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A restaurant menu is not just a list of dishes. It is compiled by professionals who strictly ensure that it matches the style of the restaurant and is easy to read. And most importantly, contributed to the growth of profits. Journalist Jessica Hallinger has revealed some of the ways restaurants try to influence what you order.
In order not to become a victim of manipulation during lunch or dinner in a cafe and rely only on your own taste, you need to understand what tricks menu compilers resort to. So what do they do?
1. Limit your options
When compiling an effective menu, a theory called the “paradox of choice” is taken into account. Its essence is that the more options to choose from, the more we worry when making a decision. The ideal number of options is 7 for each category, i.e. 7 starter options, 7 main course options, and so on.
“If we include more options, guests will become confused and will most likely order a standard dish that they have tried before,” says menu designer Gregg Rapp. There’s nothing wrong with favoring familiar and tried-and-true options, but a well-crafted menu can entice diners to try something new and more expensive.
The main goal of any institution is to make the visitor want to return.
Some restaurants have begun to forget about this rule. For example, McDonald’s initially offered only a few dishes, but now their number reaches 140. However, for example, in the first quarter of 2015, the company’s profit fell by 11%.
“By complicating the menu, we only torment the guests,” says restaurant consultant Aaron Allen, “as a result, they leave the restaurant unsatisfied. This is partly due to the fact that they begin to doubt – maybe it was worth ordering something else?
And if they didn’t really like lunch or dinner, they are unlikely to come here again. Considering that regular customers bring to restaurants an average of 70% of their income, the main goal of any establishment is to make the visitor want to return.
2. Add photos
If the menu is illustrated with beautiful photos of dishes, visitors order 30% more on average.
An experiment was conducted at Iowa State University: children who were shown a picture of a salad were 70% more likely to order it for lunch. “We react to the image of a dish in the same way as if it were lying in front of us on a plate. If you are hungry, the reaction will be: “I will order what is in the picture,” says Brian Mennecke, assistant professor of information systems.
This effect is more pronounced if the image is animated, such as rotating. Some fast food restaurants are starting to implement similar technologies. “The brighter the picture looks in terms of movement, color and realism, the more it affects visitors,” says Mennecke.
Moderation is needed here. “The excess of photos on the menu is associated by visitors with cheap establishments. Top-class restaurants try not to include them on the menu at all, so as not to violate a respectable image, ”explains Aaron Allen.
3. They try to make sure that prices are not conspicuous
Another way to encourage guests to leave more money at the restaurant is to make the price tags on the menu as inconspicuous as possible. “We got rid of the dollar sign because it evokes unpleasant emotions, reminding visitors that they are spending money,” says Aaron Allen. For example, the price of a club sandwich is not “$12,00” on the menu, but “12,00” or even just “12”.
A Cornell University study found that cursive prices, such as “twelve dollars”, also encourage visitors to spend more.
“The format in which prices are listed sets the tone for a restaurant. The $9,95 price looks friendlier than the $10 price, which is a little bit provocative.”
One of the mistakes when compiling a menu is dotted lines from the name of the dish to the price. “This format was invented before the advent of modern typographic printing. This was done to make the page look properly formatted. But what happens as a result? The visitor first looks to the right side of the page, where prices are indicated, and only then looks to the left, studying what exactly can be ordered cheaper,” says Allen.
Solution? Indicate prices not on the side, but below the description of the dish, in exactly the same font so that they are not conspicuous.
Everything is relative. One trick is to add a very expensive meal to the top of the list that makes everything else seem affordable. Your waiter doesn’t really expect you to order a $300 lobster, but a $70 steak looks cheap by comparison, doesn’t it?
Another trick is to highlight the most profitable dishes for the restaurant with frames or in some other way, this attracts attention.
Meals that are slightly overpriced, but not beyond what the visitor is willing to pay, seem to be of higher quality. As a result, guests leave the restaurant full and satisfied. In one experiment, two groups of subjects were offered the same buffet, only in the first case it cost $4, and in the second – $8. Although the food was exactly the same on both occasions, those who paid more rated it as more delicious.
5. Direct your attention in the right direction.
In supermarkets, especially profitable products are placed on the shelves at about eye level. Likewise, restaurants make menus so that certain dishes attract the eye. Gregg Rupp explains that the most “golden” place is the upper right corner.
“When we look, say, at a blank sheet of paper or a page of a magazine, we first of all glance at the upper right corner. They try to indicate the dishes that bring the restaurant the most profit. At the top left, we place appetizers, and below them, salads. It is important that the menu is well read.
Another technique is to highlight the most profitable dishes for the restaurant with frames or in some other way – this attracts attention.
6. Use color scheme
According to Aaron Allen, the use of different colors allows you to evoke certain emotions in visitors and influence their behavior. “Blue has a calming effect and is often used for this purpose,” he says.
Restaurants often use red and yellow colors in their corporate identity. According to some studies, red stimulates appetite, while yellow attracts attention. “For food coloring, a combination of these two colors works best,” explains Allen.
7. Giving food fancy descriptions
Long, detailed descriptions of dishes increase the number of orders – by some reports, by almost 30%. “The more detailed description of the dish you give on the menu, the cheaper it will seem to visitors – as if they are getting more for the same money,” explains Gregg Rupp.
Therefore, the banal “chocolate pudding” turns into some kind of “satin chocolate pudding”. Interestingly, dishes with more detailed descriptions on the menu are rated by visitors as tastier. “Your visitors will experience the taste you give them,” Rupp says. In one study, researchers offered two groups of subjects the same wine but with different bottle labels.
Phrases like “hand-caught” or “made with local ingredients” make the dish feel better
The first group thought that the wine was produced in North Dakota, although it is not known whether it is made there at all, and the second group thought that it was made in California, which is famous for its wines. The second group rated the wine much higher, despite the fact that all subjects actually tasted the same $2 wine per bottle. Interestingly, those who were sure they had tasted “California” wine also ate 12% more at lunch.
Phrases like “hand-caught”, “farm-grown”, “made from local ingredients” are very attractive to customers. “Comments like this make the dish feel better,” says Allen.
This technique is so effective that in many US states it is against the law for restaurants to misrepresent the origin of food on menus.
8. They try to make you feel nostalgic
Each of us has a dish that reminds us of childhood. Restaurants are well aware of this and willingly use it. “References to a glorious past can be associated with happy childhood memories, traditions and national pride,” says one study on this topic, “visitors are usually pleased to think that they are eating a “traditional dish”, “as they no longer do now” .