As the saying goes, ‘First, you eat with your eyes.’ Therefore, it is of no surprise that how restaurants and cafes across the globe have been experimenting with their menu card designs of lately for their customers; it is the menu card that creates an initial impression about the place and reflects the overall personality of any eatery. In Jaipur, where the business of cafes and restaurants is increasing day by day, restaurant and cafe owners are also coming up with fresh and creative menu card designs to lure customers.
INNOVATIVE MAP-THEMED MENU CARDS

A vintage map-themed menu card at Nibs Café and Chocolateria

Sankalp Gupta, co-owner of Nibs Café and Chocolateria uses a menu which is inspired from a vintage map and is presented as a scroll. Sankalp says, “We were experimenting with our menu in terms of the food that we will offer and that’s when we thought of experimenting with the menu card design as well. When people come to enjoy food at a restaurant or a café, the first thing that they come across is the menu card.” He further says, “To make it easier for our customers to choose their food, we decided to go ahead with a menu card inspired by vintage old maps. Each map (read menu card) has interesting graphics on it along with criss-cross games and Sudoku puzzle.”

‘QUIRKY MENU CARDS HAVE TIMELESS APPEAL AND COME AT A REASONABLE PRICE’

Using Cobra files as menu cards is Tapri’s way of creativity

Tapri café, too, uses colourful Cobra files that make for an interesting menu card design.Ankit Bohra,co-owner of the café, says, “It has a timeless appeal and goes with the ambiance of our café which revolves around the old-school. These Cobra files also allow us to add as many papers as we want in our menu as they use springs for holding the sheets together. Also, they come at a reasonable price.”

‘WHILE STANDARD BOOKLETS ARE CHEAPER, THEY DON’T ALONG WITH LOUNGE’S THEME’

(L-R) Palak, Arjun and Umang with bottle-shaped menu card at Idiot Box Cafe and Lounge (Shalini Maheshwari/BCCL)

Ankesh Verma, owner of Idiot Box Café and Lounge, Vaishali Nagar, steals the show with his beverage-style menu card. The café has used a wooden beer bottle – which splits into two parts – as its menu card for the spirits. Since the theme of the café ambience is inspired by Game Of Thrones, their food menu,too,is inspired by the map of Westeros. “We all know that first impression counts. Thus, when we were deciding the menu,we put our creative minds to work and came up with a bottle-shaped menu card.We first present the wooden bottle to the customers as if we are giving them a memento. It is then that we tell them to open it and order drinks for themselves,” says Ankesh. “While standard booklets are cheaper, it did not go along with the overall theme of our lounge,” he adds.

Idiot Box, uses bottle-shaped menu cards for its customers (Shalini Maheshwari/BCCL)

‘ WE CHOSE NEWSPAPER-THEMED MENU CARD INSTEAD OF STANDARD MENU TEMPLATE’

A customer reading menu on newspaper-themed menu card at Peacock Rooftop Restaurant

Peacock Rooftop Restaurant,Gopalbari,combined modern appeal with a retro newspaper look for their menu card design. Their menu card is similar to a newspaper,where the menu is divided in different headings.Each page is numbered just like a newspaper. Karan Singh, owner of the restaurant, says, “While others were going with a standard menu template, we thought of using the newspaper format. It instantly catches the attention of the customers.”