Glossary
Menu psychology
Menu psychology is the use of layout, wording, and pricing cues to steer guest attention toward the items a restaurant most wants to sell.
How menu psychology works
Where a dish sits, how it is described, what it is priced beside, and whether a currency symbol appears all shape choice before a guest is conscious of deciding. Menu psychology combines these cues to direct the eye and lift the items that carry the best margin.
Used with restraint it improves the guest experience by surfacing the dishes the kitchen does best. Used heavily it reads as manipulation, so the strongest menus keep the touch light.
- Position — the eye favors the top of a list and the upper-right of a page
- Language — sensory, specific descriptions raise perceived value
- Pricing cues — anchors, decoys, and clean numbers shift perception
Example
A restaurant boxes one high-margin entree, gives it a vivid description, and prices it without a dollar sign. Orders for that dish climb without any change to the food itself.
See also
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