Menus for Surrey takeaways and restaurants

A good menu sells your food before anyone tastes it. Whether it is a takeaway menu for door drops or a table menu for your restaurant, a few simple choices make a big difference.

This guide covers what to include on takeaway and table menus, how to lay them out, how to keep them up to date and how to get takeaway menus into the homes around your kitchen. It ends with common mistakes and answers to the questions food businesses ask us most.

Takeaway menus

• Put your phone number and ordering link on every panel.

• Show your opening hours and delivery area.

• Group dishes into clear sections.

• Add an offer with an end date to encourage a first order.

A takeaway menu often ends up in a kitchen drawer, and gets pulled out on a Friday night when someone is hungry and in a hurry. It needs to answer three questions quickly: what can I order, how much is it and how do I order it. If the phone number is only on the back panel, someone holding the menu open at the curry section has to go looking for it.

Table menus

• Keep the layout clean, with clear sections and prices.

• Use a paper and finish that will stand up to being handled.

• Mark vegetarian, vegan and spicy dishes clearly, and tell people how to ask about allergens.

Table menus are handled again and again, so durability matters. Keep the number of dishes manageable, and give people room to read. A crowded page makes it harder to choose, and slower for staff to take orders.

Choosing a format

Here are some common formats and the jobs they suit.

• A folded takeaway menu has several panels, so you can give each section of the menu its own space.

• A flat, double sided menu is simple and works well for a shorter menu.

• A single sheet table menu suits cafés, pubs and restaurants with a focused menu.

• Separate drinks lists, specials and seasonal menus let you change one part without reprinting everything.

Our menu printing page covers the menus we print, and our flyer printing page explains sizes and finishes in more detail.

Keep menus up to date

Prices and dishes change. Printing in smaller runs makes it easier to update your menu without wasting stock.

There is no minimum order on print, and print orders come with free delivery. Standard delivery takes 72 hours, and next day delivery is available on orders placed before 3pm, which helps if you need new menus quickly after a price change.

Get your menus into local homes

A takeaway menu delivered door to door to the streets around your kitchen is one of the most direct ways to win new orders. Leaflet Media can print your menus and deliver them across Surrey, with every round GPS tracked.

Menu distribution starts from £115 per 1,000. Start with the streets inside your delivery area, closest to the kitchen first.

Surrey takeaways serve very different kinds of area. A kitchen near the centre of Staines-upon-Thames or Redhill may have plenty of flats and terraces within a short drive. A takeaway serving villages around Oxted may have a wider, more spread-out delivery area with longer driveways. Plan your rounds around where your drivers actually go.

A worked example

Here is a hypothetical example of how a takeaway might plan a menu campaign.

A new Thai takeaway opens in Egham. The owner prints a folded menu with the phone number and ordering link on every panel, opening hours on the front and a first order offer with an end date. The menus are delivered to the streets inside the delivery radius in the fortnight before opening. Each order taker asks new customers for the offer code, and the owner notes which streets the orders come from. A second drop goes out a few weeks later to the streets that ordered most, with an updated menu that drops two slow-selling dishes.

Common mistakes

Contact details in one place only. Put the phone number and ordering link on every panel.

No delivery area. If people do not know whether you deliver to them, they may not try.

Prices that are hard to find. Line them up clearly next to each dish.

Printing too many. A big run of menus becomes waste the moment prices change.

Unclear allergen information. Tell customers clearly how to ask about allergens.

Frequently asked questions

How much does menu delivery cost?

Menu distribution starts from £115 per 1,000. Menus are heavier than flyers and take longer to deliver. See our leaflet distribution prices for the full list.

Can you print and deliver my menus in one order?

Yes. We can print your menus and deliver them door to door to the streets you choose.

Do you design menus?

Yes. We can lay out the menu for you, or print from your own artwork.

How do I know the menus were delivered?

Every round is GPS tracked and our teams are supervised.

Get a quote

See our menu printing page, or email surrey@leaflet-media.co.uk. You can also call 07525 722 427, Monday to Friday, 9:30am to 4:30pm, with your menu size, quantity and the streets you want to reach.