Order personalization has become a key customer expectation in the restaurant industry.
According to the 2023 Phygital Index Report, nearly 92 percent want to receive some form of personalization from service restaurants, and 80 percent of consumers are more likely to do business with a company that offers personalized experience.
An a la carte menu gives you a huge advantage by allowing customers to customize their orders with the food items offered.
This mix-and-match flexibility enhances their dining experience and satisfaction.
Pairing an a la carte menu with a smart QR code menu further improves convenience and personalization. Your guests can easily browse, customize, and order with a seamless digital interface.
But, it takes a lot of effort to successfully implement this digital approach. To support your efforts, here’s a complete guide with actionable tips.
What’s an a la carte menu: An overview
When your food items are offered in A La Carte, this means that they are priced and ordered individually rather than as part of a pre-set meal.
From its French origin, which means “according to the menu,” this dining in an a la carte style provides guests an opportunity to customize their meal selections.
It’s a strategic revenue stream for a higher sales volume. But before jumping right into offering it, here are its key characteristics:
- Itemized pricing
Each dish or item must have its own price in order for your customers to only select what they want to order.
- Wide range of choice
Offers a broad selection of appetizers, mains, sides, and desserts.
- Flexible portion sizes
Some a la carte menu may allow variations in portion sizes for specific dishes and are adjusted in their prices.
- Typically more expensive
Expect that this type of dining can be pricier than other types of menu because it’s essentially priced individually rather than offered in bundles.
7 effective tips for crafting the best a la carte
Now that you already have the basics, your next step is to curate one. To help you in the process, here are effective tips for you to benchmark on:
Understand your target audience
Ensure that you understand your target audience’s preferences, interests, and spending habits.
Determine for whom you’re serving; it could be for guests who enjoy fine dining menus, young professionals, or for family.
Once you identify them, look at the market research around this customer base.
This information is your bread and butter in ensuring that your offerings align with what your target customer base wants.
Focus on your signature dishes
Highlight your restaurant’s strengths first by featuring dishes that define your brand.
Offering what you’re good at is the best way to appeal to your customers, and it will also provide a good starting point for your new menu style.
Keep in mind that, as cliche as it may sound, first impressions last. So, you should put your best foot forward with the menu items that speak for your restaurant as a whole.
Limit the choices
Keep it simple and focused, especially if this is your first time offering this menu type.
You can have at least five options per section of the menu, ensuring that your customers don’t get overwhelmed once they go over the list.
A concise menu is also a huge advantage on your side since you’ll get to focus more on the quality of every dish before serving it out to your customers.
Prioritize seasonality
Keep your menu fresh by incorporating seasonal ingredients.
Seasonal ingredients are harvested during their natural peak. This means fruits and vegetables in their season have better taste and texture, enhancing the quality of your dishes.
Additionally, these are more abundant, reducing procurement costs. This allows you to maintain profitability while using premium-quality ingredients.
Balance variety and cohesion
Offer a balanced selection of proteins, vegetarian options, and flavors while maintaining culinary identity.
This way, you’ll be able to cater to various dietary restrictions and preferences while keeping your menu aligned with your concept or theme.
For instance, a Mediterranean restaurant might offer lamb kebab, grilled fish, and felafel, ensuring each dish complements the regional flavor profile.
Overloading your menu with unrelated dishes, like adding sushi or tacos to a Mediterranean lineup, can lead to confusion and dilute the brand.
Price strategically
An a La Carte menu follows the pay-per-dish model, in which customers pay for individual dishes they select rather than having these at a fixed price for the entire meal or set.
Because of this individual pricing method, meticulously deciding on every price range is crucial.
Typically, a good restaurant menu pricing strategy starts with analyzing food costs, including the ingredients used, preparation time, and portion sizes that maintain a cost-to-price ratio of about 25 to 35 percent margin.
Get a competitive pricing report from your competitors so that you can adjust the prices on the baseline.
Monitor your sales data to understand what your customers want and open to make changes either in your pricing or portions as needed.
Leverage design psychology
When designing you menu, think of a Golden Triangle layout. People’s eyes naturally draw their focus on the middle, top-right, and top-left sections.
So, place your high-margin items in these zones for better visibility.
Go for the primacy and recency effect in your menu. Customers are likely to remember and choose the first and last items in the menu list.
You can use these positions for your bestsellers or those profit-gaining dishes.
Additionally, play with a la carte price anchoring. Include a high-priced item as your reference point to make your other items seem more reasonably priced.
You can also expand your pricing by offering three versions of a dish: basic, premium, or luxury, for a high probability of increasing your sales.
Common a la carte dishes to add to your menu list
If you haven’t decided yet what to offer, don’t worry , we got you covered. Below are the common dishes you can find on this type of menu:
Appetizers
- Bruschetta
- Fried Calamari
- Caprese salad
- Buffalo wings
- Spring rolls
- Stuffed mushrooms
- Charcuterie board
- Shrimp cocktail
- French onion soup
- Deviled eggs
Seafood
- Grilled salmon
- Lobster tail
- Seared scallops
- Fish and chips
- Shrimp scampi
- Crab cakes
- Bouillabaisse
- Ahi tuna steak
- Blacked catfish
- Mussels in white wine sauce
Meats
- Filet mignon
- Ribeye steak
- Roasted chicken breast
- Lamb chops
- Pork tenderloin
- Duck confit
- Veal Piccata
- BBQ ribs
- Grilled pork chop
- Meatloaf
Pasta and grains
- Carbonara
- Fettuccini Alfredo
- Penne arrabbiata
- Lobster mac and cheese
- Rissotto
- Bolognese lasagna
- Gnocchi with pesto
- Couscous with vegetables
- Shrimp and grits
Vegetarian
- Eggplant parmesan
- Vegetable stir-fry
- Stuffed bell peppers
- Ratatouille
- Spinach and ricotta cannelloni
- Grilled portobello mushroom
- Lentil curry
- Cauliflower steak
- Caponata
- Vegan Buddha bowl
Sides
- Garlic mashed potatoes
- Grilled asparagus
- Roasted brussels sprouts
- Creamed spinach
- Truffle fries
- Wild rice pilaf
- Sautéed green beans
- Sweet potato wedges
- Coleslaw
Desserts
- Crème brûlée
- Tiramisu
- Cholocate lava cake
- Cheesecake
- Panna cotta
- Apple pie
- Gelato or sorbet
- Flourless chocolate cake
- Banoffee pie
- Key lime tart
Turning your a la carte items into a digital QR code menu
While the traditional paper menu can give off a different vibe when dining, having to go digital takes your menu to the next level.
Not only does it give customers vast opportunities to customize their orders, but it also offers advanced tools for making your services and operations top-tier.
To get to know more about how this works and how it can be beneficial for you, let’s dive into MENU TIGER QR code menu software’s features and solutions:
Customizable digital menu
This is an interactive way of presenting your individual menu, which helps customers to personalize their orders at their own convenience.
With the add-on menu options, you can widen the selections from desserts to beverage options.
Advanced payment options
Once customers place their orders, they can proceed to pay them directly through available payment options like Stripe, Paypal, and Adyen payment integration option.
This way, they no longer have to ask for your waitstaff for the bill or go to the counter to settle it.
The level of convenience makes the dining experience even more enjoyable.
Comprehensive sales and revenue report
Offering a new menu type requires trial and error to determine what needs to be adjusted or changed.
This smart menu software produces comprehensive sales and revenue analytics that are updated in real-time, allowing you to make informed decisions.
Level up your signature dishes with MENU TIGER
Building an a la carte menu demands meticulous crafting.
You have to consider its pricing, design and layout, and the dishes you will include.
But more importantly, you have to plan out how to display them effectively, making the dining experience at par with the kind of dining style you’re offering.
This is where MENU TIGER interactive restaurant menu QR code software comes into play. Designed with upscale features and solutions, this technology ensures you can build the most upgraded workflow, providing the best service in the market.
To offer an effective menu, you greatly need an assistant. You can try it for free! Just head over to the website and sign up for a free account.
