Designing a good food menu for your bar requires a lot of planning but more importantly, a lot of common sense.
The first thing to consider is your theme. If for example, you’re an English pub then the assumption will be that you’ll serve typically English food, such as cottage pie. It will lend a level of authenticity that your customers will appreciate. Basically, design a menu that offers what your customers would expect based on your theme.
Often, a bar has quite a small kitchen, tables that are designed for drinks as appose to large plates of food and limited amounts of counter space, so it’s best to avoid hosting a full-service menu and stick to a few dishes that will fit within the size of your kitchen.
With a small kitchen, if you design a menu that can effectively be executed by a staff of 1 or 2, it will significantly increase your chance of success. Running a kitchen can really cut into your costs, so limiting the amount of staff that you need in order to fulfil your menu requirements is key.
When setting up your menu you must know the precise cost of every item in order to set prices and track the cost of sales. Always price your menu based on the cost of the ingredients and the time needed to make each dish, then you can add a profitable mark-up.
Do your homework and find out exactly who you’re cooking for. Look at the local demographic and understand who makes up your customer base. If you’ve taken over an established venue and you want to try new menu items, try offering them as specials to determine the preferences of the regular clientele.
Be creative when it comes to naming your menu items and try personalising some of your dishes by including the venue’s name or theme in its title. Item descriptions are a big marketing tool so make sure that you optimise them and use plenty of tasty adjectives, such as fresh, locally sourced or homemade. Remember – never tell fibs about any ingredients as you will be found out.
If you have certain times in the day when business is slow, try introducing a happy hour menu to boost sales. The strategy is to sell menu items at or below costs with the aim of making up the difference in drink sales.
Always keep track of your customer demands and use the basic rules of supply and demand. You could make small increases in the price of high demand items, whilst lowering others. The end result is to keep your customers appetites and wallets satisfied, whilst maintaining a healthy profit margin for your business.
Whether you operate a casual pub or an upmarket bar, having good food that is priced correctly can help your business to flourish.
Key Brand Associates can work with you to develop your menu, improve your profits and make you stand out from your competitors. Get in touch for more information.