Menu design is a professional discipline with its own consultants and its own research, and the techniques are consistent enough to be visible once you know what to look for.
The profitability grid
Items are classified by popularity and by contribution margin.
High popularity and high margin items are promoted heavily.
High margin and low popularity items are the target for repositioning.
Low margin and high popularity items are candidates for price increases or recipe changes.
Low on both are removed.
Which is a straightforward framework and it drives most menu decisions.
Placement
Eye movement studies have examined how people read menus, with results varying by menu format.
The general finding is that items at the top and bottom of a list, and items visually separated, receive more attention than those in the middle.
Which is why profitable items appear at the start of sections, in boxes, or with visual emphasis.
The much-repeated claim about a specific hot spot on the page has weaker support than its repetition suggests.
Price presentation
Currency symbols removed, since they emphasise spending.
Prices not aligned in a column, since alignment invites comparison and encourages ordering the cheapest.
Prices placed immediately after the description rather than at the line end.
Rounded rather than ending in a nine, in higher-end establishments, since the nine signals value rather than quality.
Each of these has some research behind it and effect sizes that vary by context.
Anchoring
An expensive item makes others appear reasonable by comparison.
Which is why menus include a very high priced option that sells rarely, and its function is to shift perception of everything else.
The same logic applies to wine lists, where the second cheapest bottle is commonly the highest-margin item, since customers avoid the cheapest.
Description
Longer descriptive names increase both selection and reported enjoyment in studies.
Provenance, preparation method and sensory language all contribute.
Which is why a menu says slow-braised rather than stewed, and names the farm.
The effect on reported enjoyment is genuine, which means the description changes the experience rather than only the choice.
Length
Long menus signal that items are not made fresh, since a kitchen cannot prepare everything from scratch.
They also produce choice overload, which research associates with less satisfaction with the decision made.
Which is why higher-end establishments have short menus, and why extremely long menus generally indicate substantial reliance on prepared components.
What it means for a diner
The boxed, illustrated, or otherwise emphasised item is emphasised because it is profitable rather than because it is best.
Which does not make it bad — profitable items are frequently popular ones.
Daily specials communicated verbally, without prices, are worth asking the price of, since they are frequently at the higher end.
And the item the kitchen is known for is generally worth ordering regardless of where it sits on the page.
The honest observation
None of this is deception. It is presentation, and every business presents its offer.
Knowing the techniques means the choice is yours rather than the layout's, which is the only real point of understanding it.
Allergen information
Legally required in many jurisdictions, with specific rules on how it must be provided.
Which means staff should be able to answer definitively rather than guessing, and an establishment that cannot is failing a legal obligation rather than being unhelpful.
For anyone with a serious allergy, speaking to the kitchen directly and asking about cross-contamination is worth doing rather than relying on a menu symbol.
Digital menus
Have changed the economics of menu changes, since prices can be updated without reprinting.
Which enables dynamic pricing, used in some settings, and it has attracted criticism where prices vary by demand without disclosure.
Accessibility is a genuine concern with code-based menus, since they exclude people without a suitable device or with visual impairments.
Set menus
Simplify kitchen operations, improve purchasing predictability and reduce waste.
Which is why they are priced attractively relative to ordering the same items separately, and it is a genuine efficiency rather than a loss leader.
Wine lists
Markups vary enormously and are generally highest on the lower and middle price points.
Which means the absolute margin on more expensive bottles is higher while the multiple is lower, and better value is frequently further up the list than people assume.
Asking a sommelier for a recommendation in a stated price range generally produces something better than choosing alone, and it is what they are there for.
Tipping and service charges
Practices vary enormously between countries and have been changing.
Where a service charge is added, whether it reaches staff is now regulated in several jurisdictions following evidence that it frequently did not.
Asking is reasonable and the answer is generally given without difficulty.
Reservations and no-shows
No-shows are a substantial cost on a capacity-constrained business, and deposits have become common in response.
Which is a reasonable protection and shifts risk to the customer, and the balance is contested.