How do you read a restaurant menu?

A restaurant menu is not a neutral list; its order, its language and its images are built to bring certain choices forward. Reading a menu means being able to find what you are looking for rather than what is being offered — and a scan of a few seconds before ordering is enough for that.

Below we look at what the language of the descriptions tells you, what the order of the courses changes, why portions arrive different sizes, and how to choose the side.

What the language of the description gives away

On menus the cooking method is usually written into the name of the dish: grilled, baked, boiled, pan-fried, deep-fried. That single word is the part that gives the most information about how the plate will arrive.

Phrases describing sauces and coatings do the same job. Words like creamy, buttery and breaded say that the same main ingredient has turned into a different plate.

So when choosing, looking at the method word rather than the main ingredient gives a faster answer. The same fish grilled and pan-fried are two different dishes.

What the order of the courses changes

Starting with soup or salad lowers the sharpness of hunger by the time you move to the main dish. The same menu produces a different total when the order changes.

This does not mean giving up the main dish. It only keeps the densest item from coinciding with the moment hunger is at its highest.

The bread basket is part of that order too. At most tables it is the item that arrives first and is eaten without a decision being made; one standard portion of bread is defined as two thin slices, that is 50 grams.

Why portions arrive different sizes

A restaurant portion is a commercial decision and does not have to be the same as the standard portion in the guidelines. The same dish arrives in two different sizes at two places.

A concrete example is rice: one standard portion of cooked rice is 90 grams, while the serving put next to a main dish is taken as two portions, that is 180 grams. The serving ladle is often larger than that.

We covered the subject with its measurements in how many calories are in a bowl of rice.

Why the choice of side matters

On most menus the item that comes next to the main dish can be changed. Asking for salad or grilled vegetables instead of rice changes half the plate directly.

That change is made without making the portion smaller and leaves no sense of something missing on the plate. Asking for it does not cost extra in most places either.

Sauce can be asked for on the side

When salad dressing, mayonnaise and creamy sauces arrive poured over the plate, the amount is entirely the kitchen’s decision. Asking for the sauce on the side moves that decision to your side.

The amount used from a sauce served on the side falls noticeably compared with one poured over. The reason for that is not willpower but visibility.

Is sharing an option

With portions that arrive large, sharing a plate meant for two is both more comfortable and less wasteful than leaving half of it.

Another route is to ask for part of it to be boxed up from the start. When half the plate is separated before it even reaches the table, that half becomes the next day’s meal.

Both methods pull the moment of decision forward, before the meal begins. Decisions made after the plate is empty are usually too late.

The drink is decided separately

On a menu the drink is usually suggested along with the food and added automatically. Yet it is a separate decision and changes the total at the table noticeably.

Asking for water or ayran, a salted yogurt drink, first means making the decision before the table is set. The choice of size is made at the same moment.

How the dessert section is handled

The dessert decision is made after the meal, not before; once the main dish is finished, the urge is usually smaller than expected. Looking at the menu from the start leads to deciding early.

Sharing works here too. One dessert shared at the table gets you the taste while making the portion smaller on its own.

Images and recommendations on the menu

Items shown with a photograph and marked “the chef’s recommendation” are the most visible part of the menu. These marks are not a guarantee of flavor but decisions about placement.

The first and last lines of the menu are read more too, while the items in between are missed. Scanning the list from top to bottom to find the dish you are after takes a few seconds.

What to do at a place you go to often

If you go to the same place often, one good decision made once makes all the later visits easier. There is no need to read the menu from scratch every time.

Trying a few different options at the same place also leaves you with a list over time. Knowing how each dish arrives shortens the moment of ordering completely.

In short: look at the method word, start the order with soup or salad, change the side and ask for the sauce on the side. We gathered the whole picture in the eating out guide and the measuring side in the portion control guide.