How to build a strategic bar menu and sell more

Building a bar menu may seem simple: list the drink options, add a few appetizers, use a nice template and you're done. But it's not quite like that…

You can do it that way, but you will be missing the chance to stand out and sell much more. Want to know how to create a strategic menu that will help your business grow? Then check out our guide!

Why is the menu important for bars?

Having a well-designed menu is essential to the success of any bar.

Much more than presenting customers with the drinks and food options available, it is also a powerful marketing tool.

So the first thing you should keep in mind when creating a bar menu is that it is strategic for the business. A good menu has the potential to:

Spark customer interest

What is the first thing customers do when they arrive at a bar? Most likely they settle in at a table and ask the waiter for the menu, right?

That is the first point of contact between your bar and your customers. And as the saying goes: first impressions last.

So you need to think of the menu as a showcase. It should be designed to grab attention and make mouths water.

In other words: having a menu with distinctive food and drink options, well organized, simple and to the point, with beautiful images and clear descriptions is essential to spark customer interest right on arrival and build anticipation for the experience they are about to have.

Influence purchasing behavior

Many bar owners create simple menus that just list the options and their prices — and in doing so miss the chance to influence customer choices and earn more.

If the menu has no highlights, customers have a harder time deciding and you may end up selling only that one dish that is not profitable for your establishment.

Highlighting signature dishes, house cocktails and special promotions is a tactic to encourage customers to try items that are more profitable for the bar.

Leia também: What does a sommelier do? Find out if it's worth hiring one

Strengthen your identity and positioning

Finally, you can build a creative bar menu that reflects your business's concept, identity and positioning. It's also a way to strengthen your brand and stand out from the competition.

The names of the dishes and cocktails, the visual elements (colors, fonts, images, etc.) and the language used in the descriptions make all the difference. All of it works to communicate the bar's values and build identification and connection with customers.

Now that you understand how important the menu is to your bar's success, check out the step-by-step guide below to build a more strategic menu!

Step by step: how to build a bar menu?

We put together this step-by-step guide to help you build a menu that really delivers better results for your business. Follow our guide below!

Step 1: Get to know your customer profile

The first step is to understand your customers' profile in depth. Run a survey to identify both their demographic characteristics (such as gender, age and social class, for example) and their consumption patterns (which products they buy most, what kind of experiences they look for, how much they usually spend).

You can pull some of this information from your system, if you use one. Bar systems like EPOC, for example, offer complete reports that are simple to analyze.

Step 2: Decide what you'll serve

Based on your audience's profile, and also considering your bar's concept, decide which dishes and drinks you'll offer.

For example: it makes sense for a draft beer house to have a variety of platters and appetizers, while a gastrobar usually serves more complete and refined meals. It all depends on the type of bar, but here are some ideas of what to serve:

Platters and appetizers menu for bars

The platters or appetizers are traditional in bars because they are simpler to prepare, profitable and pair really well with drinks. Some options you can include are:

• French fries
• Fried tapioca cubes
• Fried pastries
• Cold cuts board
• Calabrese sausage with onions
• Bite-sized fried chicken
• Shrimp
• Fish strips
• Cod fritters

Leia também: Pub food: 15 options to include on your menu

Drinks menu for bars

The drinks that can be served at a bar include:

• Beers and draft beers
• Wines
• Vodka, whisky and spirits
• Energy drinks
• Soft drinks
• Juices

Cocktail menu for bars

A bar's cocktail menu can include both the house's exclusive signature drinks and traditional ones such as:

• Negroni
• Martini
• Margarita
• Mojito
• Caipirinha
• Cosmopolitan
• Moscow Mule
• Whisky Sour
• Aperol Spritz
• Sex on the beach

Step 3: Get your pricing right

There's no point in building a perfect menu if the prices aren't right. This is one of the biggest challenges for bar managers, especially those just starting out.

Doing a pricing correct for each item is fundamental for your bar to be truly profitable. Use the technical sheet as a basis and don't forget to consider all production costs, fixed costs and taxes.

Step 4: Identify the most profitable and popular items

An important point if you want to create a more strategic bar menu is to know which items on your menu are most profitable and popular. This will help you highlight what gives the best return for your business and direct customer choices.

A engenharia de cardápio is the tactic used to map these items and organize the menu properly.

Step 5: Create combos and promotions

After identifying what is most profitable and popular on your bar's menu, you can create combos and promotions to increase your profitability or even clear out the inventory of an item that doesn't usually sell well.

A combo of a popular item (for example, a draft beer) + a profitable item (french fries) will definitely be a success if it's highlighted on the menu.

Step 6: Offer customization options

Allowing your customers to customize their orders is a great idea if you want to provide an amazing experience. Include customization options in the menu to make it even easier for them to place their order.

Step 7: Choose creative names

To create a bar menu full of originality, what about giving creative names to your dishes and drinks? As we've seen before, this is a way to strengthen your brand and, besides that, can delight and entertain customers.

Step 8: Use attractive images

Pay attention to images! Visual appeal counts a lot when making an order choice. That's why it's worth using quality photos and other visual resources to make your menu more attractive and highlight the most important items.

The ideal is to hire a professional to create these real images of the dishes and drinks you'll serve. It's not worth creating an expectation in the customer if you won't deliver what they saw on the menu, right?

Step 9: Write clear descriptions

The descriptions of menu items are also elements that can influence customer decisions. So, describe each item objectively and clearly, indicating the ingredients.

To go further, use original and distinctive language that fits your bar's concept. Use adjectives to describe the dishes and inspire your customers' desire.

Step 10: Create an optimized layout

When setting up your bar's menu, think of a layout that is well organized and highlights the items you've already identified as most profitable and popular. Your goal is to present the options intelligently and facilitate customer decision-making.

You can also hire a graphic designer to create a layout with your bar's personality.

Step 11: Simplify

Finally, always aim to simplify. No customer likes to flip through a huge menu with so many options that it's hard to find what they want and make a choice.

A lean menu, with few but good options, is often much more effective than a super varied menu where nothing stands out.

Digital menu: discover the advantages!

And if you want to have even better results with your bar's menu, consider using a digital menu. 

Learn more: 9 reasons to adopt a digital menu via QR Code

Besides being much easier and simpler to create, it also has other benefits such as:

• Flexibility and ease to update
• Highlight of suggestive sales promotions
• Reduction of operational costs
• Increase in average ticket
• Modern customer experience
• Agile service
• Integration with POS, ERP and KDS system

Among many others! The EPOC GO, for example, is a digital menu that also allows your customer to order and pay directly from their own mobile phone. If you want to know how EPOC solutions can help your business grow, schedule a demonstration now.