There is that old saying, “you can’t judge a book by its cover”.  Well, we all know that we do it all the time whether it is for appearances on a first impression, CD covers (at least until digital music totally takes over the world), actual books, magazine and, yes, your restaurant’s menu.  It is just human nature to make or form an impression from what we take in on a cursory first glance at something.  This is why making your menu cover stand out is such a key piece to putting together a great menu.

You already know that you’ve got the best food around.  You wouldn’t be in this restaurant business if you thought otherwise.  It doesn’t matter if you are the manager of the restaurant, owner or both.  Every team member in your dining establishment is telling people about your food and service from how they act, present the food and serve up a night of entertainment for your guests.  However, this all happens after they get their menus in their hands.  From that first moment that they touch the cover of that menu until they open it up and browse the selections, you are telling them something.  Going cheap here will give that impression.

A nice cafe menu for a warm and cozy little meal.

This doesn’t mean that you need to spend a fortune on your menu covers, but you do need to make sure that the food you are serving is not cheapened or downgraded in your guests’ mind before they even taste it.  This goes for misspelled words, typos and other menu errors that of course your menu cover itself has little to do with.  Think of it as simply an overall, taking-it-all-in experience.  You know what it is like as patron yourself, though you have a different eye for things having been in the restaurant business.

What Are The Purposes and Types of Menu Covers?

If you read more about the menu cover here, you might learn that the only purpose of the menu cover is to simply hold the menu in place for your guests to see what is available, right?  Wrong!  This is certainly one of the more primary or functional aspects to the cover, but it is not the only reason you have one.  Like many things in life, there are reasons behind the reasons.  In this case, one main reason behind is to showcase your fine food items.  If your restaurant only serves up cheap fare, then you will probably just need something like the vinyl menu covers, a type of plastic menu cover.  There is nothing wrong with this type of menu.  It protects the menu from food, drink and grease or other restaurant ‘debris’ and they are easy to wipe clean.  A common and great menu cover for the purpose it serves.

However, if you are looking for a more elegant feel to your menu, something that you want your guests to experience before they even see what you offer, then nice leather menu covers might fit the bill – so to speak – a little better.  Leather has always had a nice ‘hand’ or feel to it.  In fact, leather will even age very well and looks even more comfortable and welcoming with time.  These types work well in steakhouses and other places where meat is considered the specialty.

Another type of theme style of cover that are becoming more popular are metal menu covers.  These are great for the modern bar and restaurant with an edgier feel to them.  They are usually made of aluminum or light gauge stainless steel to prevent rust.  However, treated copper menu covers make for an exquisitely unique look.  These metal covers can also be etched or cut to create a logo or some type of image, even restaurant name, cut into the metal itself.  It would be similar to how an image, logo or writing can be embossed on a leather menu cover.

Cafe Versus Restaurant Menu Covers

There is really only a difference in these types of things as they pertain to the style in which you present your menu.  A cafe style will usually offer less items on their menu and so the cafe menu cover will not need to have as many pages or features as traditional dining restaurant menu covers.  This isn’t to say a cafe is not traditional dining, just not known for being a dinner establishment.

You might find that you can display your food choices with a little more flair and uniqueness in the cafe menu versus a three page or tri-fold leather menu cover.  Your smaller menu can allow for a much simpler cover that will appeal to the type of patron whom you are serving.  There are also considerations for the price of a wine menu cover, check presenters, table top menu holders and such.

Photo Credit

What Do Menu Covers Cost?

Why not just go for cheap menu covers?  Well, you certainly could – but just be cognizant of what you’re looking for.

Cheap could mean inexpensive or cheap could mean you’ll end up having to buy more of them in no time because, well, they are cheap!

There are a range of prices based upon the variety of menu cover styles.  Additionally, the brand of menu cover you choose will affect price.  The ‘big dogs’ can command a higher price based upon years of experience and stability in the fragile restaurant market.  As a starting point, you should determine the look you are after, the number you’ll need and any type of customization you will require.  Of course, custom menu covers will command higher prices as you will be ordering ‘off the menu’ if you’ll allow such an obvious pun.

Basic prices can start as low as around $15 USD each for a simple bonded leatherette or vinyl menu cover.  This price would typically be for a minimum order of lots of 50 or 100 menu covers.  Prices could go up to the $40 USD range for a soft grain leather cover.  Then, the price jumps to ‘custom pricing’ for those great metal and other custom menu cover options.  The best practice is to determine what your budget will allow for your covers, then work backward from there.  If you find you just can’t make it work for what you want, you may have to re-analyze your budget or negotiate with your vendor.