Analyzing Everyday Rhetoric: The True Costs of a Restaurant Menu

A recent Globe and Mail article demonstrated how the set-up of a restaurant menu can make a big difference in what the consumer chooses to order. This has consequences on our health, our pocketbook, and the success of the restaurant. Food descriptions and placement on the menu can greatly benefit a restaurant’s reputation, or it can be its downfall. The rhetoric used has a major influence on our entire perception of the restaurant.

I have often thought about this when skimming the menu at restaurants (once a rhetorician, always a rhetorician; the challenge I have is going somewhere and not analyzing everything in sight ;)), and much of what the article suggested is similar to what I had believed was the case.

The article showed an image of a restaurant menu and explained how it influences consumer choice:

1. Price.

By eliminating the dollar sign, consumers will be more likely to shell out $40 for an entree. Leaving out dollar signs or any lines to associate the price with the menu item is less distracting, so the consumer won’t pay as much attention to the price. Even the size of the price, in comparison to the menu item, can draw the eye or cause our gaze to skip over it.

2. Description.

“Calamari” sounds so much nicer than “fried squid,” don’t you think? Using terms from other languages, describing the item in great detail regarding the types of the ingredients and including mouthwatering words such as “creamy” or “succulent,” as well as using phrases such as “locally raised” can all contribute to the appeal of the menu items.

3. Position.

In Western societies, our eyes are automatically drawn towards the upper right-hand side of the menu, so this is the ideal spot for the dishes that the restaurant most wants to sell. It would be interesting to compare this to the menu in a society which reads words on a page differently because I’m sure that the effect would not be the same.

When you’re at a restaurant…

Keep these things in mind the next time you’re dining out. You might still buy that high-price, descriptive meal listed on the top right-hand side, but at least you will be aware of some of the reasons behind why you might have chosen to order that particular dish!

Have you noticed how your food choices are influenced by the menu? What jumps out to you in a restaurant menu? Share in the comments section below!