Professional Bar Menu Template: Design Tips to Boost Sales and Impress Customers

As a bar, your main goal is to bring in customers and make sales. Now, while this may seem straightforward in theory, it’s most definitely not in practice. You’re probably here because you’ve had a dip in sales and need some assistance.

Well, you’re in luck. In this article, we will discuss how to improve your bar menu in a way that dazzles customers and brings more clients in.

We’ll cover topics such as what drinks to include, and how to design your menu in the best way, and we’ll even throw in some practical tips.

So, let’s dive and get ready to perfect that bar menu!

Understanding the Psychology of Menu Design

Okay, we’re throwing some complex terms around already. Psychology for menu design? You’re probably already getting confused. So, that’s what we want to explain.

Menu design isn’t always as simple as it seems. Yes, you have your menu items, but the layout on paper has a serious impact on sales. For example, research shows that customers tend to read the top right side of a menu before anything else. Who would have thought?

Similarly, customers get fatigued and overwhelmed when there are more than seven items per category. These are the kinds of things we mean when we talk about psychology. Nothing too complex, just basic research that can help boost sales.

Here are a few easy psychology hacks for your menu design:

• Use a smaller, less conspicuous font for your prices
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• Tell a story about the drink’s origin or inspiration
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• Group drinks into creative and psychologically appealing categories. You might use ‘Sunset Sippers’ for lighter, golden hued cocktails or ‘Midnight Mixology’ for darker, more complex drinks.
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• Place a slightly more expensive item next to your target high-margin drink. This will make your target drink seem like better value.
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• Create implied scarcity with ‘limited edition’ or ‘seasonal’ labels

The reason we want to start with menu design is because this is where your sales are. Yes, getting customers through the door is the first step. But after that, your menu could convince someone to spend more on a cocktail instead of a beer. Do you see where we’re headed with this?

Essential Components of an Effective Bar Menu Template

So now that we’ve explained some design details, let’s get into the nitty gritty of how you can create the best bar menu template.

One of the ways you can gather research for your bar menu is through hosting events. We’re sure that your bar or restaurant is already doing that, so why not use these bigger groups for research purposes?

One of the ways we recommend hosting events is by using an online event management software system, like Perfect Venue. Perfect Venue is an event management software that streamlines your events into one place.

Merging websites like Google Calendar and Gmail, Perfect Venue collates all your different event information into one accessible space.

The reason we suggest using it for bar menu research is that you can use templates when hosting events to track drinks. For example, if your venue is hosting a celebratory party, you would most likely organize a catering list. On this list would be a narrowed-down version of the drinks your venue supplies.

Once the event is over, you can use this list combined with your point-of-sales system (POS) to see which drinks were most popular and which weren’t. This way, you can use a smaller, controlled group to test out your drink's popularity.

So, now let’s get into some day-to-day tips!

Keep It Simple

We mean it: the more simple, the better.

When it comes to drink options, you want your customer to be able to select their drink from a choice menu. We’re not talking three menu items, but don’t overwhelm the customer.

What we mean is to keep the options simple. Include the classics like mojitos, margaritas, and martinis. But, if you’re not marketing yourself as a mixology bar, don’t go over the top with choices.

Remember what we said earlier about seven options per category? Try to stick to this rule. You can have fun with it if you want! Design your menu by alcohol such as tequila-based drinks, or by drink type, like beers, wines, or fruity cocktails.

Visual Elements

We eat (and drink) with our eyes, right? We all know this. So, why not apply this theory to your menu?

With your newly updated menu, we suggest adding pictures – even illustrations. Honestly, any sort of image indicating a feeling or the look of the drink will be beneficial.

You can extend this into your digital space as well. On your social media, you can have images of your drinks so that when people browse your socials, they can see how good they look.

When you’re pitching to clients, this approach can also benefit you. Let’s say you’re hosting a few events over a certain period. High capacity numbers, high alcohol consumption. From your point of view, there’s a lot of logistics involved.

So, narrow down a drink menu with some classic cocktails, wines, beers, mocktails, and soft drinks. Using your event management system like Perfect Venue, draft an email with your chosen drinks and accompanying images and batch send this email out to all clients. Let them decide what drinks they want to be served, with the images guiding them.

Catchy Phrasing

Now, there are a few ways you can go about this one.

One of the ways is to make your drink names different. So, discard the mojito, martini, and paloma. Instead, opt for unique and catchy names that relate to the theme of your bar. If you want to go the extra mile, relate it to your client's event.

The second way is to keep the original names (or not, up to you), and add some funky descriptions to the drinks. Set the scene: a customer's eyes are caught by “piña colada.” Next to or under the name, you describe the ideal setting to be drinking this. It’s sunset at the beach, your feet are in the water, and you’ve got your drink in hand.

Or something along those lines *wink.*

Seasonal Offerings

People like to feel special. So why not offer them a seasonal, limited-edition drink? If you’ve got a client that’s coming to you during, let’s say, stone fruit season, offer them a plum-based drink. Let them know you’ve designed it just for them as well.

Now, when the event is being hosted you’ll have people ordering their regular drinks like martinis, wine, and mocktails. But of course, your special drink will garner attention. This is a great way to hook in future feet through the door, as people coming to the event will feel seen.

The same goes for holidays and high days. You can create a birthday drink (alcoholic or not), that you can offer to clients for birthday celebrations.

Similarly, if you are hosting during the Christmas season perhaps you could offer a Christmas-themed drink.

Physical Menu

The physical menu can be a tricky thing. You ideally want to tie your menu into the theme of your space, for coherence value.

For example, your restaurant or bar space might be a more sophisticated space. In this case, having laminated plastic menus, or a blackboard menu might not be appropriate. Instead, opt for a menu with aged paper and deckled edges or one with vintage botanical illustrations of your ingredients. However, if your venue space is more laid back and with a simple menu, a blackboard-style menu on the wall behind the bar might be perfect.

Also, if you offer those seasonal drinks we suggested before, you might want to consider the price of the menus you design. Sure, using fancy materials might look great, but if you’re changing your menu every couple of months this could become costly. Try out a clipboard menu that has interchangeable page
Inserts or a digital display screen that can change instantly.

Oh, and if you serve food, keep it on a separate menu. Having separate food and drink menus is a way to separate what people order and how they order. Oftentimes, we group food items together, especially if they’re on the same menu.

As an example, if people order a burger they will most likely get a beer, not a specialty cocktail that will cost more. However, if the drinks are on a separate menu, a customer might be more inclined to try a cocktail instead.

Be Transparent

Okay, you’re probably a little bit confused here. When we talk about transparency, we want you to tell the customers what drinks are the most popular.

Now, while this may seem unnecessary, it helps build trust between you and your clients/customers. It will also most likely see them ordering different drinks and even returning in the future.

You can do this in a few different ways. One of the ways is to have a whole section on your menu dedicated to favorites. Another way is to have a fun illustration stating “fan favorite” or “local fave” next to the popular drinks.

Happy Hour and Specials

Who doesn’t love a happy hour cocktail? Whether it’s a two-for-one or a discounted price, you can ensure that glasses will be poured.

As an event manager, you can offer happy hour specials for events if the client isn’t paying for a full bar service. We know, you’re thinking of losing money. But hear us out: in the long term, having this type of structure will invite more clients to host events at your venue.

Why? Because it creates trust. You don’t need to supply two-for-one deals, but maybe offer a 20% discount for the first hour of the event. This is especially good for music events or entertainment.

When it comes to specials, make them known! On the menu, put them in a special box, or highlight the specials in a different font/color. This will draw the eye to the specials, and more customers will be inclined to try them out.

Practical Design Tips to Boost Sales

We’ve gone over the bar menu template ideas, now for some venue space tips. Once you’ve combined the above tips with the below ones, your venue is gonna be pouring drinks at a rapid rate.

Congruent Drinks and Bar Theme

We mentioned theming your menu to your event space earlier, but we want to reiterate the point. Having a congruent visual theme makes your venue space look put together.

For example, say you’re a sports bar. Now, sports bars are common, and people know and trust them for their basic drinks. You often find people drinking beers, or long drinks like long islands or cuba libres at spots like these.

But imagine if you twisted that and themes your drinks to sports. Say, a Michael Jordan Martini. You might see sales increasing as people want to try out different drinks based on their favorite sports/players.

Specialty Bars

It would be remiss of us to not mention the possibility of your venue being a specialized alcohol bar, like a wine bar or gin bar. Obviously in this case your drinks will all be centered around this one alcohol, however that does not automatically mean you’ll have a small menu.

With wines, we suggest keeping it local. For example, whatever region you’re in, keep your offerings to that area. We know, it might sound a bit lacklustre, but this is how you can build a niche. Gain knowledge of those wines, and your bar will become a destination point.

Similarly, you could focus your attention on one alcohol. This way, you can base all your drinks around this liquor. This could also be a selling point for clients as they can theme their event to the alcohol you’re supplying.

Conclusion

Throughout this article, we’ve given you a bunch of different ideas for how to create a perfect bar menu template that you can change throughout the seasons.

Altering your menu with seasonal offerings, adjusting drinks to fit a client’s needs, and even practical pointers for your space, your bar menu will be new and shiny.

Now before we go, we want to suggest that you give Perfect Venue a try. Honestly, their event organization system is a game changer. As we mentioned earlier, all information from different events is collated into one space, making it easier for you to navigate and organize your events.

Feel free to watch their demo video, or even try out their 14-day free trial! Maybe even use it for your next event, and see how easy it is to track those drink orders like we suggested.

Have fun hosting!