Menu copy
Example: A neighborhood bistro rewrites "Chicken sandwich" as "Buttermilk-brined chicken thigh, pickles, chili mayo on a potato bun," and the same dish at the same price suddenly reads as worth ordering — that gap is menu copy.
the language doing the selling, separate from the dish
The words next to each item — the descriptive sentence, the dish name, the price as it appears on the page — viewed as a separate craft from the cooking itself. A "house salad" can be the same plate of greens whether the menu calls it that or "Romaine, blistered cherry tomato, and 24-month parmesan, finished with house anchovy."
Why it matters
Wansink's 2005 restaurant study found descriptive food names lift selection rate by 27% on average; Cornell's School of Hotel Administration has replicated the effect across casual and fine-dining tiers. Menu copy is one of the cheapest and least-touched conversion levers in the restaurant — most owners write their menu once and never audit it. The Menu Copy Inspector teaches how to read your own copy critically.
Frequently asked
What is menu copy?
Menu copy is the words next to each item — the descriptive sentence, the dish name, the price as it appears on the page — viewed as a separate craft from the cooking itself. A "house salad" can be the same plate of greens whether the menu calls it that or "Romaine, blistered cherry tomato, and 24-month parmesan, finished with house anchovy."
Why does menu copy matter for a restaurant?
Wansink's 2005 restaurant study found descriptive food names lift selection rate by 27% on average; Cornell's School of Hotel Administration has replicated the effect across casual and fine-dining tiers. Menu copy is one of the cheapest and least-touched conversion levers in the restaurant — most owners write their menu once and never audit it. The Menu Copy Inspector teaches how to read your own copy critically.
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149 terms.
Plain-English definitions for every term in your audit, organized by category.