Folded menus

The menu is one of the first things a guest reaches for once they sit down. The folded form gives more room than a single card while staying handy and comfortable at the table.

You can split the offer into clear sections, separate food from drinks, add photographs, allergen information or a QR code. Folded up, the whole thing becomes one tidy card that is easy to pick up and scan quickly.

Folded menus work well in restaurants, cafés, bars, hotels, pizzerias, bistros, cake shops, food trucks and catering companies. It can serve as the everyday food menu, a separate lunch menu, a seasonal offer or a card prepared for a particular event.

What you can use a folded menu for

The folded form gives plenty of room, so it can carry both the venue's basic offer and separate themed cards.

A folded menu works as:

• A food menu and lunch menu - the basic offer split into starters, soups, mains and desserts, for instance.
• A drinks, wine and cocktail list - a separate menu for soft drinks, cocktails or wines. It looks especially good in the slim format.
• A seasonal and promotional menu - easy to replace when the offer changes with the season or you are running something special.
• A hotel, room service and catering menu - the larger formats hold a full offer and let you split it comfortably into categories.
• An occasional offer - a wedding, communion, banquet or event menu, or a takeaway card.

Besides dish names and prices you can add a short history of the venue, allergen information, the chef's recommendations, markings for particular dishes or a QR code leading to the full menu online, to bookings or to Google reviews.

Which format and fold to choose

We give the format as the size of the sheet before folding and the size of the finished menu after folding.

There are four versions:

• A4 folded to A5 - a handy menu for shorter cards, such as lunch, breakfast, desserts, drinks or a seasonal offer. Folded, it takes up little room on the table.
• A3 folded to A4 - gives more space for a fuller offer. It works well in restaurants, hotels and catering.
• A3 folded to 140×297 mm - a slim, elegant format for wine, cocktail and drinks lists and more representative menus.
• 3×A4 folded to A4 - a large surface for full food menus, banquet and event menus and offers split into many sections.

It is best to match the format to the number of items, the length of the descriptions, the number of photographs and the way the menu is divided up.

When designing, it is not worth shrinking the text just to squeeze everything into a smaller format. A guest should find the category they want quickly, read the price without trouble and compare the items comfortably.

Which paper to choose

We print folded menus on two weights of coated paper.

• Coated 250 gsm - stiff, but still comfortable to fold and use every day. It works well for seasonal and lunch menus and cards that are replaced more often.
• Coated 350 gsm - thicker and stiffer. It suits wine lists, hotel and restaurant menus and other materials that should feel more solid.

If the card will be picked up, turned over and used regularly over a longer period, coated 350 gsm plus lamination of the surface is worth considering.

Printing and finishing

We print menus double-sided in full CMYK colour.

That lets you use both the outside and the inside, and split the offer into convenient sections: starters, soups, mains, desserts, drinks, wines, set menus or seasonal suggestions.

When designing, watch the arrangement of the panels after folding. The logo, category names, prices, the QR code and other important elements should not sit directly on the fold lines.

The surface can be left without any extra finish or protected with film.

Your choices are:

• No finishing - the practical version for lunch, seasonal and promotional menus that are replaced regularly.
• Gloss lamination - strengthens colours and photographs of dishes. It goes well with bolder designs, for instance in pizzerias, burger bars and casual venues.
• Matte lamination - reduces reflections and gives a calmer, more restrained surface.
• Soft-touch lamination - soft and velvety to the touch. It suits wine lists, tasting menus, wine bars, cocktail bars and more representative designs.

If the menu is going to be filled in by hand later, for instance with the prices of the day or the names of set menus, lamination can be awkward. Writing and stamping on a laminated surface is difficult, so it is worth allowing for that when you choose the version.

What goes in the menu

A folded card gives you a lot of room, but a simple, legible division of the content is still worth keeping.

You can put in it:

• the name and logo of the venue,
• starters, soups, mains and desserts,
• soft drinks, wines and cocktails,
• the breakfast and lunch menu,
• seasonal dishes,
• the children's menu,
• set offers,
• the takeaway offer,
• markings for vegetarian and vegan dishes,
• information about allergens and portion weights,
• the chef's recommendations,
• photographs of selected dishes,
• a QR code to the menu online, bookings or reviews,
• the website address,
• social media,
• opening hours.

With more content, a clear division into categories matters most. Dish names, prices and short descriptions should be easy to find and comfortable to read at the table.

File check and graphic design

When you place the order you choose how the file is prepared. The exact surcharges for each option are shown in the calculator.

• No file check - the file goes straight into production. This option is for agencies, designers and anyone confident the design is prepared correctly.
• File check by a designer - we check the format, bleed, resolution and colours. On a folded menu we also check the arrangement of the panels, the fold and crease lines, the order of the pages and the safe distances between the content and the edges and folds.
• Simple graphic design - if you have no file ready, send us your logo, the list of dishes, the prices, the descriptions, photographs and your guidelines on style. We will prepare a simple design matched to the menu format you chose.

The technical check is particularly worth choosing if the design was made in Canva, an online generator, an office program or with AI tools. Such files can look good on screen and still need the bleed, CMYK, resolution, panel layout or the margins at the folds corrected.

The check does not cover the content.

We do not check prices, the names and descriptions of dishes, allergens, portion weights, the dates an offer runs, contact details or whether the QR codes work. The customer is responsible for the content.

How to prepare the file for print

A PDF that follows our specification works best. We also accept good quality JPG and PNG files.

Prepare photographs and artwork at 300 dpi at 1:1 scale, and the whole design in CMYK.

If the background or artwork runs to the edge, add the right amount of bleed.

Keep dish names, prices, the logo, text and QR codes a safe distance from the cutting and fold lines.

On a folded menu the arrangement of the panels matters a great deal. You have to allow for the format before and after folding, the crease lines, the direction of the fold and the order in which the parts are read.

Do not place important text or fine details right on the folds. After folding they can be less legible or look accidental.

Before you start on the design, download the right template and specification for the version you chose.

With a large number of items, take care over the size of the text, a clear division into categories and good contrast. If you are using photographs of dishes, choose sharp, good quality images.