drive a cohesive, memorable guest experience.

How to Make a Takeout Menu

Designing takeout menus that capture your guest’s attention requires a little bit of skill and a lot of careful decision-making. This 10-step process will guide you to build your restaurant’s takeout menus or give you some insight into the process of working with a designer. 

For an even bigger head start, you can apply these steps to our customizable menu templates.

1. Write Out All Menu Items

Start by creating a spreadsheet to organize information about your takeout menu items. Before you get to the creative steps, use Excel, Google Sheets, or your favorite spreadsheet program. List out all the dishes, sides, and drinks that your restaurant offers for takeout. 

Create columns for the names, costs, and descriptions of each menu item, along with any other information you need to keep handy. Google Sheets autosaves your work, which you can copy/paste into menu templates. Use our template to get started, and don’t forget to download a copy of your work for your records. Be sure to update the names and descriptions of menu items when things change since this document becomes a reference for your menus.

2. Categorize Menu Items

In the process of creating your spreadsheet, categorize the menu items that you will list together. Main courses, side dishes, and appetizers are common categories.

Sometimes, it's best not to overwhelm customers with options. Dividing menus into categories can help guests to navigate menus and easily find their favorites. Consider including three to seven items in each category.

As a basic rule, you can draw guests’ attention to a menu item by listing it first in a category. Reserve that first spot for items that you want to sell–those with the biggest profit margin. Our menu engineering worksheet can help in this process.

3. Set Menu Prices

Setting menu prices is based on several factors, such as your restaurant’s business model and profit margins. The complexities of food cost calculations warrant a deep dive. As a restauranteur, it’s worth it to understand how to price menu items for takeout. Here are a few general considerations for setting menu prices.

Takeout containers – plastic, styrofoam, or biodegradable – are expensive. And, the costs of 3rd party delivery apps can force you to increase menu prices for takeout items. Commission-free Toast Take-Out lets customers order from a system fully integrated with your restaurant’s POS.

When setting takeout menu prices for the first time, balance the price of each menu item with the cost of labor, ingredients, and supplies. Do market research and compare prices to get an idea of what local customers are used to paying for similar items.

Sometimes, you have to raise menu prices to provide staff with better pay or benefits. Use some of your menu space to let guests know that the small price increase supports their favorite workers.

Finally, use your restaurant’s sales data, history, inventory, labor costs, and the local economy to make pricing decisions. Our menu engineering course can help new and veteran chefs and restauranteurs alike to use data when pricing menu items. Learn more about creating a menu pricing strategy here.

4. Create Menu Descriptions

Since takeout customers don’t get the full experience, you have to entice their tastebuds with descriptions of each menu item. Use precise, clear language and choose adjectives to describe flavor and texture that appeal to the senses–words like fresh, sweet, zesty, and spicy.

Consider how first-time customers will interact with your takeout menu. It’s necessary to include some information to make your menu friendly to all customers. Label items with major ingredients and allergens.

5. Decide on a Menu Color Scheme

Now it is time to design. The next steps are deciding on colors, designs, and layouts for your takeout menus.

Once your spreadsheet is full of information, start to think about how color, photos, and fonts will communicate to your customers. Choose a color scheme that will be memorable, without being overwhelming.

Colors affect how people feel about your restaurant, as this Chron article on the psychology of restaurant colors shows. Here are a few color resources that designers love:

• Adobe Colour CC - color wheel tool

• ColorDot - color palette tool

• ColRD - color inspiration

6. Design your Takeout Menu

The design of your printed and online takeout menus should keep your brand front and center. Designing menus and graphics in-house is a great way to save, but hiring a designer streamlines the process. If you decide to do do-it-yourself, use design software like Adobe Creative Suite, Canva, or Powerpoint to create designs with a professional finish.

Whether doing it yourself or working with a designer, keep these design best practices in mind. Our menu templates can help you to get started. 

• The menus should be easy to read. Customers can get overwhelmed by large menus. Keep your offerings to one or two pages to offer just enough options to have something for every guest.

• The Golden Triangle. When reading a menu, our eyes start in the middle of the page and then move to the top right and left. Place the items you want to attract the most attention in those areas.

• Use dollar signs strategically.  Researchers at Cornell found that diners are likely to order more when dollar signs are not on the menu than when they are present. You might remove dollar signs from your menu, and avoid listing prices in a single column which encourages customers to compare them.

7. Think about Photos

Photos can be a great way to get customers’ mouths watering, but those photos have to be high-quality and showcase what your guests can expect from each menu item. When it comes to photos, hiring a professional photographer or investing in a digital camera is the way to go.

Before publishing photos on menus or your website, make sure that the photos are representative of your restaurant’s best work. Photos can also boost your business’s performance on social media. In each post, include a link back to your online menu so that customers can begin an order.

8. Choose Menu Fonts, Spacing, and Composition

There are hundreds of options for font, spacing, and embellishments for both digital and printed menus. Many restaurants hire designers to help with sorting through all the possibilities. 

Designing takeout menus for your restaurant has its advantages. You can keep all of the design elements true to the story of your brand. But don’t be afraid to get a second set of eyes on your designs. You can use our templates and keep all of the design work in-house. Keep your menu consistent enough through redesigns so guests know what to expect.

9. Select the Final Menu Layout

Once you decide on the color scheme, design, font, and photos, it’s time to put all of the elements together. Consult your staff, business partners, and investors to vote on the best menu design for your brand. 

Each stakeholder should review the branding, design, menu descriptions, and prices. The more opinions you get, the better idea you will have of how customers will use the menu. Customers have certain expectations of how to interact with a menu, so consider how you can make printed and online menus more user-friendly.

10. Proofread and Print your Menus

Proofreading is a critical step. Some customers will overlook and forgive spelling and grammar mistakes, but they become distractions to others. Use the built-in spell checker or software like Grammarly to streamline proofreading and catch small mistakes. This can also help you to save by avoiding misprints.

When publishing your takeout menus online, remember to make the web pages user-friendly so that anyone using applications or a web browser can order for your restaurant easily. MarketSplash provides some tips for improving the restaurant website user experience. 

When you’re ready to go to print, consider the paper quality that will give you menus that last for as long as you need them. You can use a local printing shop or an online service like one of the following:

• Vistaprint

• PsPrint

• PrintPlace

Examples of Takeout Menus

• Sleek and Simple. And one of Canva’s hundreds of menu templates can help you to get the perfect look for your takeout menu or webpage.

• Expansive and Energetic. This menu is big, but the perfect place to list all your restaurant’s offerings is online. And, the photos and minimal elements of this menu make it all work.

• Busy and Branded. The photos on this takeout menu appeal to the eye, and the branding won’t let you forget where you’re having this great meal.

• Elegant and Upscale. Even fine dining spots are breaking into the takeout craze, and this menu shows the perfect way to connect with upscale clientele.

• Bold and Beautiful. The bold colors on this takeout menu are paired with simple design elements for a refined, approachable finish.

• Cozy Classic. The familiar combination of fun branding and bright photos makes this classic takeout menu a winner.

Keep Learning about Menu Engineering

Now that your takeout menu is designed and printed, mailed, and published online, develop a strategy to keep it up to date. Keep your spreadsheet updated with each menu item that your chefs develop. Share a live copy of that spreadsheet with writers and designers that help you with the process.

Sometimes, it's also necessary to update design elements to keep this fresh and consistent with other brand elements. Our menu engineering spreadsheet will help you analyze the sales performance of each bottle and glass and inform every change to the list.

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