7 Menu Secrets Restaurants Use to Make You Spend More
Have you ever walked out of a restaurant wondering how your bill got so high? You’re not alone. Restaurants are experts in the subtle art of persuasion, and their primary tool is the menu. It’s more than just a list of food; it’s a carefully crafted piece of marketing designed to guide your choices and increase your spending. Ready to uncover the secrets? Let’s dive into the seven most common psychological tricks restaurants use on their menus.
1. They Hide the Dollar Signs
One of the simplest yet most effective tricks is removing currency symbols. You’ll often see prices listed as “15” instead of “$15” or “£15.” This isn’t just a style choice; it’s a psychological tactic. Studies from Cornell University have shown that when prices are listed without dollar signs, diners spend significantly more.
The reason is simple: the symbol “$” immediately reminds our brains of the pain of spending money. It makes us focus on the cost rather than the dish. By removing it, the restaurant frames the number as an abstract value, making it easier for you to order that pricier appetizer or dessert without feeling the financial pinch.
2. The Expensive "Decoy" Dish
Have you ever noticed a ridiculously expensive item on a menu, like a $95 “Surf and Turf Extravaganza,” and wondered who actually orders it? The truth is, the restaurant may not care if anyone does. That item is often a “decoy.”
Its real purpose is to make everything else on the menu look like a bargain in comparison. When you see the \(95 steak, the \)42 salmon or the $35 chicken suddenly seems much more reasonable. This principle, known as anchoring, uses the high price of the decoy to set a new standard for what feels “normal” to spend, nudging you toward the second or third most expensive options, which still have very high-profit margins for the restaurant.
3. Guiding Your Eyes to Profit
Menu designers, often called menu engineers, know exactly how you read a menu. Most people’s eyes are naturally drawn to a specific area first: the top right-hand corner. This prime real estate is often called the “sweet spot.”
From there, our eyes tend to move to the top left and then to the center. This is known as the “Golden Triangle.” Restaurants strategically place their most profitable items, not necessarily the most expensive ones, in these key locations. They might use boxes, photos, or a slightly different font to draw even more attention to these high-margin dishes. The item you see first is more likely to be the item you order.
4. The Power of Persuasive Words
This is one of the most powerful tricks in the book, and it’s the one that often has the biggest impact on our choices. Restaurants use descriptive, sensory language to make dishes sound irresistible and worth a higher price.
Think about the difference between “Fried Chicken” and “Grandma’s Golden-Crisp Buttermilk Fried Chicken.” Which one sounds better? Which one would you pay more for? Research has shown that dishes with descriptive labels sell up to 27% more than those without.
Words that evoke a sense of quality, freshness, or nostalgia are particularly effective. Look out for phrases like:
- Geographic labels: “Tuscan Sun-Ripened Tomatoes” or “Alaskan King Crab.”
- Nostalgic terms: “Homestyle,” “Traditional,” or “Grandma’s Recipe.”
- Sensory words: “Velvety,” “Crispy,” “Tender,” “Juicy,” or “Zesty.”
These descriptions don’t just sell the dish; they can actually make it taste better by setting your expectations higher before you even take the first bite.
5. Nesting Prices to Avoid Comparison
Look closely at how prices are listed on a modern menu. Gone are the days of a neat column of prices aligned on the right side of the page. That design made it far too easy for customers to scan down the list and pick the cheapest option.
Instead, restaurants now “nest” the price. They place it discreetly at the end of the food description, often in the same font and without a bold or leading line of dots connecting it. For example:
Sautéed Wild Mushrooms A medley of foraged mushrooms sautéed in garlic butter and fresh herbs 14
This forces you to read the entire description of the dish before you see the price. By the time you get to the number, you’re already thinking about how delicious it sounds, making the cost a secondary consideration.
6. Using Brand Names and Storytelling
Another way restaurants add perceived value is by name-dropping their suppliers or giving a dish a special name. You might see “Johnson Farms Free-Range Chicken” or “The Founder’s Favorite Burger.”
This technique works for two reasons. First, it implies quality and transparency. Associating a dish with a specific farm or brand gives it an air of authenticity and suggests it’s made with superior ingredients. Second, it tells a story. “The Founder’s Favorite” makes you curious and creates a personal connection, making the dish feel more special than a generic “Cheeseburger.”
7. The Paradox of Too Much Choice
You might think a huge menu with endless options is a good thing, but it’s often the opposite. When faced with too many choices, customers can experience “analysis paralysis,” feeling overwhelmed and anxious about making the wrong decision.
Smart restaurants limit the number of items in each category, typically to around seven. A curated menu feels more exclusive and suggests that every dish on it is a winner. This also allows the kitchen to perfect a smaller number of dishes and guides customers toward the options that the restaurant has carefully selected for their popularity and profitability.
By understanding these clever tricks, you can become a more mindful diner, making choices based on what you truly want to eat rather than what the menu is subtly telling you to order.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it wrong for restaurants to use these tricks? Not necessarily. Menu engineering is a standard part of marketing in the hospitality industry. These techniques are designed to run a profitable business, which allows them to stay open and serve customers. As a consumer, being aware of these strategies simply empowers you to make more informed choices.
Do all restaurants use these psychological tactics? Most do, to some extent. High-end restaurants and large chain establishments are most likely to invest heavily in professional menu engineering. However, even small local cafes often use basic principles like descriptive language or removing dollar signs, sometimes without even realizing the full psychological impact.