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Your restaurant menu is your biggest, most important marketing tool. It's what attracts guests to your business, with the potential to turn those guests into loyal, returning customers.
Your menu should be a reflection of your brand's style and should incorporate your business' values. And one decision you'll need to make is whether to keep your menu consistent, or to constantly revise and refresh it. Below, we discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each option:
Consistent
The most obvious advantage to having a consistent menu is familiarisation, which helps to establish a brand identity and encourage customer loyalty. Your restaurant will become defined by your menu; people will know what to expect and will return, time and time again, to order their favourite dishes.
Having a consistent menu is also beneficial for your BOH and FOH staff. Instead of chefs, waiters and waitresses having to learn new dishes all of the time, they are able to focus on learning the one menu very well, helping them to deliver high-quality food and service. What's more, you won't need to spend time training staff, or on the marketing, creation and distribution of new menus.
However, if you never change your menu, it may not attract new guests with different tastes and loyal customers may lose interest. A successful business is a dynamic one, and you don't want your menu making your business appear stagnant.
Changing
A changing menu offers increased flexibility; you can adapt menus to suit different themes, times of the year, and customer preferences. You are able to easily respond to changes in item prices and availability, and to design dishes which utilise seasonal ingredients that are both cost-effective and easy to source.
However, one disadvantage is that you need to constantly re-train staff for each new menu, costing you time and money. You will also be spending time and money marketing and distributing your new menu. Also, a constantly changing menu may prove a barrier for guest loyalty. Customers may become upset or frustrated if a dish they love has been replaced.
Both options have their pros and cons, and many variables, what's important is to find what works best for your business. You could trial new menus, or survey your customers to find out what they think. It's also important to remember that although menus are a hugely important aspect of the successful running of an operation; managing the guest experience as a whole is likely to have the greatest impact on guest loyalty and satisfaction.
