Menus are brand documents

The menu is the single piece of design a restaurant guest is guaranteed to hold, read closely, and judge. It outperforms the website, the sign, and the tote bag combined.

Voice lives in the item descriptions

You can spend six weeks writing a brand voice guide, or you can write twenty item descriptions and let those be the guide.

• Short lines read as confident.
• Long lines read as apologetic.
• Adjective stacking reads as insecure.

Format is a promise

A single sheet says we change often. A leather bound book says we do not. Pick the one you can actually keep.

If the menu needs a reprint every Tuesday, design something that is cheap to reprint on a Tuesday.

Then print a test copy, take it to the actual room, and read it at the actual light level. Half of restaurant typography fails because it was approved on a bright monitor.