Plenty of advice circulates about menu prices that sounds convincing and is rarely tested in the venue that repeats it. Some of it has a mechanism behind it, some is copied from article to article with no basis.
Below is the split between what has a documented mechanism and what is worth treating as a hypothesis to test on your own floor.
What probably works
A price with no currency symbol
"48" instead of "€48". The mechanism is simple: a currency symbol calls up the thought of spending money, while a bare number is only a number.
The condition: it has to be consistent across the whole menu. Mixing "48" and "€48" reads as a mistake, not a technique.
The price right after the name, not in a column
A right-aligned price column turns the menu into a price list: the guest scans vertically, compares figures and picks on price rather than on the dish.
The price immediately after the description, in the same typeface and with no dotted leader line, forces the item to be read. It is one of the few layout changes you can make without redesigning the whole menu.
An anchor at the top of the category
The first item in a category sets the scale. With a €89 dish at the top, a €62 item looks reasonable. When the first is a €45 dish, that same €62 looks expensive.
An anchor does not have to sell well — its job is to set a reference point. Usually that is a premium dish, a tasting, or a large sharing portion.
A limited number of items per category
With a dozen items in one category, choosing becomes work, and the guest falls back on what they know — the cheapest, or what they had last time. 5–7 items per category leaves the decision with the menu rather than with habit.
What is doubtful
Endings in 9
"39" instead of "40" comes from retail, and there it makes sense. In upper-tier hospitality it works the other way: an ending in 9 signals cheap, and that is not always the message you want to send.
In quick-service venues endings in 9 do no harm. In a bistro and above, round numbers look calmer.
"Highlight a dish with a box and sales will rise"
Highlighting works as long as there is one. A menu with five boxes, two stars and three "we recommend" labels loses the effect completely — nothing is highlighted when everything is.
The percentage figures people quote
Numbers like "descriptions raise sales by 27%" usually come from a single study in one type of venue and do not transfer. Treat them as a direction, not as a forecast for your menu.
How to check it on your own floor
Each of the above is a hypothesis until you see figures from your own room. The test looks like this:
- Change one thing. The price alone or the position alone — not both, or you will not know which worked.
- Give it a month. Less than four weeks is noise: weather, holidays and local events eat the difference.
- Compare units sold, not turnover. Turnover rises after an increase even when sales fall.
- Check margin, not just sales. A rise in a low-margin item at the expense of a high-margin one is a loss.
The spreadsheet for margin and sales is in menu engineering.
Raising a price: how and when
A €2–3 rise on an item usually passes unnoticed. A €8 rise is visible and needs justification in the description or on the plate.
Three rules that limit the risk:
- Do not raise everything at once. A dozen items by a couple of euros is less visible than the whole menu by 10%.
- Do not touch the reason dishes. The dish people travel for is the most price-sensitive.
- Change something along with the price. A new description, a different garnish weight, a different presentation — the price rises alongside a visible change, not alone.
Why this is easier on a digital menu
A price test on a printed menu costs a print run: to find out whether 62 beats 58 you have to print, wait a month and print again. That is why almost nobody does it, and prices get set once a year by feel.
On a digital menu the change takes a minute. Reverting a failed test is then free — and that is the only reason the hypotheses above can be checked at your place at all, rather than believed from an article.
See QR menu.
Frequently asked questions
Should I drop the currency symbol from the menu?
Yes, if you do it consistently across the whole menu. Mixed notation looks like an error.
Do endings in 9 work in hospitality?
In quick service they are neutral. In a bistro and above they signal cheap — round numbers look better there.
How much can I raise a price without losing guests?
€2–3 on an item usually passes without reaction. Above that, change something visible along with the price and check sales after a month.
How long do I need to watch a price change?
A month. A shorter window is dominated by weather, holidays and events in the neighbourhood.
