It depends, firstly, on the dishes if it is economic to prepare, secondly, on the product availability, and at peak quality, thirdly, on the chef's or cook's skill and kitchen facilities, fourthly, on the dinner's needs and taste.

All these limits must be chosen so as to make a harmonious whole. The following means are adopted in achieving this:

1. The main ingredients must not be repeated in later courses
2. Each course and dish must be cooked differently, and have a different character
3. Each main dish or course should be a different basic colour and the vegetables or other garnishes with it should complement or set off its colour by their own
4. Above all, the flavours of the garnishes and sauces must be perfectly suited to the main dishes, and to the wines being served

These restrictions can impose difficulties.

Types of Menu

There are several kinds of menus.

1. Table d' hôte. A set of menu forming a complete menu at a set price. A choice of dishes may be offered at all courses, the choice and number of courses will usually be limited to two, three or four.
2. A la carte: A menu with all the dishes priced individually. The customers can therefore compile their own menu. A true a la carte dish should be cooked to order and the customer should be prepared to wait for this service.
3. Function Menu: Are for banquets or functions of all kinds. All the guests start the meal at the same time, it is generally unsuitable to place items such as steak or soufflé on the menu for large numbers.
4. Ethnic pr specialty Menu: It can be table d' hôte or la carte, specializing in the food of the country or in a specialized food itself
5. Hospital menus: This usually takes the form of a menu card given to the patient the day before service so that his or her preferences can be ticked
6. Menu for people at work: These are menus, which are served to people at their place of work. Such menus vary in standard and extent from one employer to another due to the company policy or the welfare of their staff and workforce.

Walking into such a place is at first like walking into a fridge, with all the positive attributes going to the fridge. After this pleasant first surprise it's a steep downward trek to hell. As the waiter approaches, his eye over of my clothes tells me that I am definitely underdressed for this restaurant.

When I tell him that I have reserved a table under my name, his nose goes up even further. I know my name has been neither in the news nor in the papers. His voice when showing me the table conveys the message that this restaurant isn't intended for nobodies.

A look at the menu confirms my worst fears. The chef is so highly impressed with himself that the menu is barely understandable, it's just a hodgepodge of languages from around the world. Who wants a sauce made from gardenias? Who possibly could stomach Chinese glass noodles with Swiss Brie cheese and gold leaf?

Drinking no alcohol and ordering water brings me down to rock bottom with even the lowliest of servers. The service after that is at best frigid, mostly just slapdash and indifferent. The food presented on those oversize plates almost fills a fork. The plates must be so big they don't lose that bit of food on the way.

And at the end I get that ridiculous pay check. This is why I don't like to go to new restaurants. This brings me to the seven cardinal sins:

To style your restaurant after what the cool magazines tell you is cool, is suicide. The hapless students who write for these cool magazines only tell you your place is cool because of the hot meal they get for free. As these magazines are only cool because they think so themselves, their acclaim is rather worthless. As they are read exclusively by other hapless students who can't afford your prices anyhow, you haven't sold a single meal by it.

If you do a grand opening night with free food, don't expect any of that evening's guests to ever come back. Only parasites go to opening nights. Don't expect them to give any positive publicity; they just turn up to find things wrong with your place to fuel their gossiping.

When the food hacks from the newspapers tell you that your place has stile, they do that in the hope of coming for a free meal, again. As they are food hacks mainly because they weren't good at anything else, you shouldn't be misled by their attitude.

If you don't ask an opinion of your paying guests after the meal, you will never know how good you are. Worse, you will never know what to do better in future.

If your guests don't like your food, then the meal was bad. It's not guests who have no taste for the exotic.

When your guests don't leave a tip, it means that service was too bad, not that your guests were stingy.

If your guests don't come a second time, it's because they didn't like your place, not because they can't afford it.

Before opening a restaurant, think. If you think you know everything better than your guests, don't do it. If on the other hand you think your guests should feel at home with you, do it. Start your good intentions with chairs one can sit on instead of precariously clinging to them.

You've put a lot of time into planning just the right menu – from the right sizes and prices for your specialty drinks, to the supplier of your beans, to the right desserts, you've thought it all out.

You made long lists of pastries and desserts that you want to offer. You've figured out which brand and what flavors of syrups that you'll be using to create your specialty drinks. You've asked your family and friends and business partners what they think you should include. You've spent time looking at where your prospective customers already go for lunch.

And you didn't stop there! You've chosen all the best items to compliment your beverage options. You've selected foods that are easy to prepare, to serve and to eat. You've made sure that the items you'll be adding can be prepared in advance and that there will be enough demand that little – if any – goes to waste.

And after all of that work, which wasn't easy, you went to see how your competitors had priced similar items – not because you want to undercut their prices, but because you want to be sure that your prices are in line with what your customers could purchase elsewhere.

But how do you make sure that your customers will know what you have? How do you ensure that the items that catch their eyes the most are the ones that will bring you the most revenue?

The simple answer is a well-designed menu.

A menu should be hung where it will be easily seen and read. Also, you should have your in-house menu designed professionally.

A professional design will help to ensure the following:

• Your menu will be easy to read.
• Your menu will be designed with colors and fonts that are easy for your customers to see and understand.
• Your menu will include pictures and graphics (including your logo) that are well done and compliment the listed items.
• Your menu will not only list the items but will also provide brief descriptions so that a customer who is unfamiliar with the name of a product will still be able to know what they are getting.

A professional design will also help the ensure that your customers are provided with a well-organized menu. In order to provide clear organization, your should be sure that your menu contains distinguishable categories such as coffee, tea, specialty drinks, breakfast, lunch, and pastries.

Though you want to be sure that you are making your customers aware of your products, you also want to keep them from feeling overwhelmed. Therefore, limit your descriptions to information that is relevant.

For example, which of the following is more clear:

• Cappuccino: Espresso with steamed and foamed milk; or
• Cappuccino: One or more shots of espresso pulled by our barista. Your choice of skim, 2% or whole milk steamed in such a way as to create a dense foam which is then poured into the cup.

While both are descriptive of the item, the more brief description is of a greater advantage to your customers. Why? Because if it is not what they want, they will be able to quickly move on to the next item on your menu.

Similarly, it is important to not list every item on your menu. That way, you can have a greater focus on the important items – like your specialty drinks and breakfast items – that will appeal to more of your customers. It also allows you to focus less on the items that fewer customers will be interested in such as all of the flavoring syrups you have available.

Another advantage? You will be better able to focus on your more popular and (ideally) more expensive items. That is sure to help you to boost your bottom line – which was likely the purpose of the menu to begin with.

Of course, another way in which you can boost your sales is to compliment your in-house menu with an easy to pick up carry out menu. If you have used a professional designer to lay out your menu, you should also consider using them to design your carry out menu.

This way, you will be sure that your to go menu will contain all of the following elements:

• Your company logo;
• Your physical store address, phone number and other contact information such as email addresses and your web site;
• A map showing how to get to your store;
• Business hours;
• A listing of your most popular items with enticing descriptions and prices; and
• A coupon – something to encourage the customer to return.

By investing in your menu, you will better be able to communicate with your customers. And good communication will make them return time and time again.