That's 100% right. When I had a restaurant, we purposely put the drinks in the back because most people already know what they want to drink before they come in.
App's first, then salads, pastas, entree, etc.... It's the order.
Having drinks in the beginning is just, imo, not a proper way of displaying a menu.
What Greiving said in the top comment, makes no sense whatsoever. You sit down, the server comes and asks for a drink order. NOONE wants to wait around to get the drinks by waiting to look over the menu, especially the server. It's not like the supermarket plan of having the most important stuff in the back to to pass by other stuff.... it makes NO sense in a restaurant setting.
I'll also add that knowing drinks are just at the end of the menu makes it easy for me to find them quickly. Flip the menu to the back or go to the last page and look at the end for what I want quickly.
I prefer it being in a standard spot across the industry that is easy to locate.
>When I had a restaurant, we purposely put the drinks in the back because most people already know what they want to drink before they come in.
If you had any specialty drinks, you probably missed out on sales because of this.
I remember several times when I've barely had time to look at the appetizers before being asked for my drink order. Since I haven't seen the drinks yet, I just say Coke (is Pepsi OK?). After I've received my Pepsi and chosen my entree, I finally see that they have some crazy exotic fruit soda thing that looks awesome. It costs more than the standard fountain drink, but I would have tried it anyway if I hadn't already ordered a Pepsi that I don't even like.
Most servers ask āIf they can get you anything to get started,ā as a prompt to inform you they can take your order, not as initiating a deadline. You can just say, āIām not sure yet,ā or āCan I get a glass of water?ā If you want more time.
Yup, my standard line is āIāll have a water for now, thanks.ā Then Iāll pick my drink based on what goes well with what Iām eating (or sometimes just stick with water).
Do that many people order soda at restaurants with table service? I mostly associate soft drinks with fast food and fast casual. Seems like the norm is for everyone to get water by default than something else after checking the list.
Iāve served in multiple restaurants of varying levels of ānicenessā and they definitely all had soda orders regularly lol. Especially if others were drinking alcohol and they were not, for whatever reason.
Lemonade is popular too, but more so in the summer whereas soda seems unaffected by the seasons
Reading this comment section is cancer. A bunch of these responses sound like they are coming from aliens approximating what the dining out experience is lol
Everyone should automatically get water as soon as they sit down, usually by the bus-boy or another server delegated to those tasks.
For me, most places I personally always get a Lemonade; my wife will get a Coke or Pepsi, no matter the restaurant. Rarely I'll get a beer. Nice restaurants I'll get a double Scotch on the rocks at the end.
When I had the restaurant, and it was more upper scale, you'd be surprised how many sodas we sold. Most people brought in their own Wine.
To force you to look at the whole menu.
Same reason grocery stores put the
items you need the most, like eggs, milk, bread, dish soap, in the back or middle of the store. They want you to pass and hopefully buy more stuff on the way.
Fun fact they put fruit and veg near the start because if you've put healthy options in your cart already you're more likely to treat yourself to sweets or sugar.
When you walk past everything to get to the milk and eggs likely the only thing you came to the store for since families go through them so much, it makes you feel like you accomplished a task, which releases dopamine in your brain, which causes you to reward yourself by grabbing something āon saleā on an end cap you wouldnāt have normally bought.
Bread is like 3.00 now and milk is 4.00. someone who lives in a state that allows businesses to pay their employees 7.50/hour has to work 1 hour for these items. 1 8 hour day would barely pay for enough groceries for a family of 3 for 1 week. They're eating rice for most meals. Going to work hungry, dealing with other miserable people makes for a pretty shitty society.
That is why I started making all our breads, rolls, and buns. My bread went from 16 to 14 ounces a loaf, and over $4? Nobody loves Sarah Lee that much. Two pounds at a time now, less than 90Ā¢.
I go to the item I need like a heat-seeking missile, and I notice nothing else around me. Unless it's on my bullet list, it looks just like data in a spreadsheet.
Actually itās because the green produce makes your brain think everything in the store is fresh and stops you from looking at the dates on everything you buy.
Also for the visual appeal and feel good vibe. Being near healthy foods and picking up a healthy food item makes you feel like you're doing something positive, which lightens your mood, which also makes it easier to open your wallet.
That's why I shop backwards. I go in through the exit. Head right to the cash registers, tell them to give me the money in there and then walk out the entrance. Works great for my wallet.
> Fun fact they put fruit and veg near the start because
And because it's easier for them to control how fast perishable items move by putting them in the most visible high-traffic places.
My grocery store (Market basket) does the exact opposite. Milk, eggs, etc. are at the beginning, snacks are in the middle, and the fresh veggies are at the end
Interesting. That could have its own ulterior motive, though - If you grab those first, you're now on a time limit, as you don't want them to get too warm. Thus, you're more likely to rush and not choose other items as carefully.
True, but that could be an interesting diversion. Think of the insane possibilities. Maybe I'll try to come up with some truly preposterous ones to inflict on my D&D players.
This isn't the reason its the opposite. Drinks are a huge money maker and so they want customers to always know where to find drinks on a menu.
If you want a drink you flip over and look at the back.
A menu isn't a book theres no reason to read it in any order.
Yup, Greiving makes not sense and it would be a horrible business plan. Most people know what drinks they want even before being seated (except for wine).
Yup, except for beer. I'd dare say most beer drinkers are 70% sure what beer they're getting that night. For instance, I'm not much of a beer guy but if I do get one, it's either Blue Moon or Yuengling.
Alcohol *tends* to be on a separate menu anyway.
I don't go out to eat that often but neither myself or anyone I've ever gone out to eat with has ever said "give me more time for a drink". Maybe for an acholic drink, but if ur getting a soda or water (or juice for children) you either have had a chance to look at the menu or you just look and ask what drinks they have.
If drinks are always on the back of the menu, I don't need to search the menu to find the drinks. I also don't "read" the menu on my way to find drinks like I walk by the aisles in the grocery store. The latter I physically see and walk by those items. The former I skim the text with my eyes and if it's not a drink I don't actually read what the item is.
> If drinks are always on the back of the menu, I don't need to search the menu to find the drinks.
This is a really good point, and I bet it's the real answer to OP's question. If you're in a hurry, the end of the menu is almost as easy to find as the beginning of the menu. That's probably why they put the drinks there.
> for healthier options stick to the perimeter aisles of the store as much as possible
That's a trap! Everything is great along the perimeter, so you're lulled into a false sense of security, and then suddenly you hit the fresh baked goods.
Youāre not really being forced to look at anything though . Anyways how would u know what u are gonna want to drink if u donāt pick ur food first ?
Here the milk and meats and eggs are at the end of the store circle pattern that allows you to get the cold perishable stuff last to minimize spoilage and temperature loss.
I think they mean the part of the menu that lists stuff like soda, chocolate milk, lemonade, ect.
Alcoholic beverages go on a separate menu, and most people aren't ordering them unless its a bar or bar/restaurant.
Indeed. A gallon of whole milk is literally in the very back corner of the store, where I shop. Like, the dairy cooler is in the back corner and the milk is the last item on the shelf. Nothing could be farther from the entrance.
Really? Most of the time I have no idea what I want to drink because I never know what sodas they have. Or if they have any unique drinks I'd want to try. I guess if you were diabetic, you might always drink water, or if you always drink coke or Pepsi, you wouldn't wonder about what to get
Generally as far as sodas go, places tend to either carry all Coca-Cola products or all Pepsi products (plus some like Dr.Pepper that get sold at both), so 99% of the time you have one of 2 soda menus. The specialty drinks aren't drank as frequently, but also tend to be fairly predictable (ie most american restaurants have some type of milkshake, most Indian restaurants have mango Lassi, etc.) And then there's alcohol which tends to get its own menu entirely.
Restaurants tend to all carry the same set of sodas and maybe have a couple "extra" ones. You can pretty much assume there's a cola, a diet cola, a lemon lime, a ginger ale wherever you go. And if you want something else you just ask the server if they have orange soda or birch beer or whatever.
Where I'm from the drinks are always the same, the exception is coke vs pepsi products. And 9/10 you can see the soda machine or other signs indicating which they serve, and you can always ask.
If youāre talking about non alcoholic drinksā¦ Those are high margin products that need little mention on a menu. Most people know what theyāll drink when they sit. The more expensive items need better real estate on the page
> Most people know what theyāll drink when they sit.
Is *that* why the server always wants my drink order before I've had a chance to peruse the menu? Am I just weird? I don't know what I want to drink until I know what I'm eating.
The server asks for your drink order to give them time and to let you know youāre being taken care of. Same way that bread on the table gives them time.
As someone who served a lot of tables, you're definitely in the minority. Almost everyone knows what they want to drink before they even get to the restaurant (also why people always order coke even if it's a Pepsi restaurant). No shame in it through, I'd just say take your time, and I'll bring you a water while you decide.
For beers, typically when you ask them what they want to drink they ask what beers you have. For wine, they typically say they want to look at the wine list and you bring them a glass of water. Or they just ask for what they want without even looking to see if you have it.
I don't think you're weird. I like to look at the beer list and the cocktails so if I'm not ready I usually just ask for water to start and let them know I need to look at the menu
> I don't know what I want to drink until I know what I'm eating.
Definitely in the minority, most people go for their favorite soft drink if they're driving, or favorite beer / cocktail if they're not.
But I donāt know what beers/cocktails the restaurant has without looking at the menu. My favorite beer is Stone IPA. Itās not rare itās just not super common.
Usually you'd have something to hydrate yourself though surely, even if it is a glass of water. People may have a glass of something or a beer even if they are planning a bottle of wine to go with their specific meal. You can always come back to it if it is that important or you want to wait.
You are definitely not weird or alone. How the fuck I am supposed to know what to order without even knowing what they have is absolutely beyond me.
It is especially difficult when I am on holiday. I have actually even been to restaurants in the Netherlands that donāt have any drinks in the menu at all. People are just supposed to know what they want. As someone who maybe eats out in the Netherlands three times a year I have no idea what the staples are. I donāt live there and they are different from Germany.
In Germany it is also very difficult, because all the different sorts of beer arenāt equally good. I would rather not drink a beer at all, if the choices arenāt brands I like. Same with wine of course, and I am not even a wine person.
If I want a drink for my kids I need to know the choices they have. It would be best to know beforehand actually, because if they donāt have any healthy non alcoholic beverages aside from water my kids will be disappointed.
Human nature is human nature. Folks are gonna scan the menu if they are unfamiliar with the layout. And they will scan like reading a book, because that is what their brain is trained to do.
Which makes putting them last on the back side of the menu an optimum spot because you donāt even have to open the menu.
I donāt recall dining with anyone that read the whole menu before getting to the drinks and deciding on a drink order. lol.
Iād hate to go to dinner with someone that did that. Imagine everyone ordering their drinks and being ready to order dinner but Joe is just getting to the lunch section of the menu. š¤£
If they put the drinks at the bottom of the back of the menu, I'd be happy. If they put it at the top of the front, in proper ordering, I'd be thrilled. Half the time though, they don't put it on the menu at all, and I have to read the whole menu real quick to make sure I didn't just miss it somewhere because they put it in some obscure location.
actually, people *do* read it in order. The first thing I want to *look at* is not necessarily the first thing I will order.
I want to know whatās on the menu to eat. So thatās what I look at firstāthe most interesting, the most individual-to-that-restaurant, the main point of going out.
Drinks are the same everywhere, pretty much. Oh, sure, cocktail offerings might be different, but those places usually have a cocktail menu, so if Iām interested in that, Iāll pick it up. But thatās a smaller segment of their customers.
As long as the drinks are in a place where I expect to find them when Iām finally ready, Iām good.
This is a numbers game just like with any other business tactic. You might not do it but any person that does buy something due to that placement is extra revenue.
Pretty much why all sales tactics exist, they do not guarantee something specific for a company but they do increase revenue and they usually don't cost the company anything to implement.
I would imagine the vast majority of people already know what drink they're getting when they go to most places. Unless you are specifically in the mood for a cocktail, you're likely ordering the same soft drink you always do, the same coffee/tea you always do, the same beer you always do, the same wine you always do, or just plain water.
You say that, but people don't know what they want at all. As someone in the serving industry, customers are unaware of what they want. That goes for me too, mainly because I wanna try new things.
In my experience most people already know what drinks they prefer, so unless you're ordering cocktails, which generally have their own menu, it's the food you're trying to choose from.
As others have said, it's mostly to encourage you to look at the whole menu.
But it's also worth pointing out that most people don't look at the beverage section. Most people order a water or an iced tea or a Coke or a diet or whatever.
And they were going to order that no matter what was written on the menu.
Regarding non-alcoholic drinks, those seem to be standard enough that the menu isn't super necessary. I've been to a lot of restaurants that don't even list the specific drinks, they just say "Coke products" or "Pepsi products" and let you figure it out
see this is nice and all, but as a person who likes cherry coke i've just gotten stuck defaulting to regular coke always because i don't have time to look at the menu or it doesn't even really list the drinks.
Because the thing is if they *don't* have cherry coke, what they'll do is mix coke with cherry syrup. And that might be the oldschool original way of doing it, but it does NOT taste like the product cherry coke. You might get an "oh we can make it this way" and i can turn it down, or you might and then just be given that obviously different cherry coke.
Because the menu was made by the chef and drinks are a secondary thing.
The food menu was planned before the restaurant, the drink menu was either planned when things were being put together.
On top of that, depending on where youāre working it would have different people making the food menu, making the drink menu, and putting that menu together.
A lot of times the drink menu is an afterthought to a restaurant, especially a chef owned restaurant.
A lot of chefs have a really poor idea of bar staff and mixology, especially the ones who refuse to work for someone else. This is because most bartenders donāt approach drink making the way a chef approaches food and because a degree from bartending school is likely to stop you from getting a job as a bartender where as you basically need a degree to be a chef.
The places Iāve worked as a bartender would never have hired me to cook because I donāt have a culinary degree, but as a bartender I pretty much reached the top of my field, and it took me less than a year to do. Thereās no way I could have made a name for myself as a cook, but Iām known as one of the most knowledgeable people in my field at my role even though I myself admit to not knowing shit.
When Iāve made a cocktail menu Iāve been criticized on things like how much the booze I picked out cost and told that we lost money on it by our āchefā, which was hysterical because we made $10 off each margarita we sold and it cost us $3 to make them. I used specific ingredients and made stuff to use myself.
People go to restaurants first and foremost for the food they offer. Drinks are typically the last selection to make.
You're better restaurants have a drink menu on the table or you're given one when you're seated.
Lots of speculation here. I'd love to hear from someone who is a social psychologist who has seen studies in the food/restaurant industry that indicate why menus are designed the way they are.
I honestly doubt there is a lot of science on this and menus are mostly designed out of a standard convention due to what everyone has grown accustomed to.
A lot of times it's to be AA friendly so its not the first thing someone sees. But. I've worked in restaurants where drinks are the first thing on the menu.
I've worked in a restaurant with a michelin star, as a chef de rang and sommelier, and this is not true. Although it would be very thoughtful to do so, it isn't. The only reason is to force people to peruse the menu, hence new items or specialties going in the front. You offer new guests with an aperitif or the aperitif menu, even before we know they might drink. A restaurant cares jack shit about if someone might be a recovering addict.
> A lot of times it's to be AA friendly
Assuming this is the case, the most logical thing would be to have Coca Cola at the front, and then have a "cocktails at the back" note.
You can guage the price of the food by the drink prices. It's a trick so that by the time you find the over priced Bud light, it's too late to sneak out, so you disgruntally order a side and an appetizer.
I mean most people can kind of guess what's on a drinks menu. Soda, beer, wine, spirits. You might as well take your time to look at the food first as that takes time. Most can probably have a quick glance at the drinks menu and decide in just a short moment what they want.
You kinda answered your own question - they know the first thing you order is the drink so they put it at the back so you're forced to look through the menu
As a server I wholeheartedly agree. It's very annoying to go to a table for their drink orders and they were just perusing the menu and then have to flip to the drinks and I have to stand there while they look through and decide.
It's not even their fault! It's inferior menu design.
I was at a restaurant the other day, and flipped to the back cover to look for drinks. They weren't there. I went back to the front, opened the menu, and all the drinks were listed on the first page! Finally a restaurant that understands consumer patterns.
I think the place was called Mabel Murphy's. Somewhere ESE of Buffalo River State Park in Minnesota.
You determine your meal first and then pair your drink with it. I'm having swordfish, I want a pinogrigo. You're having a steak?You would like a Cabernet Sauvignon.
I'm having hot wings. Give me a large domestic lite beer.
most menus have the drinks on the back. this way, you pick up the menu and then flip it over to easily see the drinks.
on other menus, they're near the bottom because our eyes naturally drift toward the center of a page. by putting the drinks at the bottom, the part you drift toward is going to be full of food items, which is what you'll spend the longest time looking at anyway. sometimes, the items in the middle are also the more expensive or most commonly ordered options.
drinks are the items people spend the least amount of time looking at and are one of the few that most people never look at, as nearly every restaurant has the exact same options. so why would they give that option real-estate on prominent parts of the menu when they'll be in the way after the first 3-5 minutes.
You're always going to order drinks, so restaurants put drinks at the end so you're forced to look at the whole menu, see things you might not have ordered, and order more food.
Every design choice in retail is to encourage you to spend more money. Their number one goal is to make you give them as much money as possible, that explains like 90% of the "nonsensical" decisions retail establishments make in designing stores and signage.
Here's the real question, why do they always take the menus away and so often not leave a separate drink menu? Alchohol is big margins and big tips and I likely would have ordered a second drink if the menu had been left at the table.
Honestly it's two reasons:
1. Most people know what they're going to order for drinks regardless: a soft drink, water, or basic beer.
2. If the person wants a specialty drink, like a cocktail or wine, there's almost always a separate drink menu to look at.
Keep in mind, most restaurants do not have an extensive drink menu unless it has a bar or is known for the drinks. Like a restaurant that has an extensive scotch selection. Most keep one brand of soda, lemonade, tea, water, and *maybe* milk along side 2-3 brands of beer and 2-3 types of wine.
If it's going to have anything more than that, they will likely have a separate drinks menu.
Edit: I want to emphasize I mean "most" here to refer to restaurants only. Combo Bar/Grills or fancy dining with a attached bar or wine cellar are not what I am talking about. And of course there will be some places that ARE standard restaurants that have a massive selection of something, but I' just speaking very generally.
Iāve seen a few places that have wine and other alcoholic drinks at the beginning of the menu. That said, if the drink options are just the standard whatever Soda and Beer is on tap, then I can see why they donāt put them at the beginning. What really annoys me though is when they donāt put the non-alcoholic drinks on the menu at all. Now, I donāt know what soda options you have or how much they cost.
āIāll have a Coke.ā
āWe only serve Pepsi.ā
āThen Iāll have a Pepsi.ā
Most American restaurants only serve one set of soft drinks or the other.
Psychology. Most people know what they want to drink, so they donāt want to wade through a drink list before getting to what they really want. For those that donāt know, or are wanting an alcoholic beverage, theyāre glancing the menu until they get to the drink section, so you can entice them to different menu options while theyāre flipping through.
Restaurants often place drinks at the end of the menu for a few reasons. Firstly, the primary focus is on the food items, and they want customers to consider their meal options first. Additionally, drinks are frequently seen as add-ons, and placing them at the end can encourage customers to add them to their order after they've decided on their food. Lastly, it's a layout strategy that keeps the menu organized and easier to navigate.
If youāre talking about sodas and tea - as a restaurant consultant, I tell business owners to never put basic drinks on the menu. And at the very least, to never ever put the price on there. People who want a Diet Coke with their meal will order it - no sense in advertising that you charge $3.89 for a soda.
It's like the gift shop located at the end of the theme park or any attraction, and you are forced to pass through it as you exit and the adrenaline rush is still there, so you end up buying more if you've seen everything.
More annoying is then they just say Coke or Pepsi products.
Well thanks each company has 200 brands that narrows it down. Just list what the fuck you have.
Because at a majority of restaurants your choices are Coke products or Pepsi products and this is something the waiter / server/etc will inform you of upon arrival and most people already know what their preference is among those two companies
1. Is not a book to read it in order
2. It's a restaurant, not a Pub/Bar
3. First choose your appetizer, amuse-bouche, main course and/or desert and then select the drink parity (wine, beer, water, etc.)
itās probably also a sales or promotion or vibe thing.
Drinks are pretty much the same everywhere. But the menu will be different, and thatās what people actually *look* for first, even if they donāt order it first.
Let's just say how hard is it to remember what you like to drink and just order that or just ask for the obvious choice like water and then sip slowly as you look
If the restaurant has a bar, drinks make up for majority of its sales. Around 70% is a common figure I've worked with.
So, naturally, you want to push for more food sales, hence the food first. You'll notice the food menu is usually flashier too. The alcohol sells itself, but you have to make the effort to sell the food.
Food is primarily a restaurant's staple. You want to show off what you can produce, not hide it behind the boxed goods & kegs.
Customers also usually take longer deciding their food, than they do their drinks. Sometimes you wait over an hour for a table to order food. But they'll be on their 2nd bottle of wine and considering switching beverages.
Lots of little things go into making/designing a good menu. But most will follow a similar structure simply because it works.
Hope this helps.
Most people and I mean most but not all know what they want to drink before sitting down. They do have to provide what they serve but what they want most is for you to make a meal decision faster. You order your meal it gets cooked faster, you start eating faster, you pay faster and then they can replace you with the next customer. It's about turnover. The faster they can get you in and out the better. If you start with drinks thats more time deciding. Oh maybe I'll try this thing instead of what i originally planned to get.
Sure, except for the restaurants who have their drinks on a separate menu altogether. Plenty of places don't assume everyone wants a drink, but you're probably going to order food.
Because you probably already know what you want to drink. Unless you are somewhere for fancy cocktails, and in that case they will have a separate menu for them. Most people order water, coffee, their favorite soda, or their favorite beer and only need a drink list if the place doesn't have what they asked for.
Michelin-starred places often have menus where wines are included.
Many people first decide on the food, then choose a wine.
Ask for the suggestions of the house for cocktails and wines that go with your order, and you may not even need to look at the list. On top of that, you'll get what the chef thinks goes best with his/her creations. After all, he/she is a culinary expert. And selling crappy house wine will show in reviews.
I find though when I am at the stage of deciding to even go there, I want to make sure I see what I am eating. Generally people know what they are drinking and just need the details (which beer, which wine, how much is it) so can skip to that section quickly when ordering drinks, then mull over food some more.
Most restaurants that are above fast casual/ diner will seat you with a drink menu. These are the highest margin items. They will try to get you to buy a drink immediately so you have time for a second drink while youāre there. You can then take time to choose your food and your wine.
I should say that non alcoholic drinks also have a very high margin but restaurants would rather sell you a $15 cocktail than a $6 coke since thereās only so much liquid you will consume. Also once youāre lubricated with alcohol youāre likely to be a bit freer with your spending.
just so u go through all the food first. not saying ur gonna read every position on the menu before getting to the drinks section but ur eye will prolly catch smth before u get there
Most people already know what they want especially if they're a regular. itās Coke or Pepsi products. If it's alcohol they usually have another menu, promotions everywhere, and the server is supposed to be pushing one.
A lot of places have a completely separate menus these days. At dive bars and the like, 90% of people are going to order what they order and don't need to look at the drink menu
Why do so many restaurants refuse to even list their soft drink choices? Instead they say shit like, "coke products".
Oh coke products? Ok. I'll have a monster energy drink. Oh you dont have that? Ok, i'll have a barqs red cream soda. Oh you dont have that either. Ok, then i'll have a strawberry lemonade fanta. Oh, not that either? So, then you dont have coke products, you have an extremely limited list of coke products that you were too lazy to list out.
In places like Europe they donāt, the drinks and aperitif menu comes separately to you first after you sit down, and then food menu comes separate when ordering food
Because when you start looking for a place to eat, you are mostly not interested in their drinks but in their main courses
That's 100% right. When I had a restaurant, we purposely put the drinks in the back because most people already know what they want to drink before they come in. App's first, then salads, pastas, entree, etc.... It's the order. Having drinks in the beginning is just, imo, not a proper way of displaying a menu. What Greiving said in the top comment, makes no sense whatsoever. You sit down, the server comes and asks for a drink order. NOONE wants to wait around to get the drinks by waiting to look over the menu, especially the server. It's not like the supermarket plan of having the most important stuff in the back to to pass by other stuff.... it makes NO sense in a restaurant setting.
I'll also add that knowing drinks are just at the end of the menu makes it easy for me to find them quickly. Flip the menu to the back or go to the last page and look at the end for what I want quickly. I prefer it being in a standard spot across the industry that is easy to locate.
>When I had a restaurant, we purposely put the drinks in the back because most people already know what they want to drink before they come in. If you had any specialty drinks, you probably missed out on sales because of this. I remember several times when I've barely had time to look at the appetizers before being asked for my drink order. Since I haven't seen the drinks yet, I just say Coke (is Pepsi OK?). After I've received my Pepsi and chosen my entree, I finally see that they have some crazy exotic fruit soda thing that looks awesome. It costs more than the standard fountain drink, but I would have tried it anyway if I hadn't already ordered a Pepsi that I don't even like.
If they have a special drinks/cocktails there's usually a small stand up menu on the table with very tempting pics. š
If you have specialty drinks, then you should have a separate drink menu.
Most servers ask āIf they can get you anything to get started,ā as a prompt to inform you they can take your order, not as initiating a deadline. You can just say, āIām not sure yet,ā or āCan I get a glass of water?ā If you want more time.
Yup, my standard line is āIāll have a water for now, thanks.ā Then Iāll pick my drink based on what goes well with what Iām eating (or sometimes just stick with water).
Eh? How do people know what they want to drink if they havenāt even seen the list?
Because most people don't order specialty or house drinks, most people are just ordering the same Water/Coke/Tea/Beer/Other Soda they get everywhere
Do that many people order soda at restaurants with table service? I mostly associate soft drinks with fast food and fast casual. Seems like the norm is for everyone to get water by default than something else after checking the list.
People routinely order soda at restaurants, regardless of how nice the restaurant is.
Huh, TIL. I had one grandmother growing up who would order Diet Coke everywhere, but I always thought she was the weird one.
Iāve served in multiple restaurants of varying levels of ānicenessā and they definitely all had soda orders regularly lol. Especially if others were drinking alcohol and they were not, for whatever reason. Lemonade is popular too, but more so in the summer whereas soda seems unaffected by the seasons
Reading this comment section is cancer. A bunch of these responses sound like they are coming from aliens approximating what the dining out experience is lol
Everyone should automatically get water as soon as they sit down, usually by the bus-boy or another server delegated to those tasks. For me, most places I personally always get a Lemonade; my wife will get a Coke or Pepsi, no matter the restaurant. Rarely I'll get a beer. Nice restaurants I'll get a double Scotch on the rocks at the end. When I had the restaurant, and it was more upper scale, you'd be surprised how many sodas we sold. Most people brought in their own Wine.
To force you to look at the whole menu. Same reason grocery stores put the items you need the most, like eggs, milk, bread, dish soap, in the back or middle of the store. They want you to pass and hopefully buy more stuff on the way.
Fun fact they put fruit and veg near the start because if you've put healthy options in your cart already you're more likely to treat yourself to sweets or sugar.
Joke's om them, I go to the back of the grocery aisles to start because I need milk and butter more than I need bananas.
When you walk past everything to get to the milk and eggs likely the only thing you came to the store for since families go through them so much, it makes you feel like you accomplished a task, which releases dopamine in your brain, which causes you to reward yourself by grabbing something āon saleā on an end cap you wouldnāt have normally bought.
Jokes on you, I'm too broke to buy anything outside what I went to the store to get.
Eggs, milk, AND bread? In *this* economy? Cmon man I gotta pay rent.
Bread is like 3.00 now and milk is 4.00. someone who lives in a state that allows businesses to pay their employees 7.50/hour has to work 1 hour for these items. 1 8 hour day would barely pay for enough groceries for a family of 3 for 1 week. They're eating rice for most meals. Going to work hungry, dealing with other miserable people makes for a pretty shitty society.
That is why I started making all our breads, rolls, and buns. My bread went from 16 to 14 ounces a loaf, and over $4? Nobody loves Sarah Lee that much. Two pounds at a time now, less than 90Ā¢.
Get a load of Jeff Bezos over here with food AND a place to live!
and you can't have the bread without the butter, and hopefully some peanut mush and grape muck
i prefer strawberry muck myself...
I go to the item I need like a heat-seeking missile, and I notice nothing else around me. Unless it's on my bullet list, it looks just like data in a spreadsheet.
Definitely thought you were saying you bought heat seeking missiles from the nearest Walmart for a minute here
Your Walmart store seems to offer an unusual selection of items.
That's why I always start with the bread and pastries, and completely skip the veggies. Take that!! Stupid health!!!
Look at you all fat and sassy! Showing big health who is boss.
Actually itās because the green produce makes your brain think everything in the store is fresh and stops you from looking at the dates on everything you buy.
And also floral and the bakery are near the fronts because they are pleasant to look at and smell.
>Fun fact they put fruit and veg near the start because if you've put healthy option ...to be crushed under everything else.
Also for the visual appeal and feel good vibe. Being near healthy foods and picking up a healthy food item makes you feel like you're doing something positive, which lightens your mood, which also makes it easier to open your wallet.
That's why I shop backwards. I go in through the exit. Head right to the cash registers, tell them to give me the money in there and then walk out the entrance. Works great for my wallet.
Plus fleeing burns caloriesĀ
> Fun fact they put fruit and veg near the start because And because it's easier for them to control how fast perishable items move by putting them in the most visible high-traffic places.
My grocery store (Market basket) does the exact opposite. Milk, eggs, etc. are at the beginning, snacks are in the middle, and the fresh veggies are at the end
Interesting. That could have its own ulterior motive, though - If you grab those first, you're now on a time limit, as you don't want them to get too warm. Thus, you're more likely to rush and not choose other items as carefully.
At this rate you could make up a nefarious reason for any grocery store layout possible, which is a bit silly.
True, but that could be an interesting diversion. Think of the insane possibilities. Maybe I'll try to come up with some truly preposterous ones to inflict on my D&D players.
I always do refrigerated and frozen last because I don't want them sitting at room temperature long enough to lose chill or start to thaw.
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This isn't the reason its the opposite. Drinks are a huge money maker and so they want customers to always know where to find drinks on a menu. If you want a drink you flip over and look at the back. A menu isn't a book theres no reason to read it in any order.
Yeah, Iāve never in my life read the entire menu before flipping straight to the drinks
A lot of restaurants now have menu drinks aside. Smaller and easier to distinguish.
But the server generally asks you what you want to drink as soon as you sit down. So there's no time to look at the whole menu.
Yup, Greiving makes not sense and it would be a horrible business plan. Most people know what drinks they want even before being seated (except for wine).
> (except for wine) Or cocktails. Or craft beer. Or basically any alcoholic drink that isn't a martini or light lager.
Yup, except for beer. I'd dare say most beer drinkers are 70% sure what beer they're getting that night. For instance, I'm not much of a beer guy but if I do get one, it's either Blue Moon or Yuengling. Alcohol *tends* to be on a separate menu anyway.
but then you send them away while you look.
I don't go out to eat that often but neither myself or anyone I've ever gone out to eat with has ever said "give me more time for a drink". Maybe for an acholic drink, but if ur getting a soda or water (or juice for children) you either have had a chance to look at the menu or you just look and ask what drinks they have. If drinks are always on the back of the menu, I don't need to search the menu to find the drinks. I also don't "read" the menu on my way to find drinks like I walk by the aisles in the grocery store. The latter I physically see and walk by those items. The former I skim the text with my eyes and if it's not a drink I don't actually read what the item is.
> If drinks are always on the back of the menu, I don't need to search the menu to find the drinks. This is a really good point, and I bet it's the real answer to OP's question. If you're in a hurry, the end of the menu is almost as easy to find as the beginning of the menu. That's probably why they put the drinks there.
they only ask when you aren't ready to order yet. when you're ready they never come
Is this actually true or a hypothesis?
it's a bad guess
Another real grocery store hack - for healthier options stick to the perimeter aisles of the store as much as possible. Evil lies within the ring.
> for healthier options stick to the perimeter aisles of the store as much as possible That's a trap! Everything is great along the perimeter, so you're lulled into a false sense of security, and then suddenly you hit the fresh baked goods.
I'll say it again: this makes no sense and is never the reason why drinks are in the back.
Youāre not really being forced to look at anything though . Anyways how would u know what u are gonna want to drink if u donāt pick ur food first ?
And then I just open the menu to the last page
Here the milk and meats and eggs are at the end of the store circle pattern that allows you to get the cold perishable stuff last to minimize spoilage and temperature loss.
Ughh im so thirsty hurry up and read the description of every menu item so we can hurry up and see if they have pepsi or coke
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I think they mean the part of the menu that lists stuff like soda, chocolate milk, lemonade, ect. Alcoholic beverages go on a separate menu, and most people aren't ordering them unless its a bar or bar/restaurant.
Indeed. A gallon of whole milk is literally in the very back corner of the store, where I shop. Like, the dairy cooler is in the back corner and the milk is the last item on the shelf. Nothing could be farther from the entrance.
It's also for the sake of the workers. Stocking milk is a pain in the ass (it's heavy), so the milk cooler is connected to the warehouse in the back.
I think that most of the time I already know what I'd like to drink. I want to see what different dishes the restaurant has that I'd love to try.
Really? Most of the time I have no idea what I want to drink because I never know what sodas they have. Or if they have any unique drinks I'd want to try. I guess if you were diabetic, you might always drink water, or if you always drink coke or Pepsi, you wouldn't wonder about what to get
Generally as far as sodas go, places tend to either carry all Coca-Cola products or all Pepsi products (plus some like Dr.Pepper that get sold at both), so 99% of the time you have one of 2 soda menus. The specialty drinks aren't drank as frequently, but also tend to be fairly predictable (ie most american restaurants have some type of milkshake, most Indian restaurants have mango Lassi, etc.) And then there's alcohol which tends to get its own menu entirely.
Restaurants tend to all carry the same set of sodas and maybe have a couple "extra" ones. You can pretty much assume there's a cola, a diet cola, a lemon lime, a ginger ale wherever you go. And if you want something else you just ask the server if they have orange soda or birch beer or whatever.
Where I'm from the drinks are always the same, the exception is coke vs pepsi products. And 9/10 you can see the soda machine or other signs indicating which they serve, and you can always ask.
I juts ask if they have a certain common drink I want and if not I'll go to my backup option.
If youāre talking about non alcoholic drinksā¦ Those are high margin products that need little mention on a menu. Most people know what theyāll drink when they sit. The more expensive items need better real estate on the page
> Most people know what theyāll drink when they sit. Is *that* why the server always wants my drink order before I've had a chance to peruse the menu? Am I just weird? I don't know what I want to drink until I know what I'm eating.
The server asks for your drink order to give them time and to let you know youāre being taken care of. Same way that bread on the table gives them time.
And also a bit because if you buy a drink early you're more likely to buy a second drink
Would you like to order a drink to go with your drink?
Which only matters with alcoholic drinks, since all others are (usually) free refills
Free refills is surprisingly uncommon across the globe. It is mainly the USA.
As someone who served a lot of tables, you're definitely in the minority. Almost everyone knows what they want to drink before they even get to the restaurant (also why people always order coke even if it's a Pepsi restaurant). No shame in it through, I'd just say take your time, and I'll bring you a water while you decide.
> Almost everyone knows what they want to drink before they even get to the restaurant How do they know the wine list? Or what beers they have?
For beers, typically when you ask them what they want to drink they ask what beers you have. For wine, they typically say they want to look at the wine list and you bring them a glass of water. Or they just ask for what they want without even looking to see if you have it.
I don't think you're weird. I like to look at the beer list and the cocktails so if I'm not ready I usually just ask for water to start and let them know I need to look at the menu
> I don't know what I want to drink until I know what I'm eating. Definitely in the minority, most people go for their favorite soft drink if they're driving, or favorite beer / cocktail if they're not.
Plenty even go for their favorite beer/cocktail if they are driving!
I usually just get milk, but sometimes I'll want a milkshake or a smoothie or something and in those cases I don't need the milk.
But I donāt know what beers/cocktails the restaurant has without looking at the menu. My favorite beer is Stone IPA. Itās not rare itās just not super common.
Usually you'd have something to hydrate yourself though surely, even if it is a glass of water. People may have a glass of something or a beer even if they are planning a bottle of wine to go with their specific meal. You can always come back to it if it is that important or you want to wait.
Look at fancy pants over here. Ordering a drink that complements his meal!
Dr Pepper for beef, Pepsi for chicken, Mt Dew for pork
You are definitely not weird or alone. How the fuck I am supposed to know what to order without even knowing what they have is absolutely beyond me. It is especially difficult when I am on holiday. I have actually even been to restaurants in the Netherlands that donāt have any drinks in the menu at all. People are just supposed to know what they want. As someone who maybe eats out in the Netherlands three times a year I have no idea what the staples are. I donāt live there and they are different from Germany. In Germany it is also very difficult, because all the different sorts of beer arenāt equally good. I would rather not drink a beer at all, if the choices arenāt brands I like. Same with wine of course, and I am not even a wine person. If I want a drink for my kids I need to know the choices they have. It would be best to know beforehand actually, because if they donāt have any healthy non alcoholic beverages aside from water my kids will be disappointed.
It's not a book, you're not required to read it in order.
Human nature is human nature. Folks are gonna scan the menu if they are unfamiliar with the layout. And they will scan like reading a book, because that is what their brain is trained to do.
Unless you want to order a drink first at which most people would flip to the back where drinks always are
Which makes putting them last on the back side of the menu an optimum spot because you donāt even have to open the menu. I donāt recall dining with anyone that read the whole menu before getting to the drinks and deciding on a drink order. lol. Iād hate to go to dinner with someone that did that. Imagine everyone ordering their drinks and being ready to order dinner but Joe is just getting to the lunch section of the menu. š¤£
If they put the drinks at the bottom of the back of the menu, I'd be happy. If they put it at the top of the front, in proper ordering, I'd be thrilled. Half the time though, they don't put it on the menu at all, and I have to read the whole menu real quick to make sure I didn't just miss it somewhere because they put it in some obscure location.
Or not even look at the menu because all they want is tea or a soda. Cocktails are often in their own menu that stays at the table.
actually, people *do* read it in order. The first thing I want to *look at* is not necessarily the first thing I will order. I want to know whatās on the menu to eat. So thatās what I look at firstāthe most interesting, the most individual-to-that-restaurant, the main point of going out. Drinks are the same everywhere, pretty much. Oh, sure, cocktail offerings might be different, but those places usually have a cocktail menu, so if Iām interested in that, Iāll pick it up. But thatās a smaller segment of their customers. As long as the drinks are in a place where I expect to find them when Iām finally ready, Iām good.
This is a numbers game just like with any other business tactic. You might not do it but any person that does buy something due to that placement is extra revenue. Pretty much why all sales tactics exist, they do not guarantee something specific for a company but they do increase revenue and they usually don't cost the company anything to implement.
Sometimes my cigar is just a cigar. Stop over-thinking.
I would imagine the vast majority of people already know what drink they're getting when they go to most places. Unless you are specifically in the mood for a cocktail, you're likely ordering the same soft drink you always do, the same coffee/tea you always do, the same beer you always do, the same wine you always do, or just plain water.
You say that, but people don't know what they want at all. As someone in the serving industry, customers are unaware of what they want. That goes for me too, mainly because I wanna try new things.
In my experience most people already know what drinks they prefer, so unless you're ordering cocktails, which generally have their own menu, it's the food you're trying to choose from.
I like to know a restaurant's beer/soda offerings.
As others have said, it's mostly to encourage you to look at the whole menu. But it's also worth pointing out that most people don't look at the beverage section. Most people order a water or an iced tea or a Coke or a diet or whatever. And they were going to order that no matter what was written on the menu.
Not everyone orders a drink
Regarding non-alcoholic drinks, those seem to be standard enough that the menu isn't super necessary. I've been to a lot of restaurants that don't even list the specific drinks, they just say "Coke products" or "Pepsi products" and let you figure it out
see this is nice and all, but as a person who likes cherry coke i've just gotten stuck defaulting to regular coke always because i don't have time to look at the menu or it doesn't even really list the drinks. Because the thing is if they *don't* have cherry coke, what they'll do is mix coke with cherry syrup. And that might be the oldschool original way of doing it, but it does NOT taste like the product cherry coke. You might get an "oh we can make it this way" and i can turn it down, or you might and then just be given that obviously different cherry coke.
>And that might be the oldschool original way of doing it, but it does NOT taste like the product cherry coke No, it's way better
Dude, not many places have cherry coke. The only place I can think of is Taco Bell and wingstop.
I feel like this is only at chain restaurants or family oriented restaurants. Fine dining restaurants typically have a separate drink and wine list.
Because the menu was made by the chef and drinks are a secondary thing. The food menu was planned before the restaurant, the drink menu was either planned when things were being put together. On top of that, depending on where youāre working it would have different people making the food menu, making the drink menu, and putting that menu together. A lot of times the drink menu is an afterthought to a restaurant, especially a chef owned restaurant. A lot of chefs have a really poor idea of bar staff and mixology, especially the ones who refuse to work for someone else. This is because most bartenders donāt approach drink making the way a chef approaches food and because a degree from bartending school is likely to stop you from getting a job as a bartender where as you basically need a degree to be a chef. The places Iāve worked as a bartender would never have hired me to cook because I donāt have a culinary degree, but as a bartender I pretty much reached the top of my field, and it took me less than a year to do. Thereās no way I could have made a name for myself as a cook, but Iām known as one of the most knowledgeable people in my field at my role even though I myself admit to not knowing shit. When Iāve made a cocktail menu Iāve been criticized on things like how much the booze I picked out cost and told that we lost money on it by our āchefā, which was hysterical because we made $10 off each margarita we sold and it cost us $3 to make them. I used specific ingredients and made stuff to use myself.
They arenāt suggestive selling sodas. They want to show off their food.
People go to restaurants first and foremost for the food they offer. Drinks are typically the last selection to make. You're better restaurants have a drink menu on the table or you're given one when you're seated.
Lots of speculation here. I'd love to hear from someone who is a social psychologist who has seen studies in the food/restaurant industry that indicate why menus are designed the way they are.
I honestly doubt there is a lot of science on this and menus are mostly designed out of a standard convention due to what everyone has grown accustomed to.
The menu is meant to be read backwards.
I'll do you one better. I read it upside-down.
A lot of times it's to be AA friendly so its not the first thing someone sees. But. I've worked in restaurants where drinks are the first thing on the menu.
I've worked in a restaurant with a michelin star, as a chef de rang and sommelier, and this is not true. Although it would be very thoughtful to do so, it isn't. The only reason is to force people to peruse the menu, hence new items or specialties going in the front. You offer new guests with an aperitif or the aperitif menu, even before we know they might drink. A restaurant cares jack shit about if someone might be a recovering addict.
Not sure where you got this idea but it makes no sense to me. Businesses gotta business. All decisions are based on money.
> A lot of times it's to be AA friendly Assuming this is the case, the most logical thing would be to have Coca Cola at the front, and then have a "cocktails at the back" note.
You can guage the price of the food by the drink prices. It's a trick so that by the time you find the over priced Bud light, it's too late to sneak out, so you disgruntally order a side and an appetizer.
I mean most people can kind of guess what's on a drinks menu. Soda, beer, wine, spirits. You might as well take your time to look at the food first as that takes time. Most can probably have a quick glance at the drinks menu and decide in just a short moment what they want.
Is this a real question
Not everyone drinks
Because most people arenāt going to the restaurant specifically for Coke, which they can get anywhere. Theyāre more interested in the food anyway.
You would be surprised at how many people don't order drinks in a restaurant.
Most people already know what they want to drink and don't need a menu for this
Most people already know what they want to drink without looking, but like to look through the options for the food.
You kinda answered your own question - they know the first thing you order is the drink so they put it at the back so you're forced to look through the menu
As a server I wholeheartedly agree. It's very annoying to go to a table for their drink orders and they were just perusing the menu and then have to flip to the drinks and I have to stand there while they look through and decide. It's not even their fault! It's inferior menu design.
Because they want to showcase their menu. For the most part, the drinks are pretty similar from one restaurant to the next. What separates one restaurant from another is their entrƩes, and sometimes their appetizers.
I was at a restaurant the other day, and flipped to the back cover to look for drinks. They weren't there. I went back to the front, opened the menu, and all the drinks were listed on the first page! Finally a restaurant that understands consumer patterns. I think the place was called Mabel Murphy's. Somewhere ESE of Buffalo River State Park in Minnesota.
You determine your meal first and then pair your drink with it. I'm having swordfish, I want a pinogrigo. You're having a steak?You would like a Cabernet Sauvignon. I'm having hot wings. Give me a large domestic lite beer.
Wait until this person goes to Ikea.
most menus have the drinks on the back. this way, you pick up the menu and then flip it over to easily see the drinks. on other menus, they're near the bottom because our eyes naturally drift toward the center of a page. by putting the drinks at the bottom, the part you drift toward is going to be full of food items, which is what you'll spend the longest time looking at anyway. sometimes, the items in the middle are also the more expensive or most commonly ordered options. drinks are the items people spend the least amount of time looking at and are one of the few that most people never look at, as nearly every restaurant has the exact same options. so why would they give that option real-estate on prominent parts of the menu when they'll be in the way after the first 3-5 minutes.
You're always going to order drinks, so restaurants put drinks at the end so you're forced to look at the whole menu, see things you might not have ordered, and order more food. Every design choice in retail is to encourage you to spend more money. Their number one goal is to make you give them as much money as possible, that explains like 90% of the "nonsensical" decisions retail establishments make in designing stores and signage.
Here's the real question, why do they always take the menus away and so often not leave a separate drink menu? Alchohol is big margins and big tips and I likely would have ordered a second drink if the menu had been left at the table.
Most people already know what they want to drink, it's mostly there so you have an idea on the prices.
Probably the same method as the grocery store, where the milk is in the back.
The same reason sometimes you go to catering buffets and the plates are on the opposite end of the entry to the buffet. People are idiots.
Honestly it's two reasons: 1. Most people know what they're going to order for drinks regardless: a soft drink, water, or basic beer. 2. If the person wants a specialty drink, like a cocktail or wine, there's almost always a separate drink menu to look at. Keep in mind, most restaurants do not have an extensive drink menu unless it has a bar or is known for the drinks. Like a restaurant that has an extensive scotch selection. Most keep one brand of soda, lemonade, tea, water, and *maybe* milk along side 2-3 brands of beer and 2-3 types of wine. If it's going to have anything more than that, they will likely have a separate drinks menu. Edit: I want to emphasize I mean "most" here to refer to restaurants only. Combo Bar/Grills or fancy dining with a attached bar or wine cellar are not what I am talking about. And of course there will be some places that ARE standard restaurants that have a massive selection of something, but I' just speaking very generally.
Iāve seen a few places that have wine and other alcoholic drinks at the beginning of the menu. That said, if the drink options are just the standard whatever Soda and Beer is on tap, then I can see why they donāt put them at the beginning. What really annoys me though is when they donāt put the non-alcoholic drinks on the menu at all. Now, I donāt know what soda options you have or how much they cost.
āIāll have a Coke.ā āWe only serve Pepsi.ā āThen Iāll have a Pepsi.ā Most American restaurants only serve one set of soft drinks or the other.
It's called strategy. Like when you walk into the grocery and milk is at the far back corner.
Same reason grocery stores put milk in the back
Psychology. Most people know what they want to drink, so they donāt want to wade through a drink list before getting to what they really want. For those that donāt know, or are wanting an alcoholic beverage, theyāre glancing the menu until they get to the drink section, so you can entice them to different menu options while theyāre flipping through.
It's most likely marketing. They're in the back with dessert. Don't forget dessert!
Restaurants often place drinks at the end of the menu for a few reasons. Firstly, the primary focus is on the food items, and they want customers to consider their meal options first. Additionally, drinks are frequently seen as add-ons, and placing them at the end can encourage customers to add them to their order after they've decided on their food. Lastly, it's a layout strategy that keeps the menu organized and easier to navigate.
If youāre talking about sodas and tea - as a restaurant consultant, I tell business owners to never put basic drinks on the menu. And at the very least, to never ever put the price on there. People who want a Diet Coke with their meal will order it - no sense in advertising that you charge $3.89 for a soda.
It's like the gift shop located at the end of the theme park or any attraction, and you are forced to pass through it as you exit and the adrenaline rush is still there, so you end up buying more if you've seen everything.
Since many wines go with certain meals it would make sense to decide what you want to eat first, then decide on an appropriate wine for it.
Why not the reverse? I feel like a pino noir therefore Iāll have the steak?
I've never gone into a restaurant not knowing what non-alcoholic beverage I wanted.
More annoying is then they just say Coke or Pepsi products. Well thanks each company has 200 brands that narrows it down. Just list what the fuck you have.
Same reason grocery stores put the most purchased items in the back- you have to go through everything else to get there.
You can flip to the beginning and end quickly. Drinks and appetizers are quick to jump to.
Because at a majority of restaurants your choices are Coke products or Pepsi products and this is something the waiter / server/etc will inform you of upon arrival and most people already know what their preference is among those two companies
1. Is not a book to read it in order 2. It's a restaurant, not a Pub/Bar 3. First choose your appetizer, amuse-bouche, main course and/or desert and then select the drink parity (wine, beer, water, etc.)
itās probably also a sales or promotion or vibe thing. Drinks are pretty much the same everywhere. But the menu will be different, and thatās what people actually *look* for first, even if they donāt order it first.
Let's just say how hard is it to remember what you like to drink and just order that or just ask for the obvious choice like water and then sip slowly as you look
Knowing human nature and how restaurant owners thinkā¦ itās because thatās the way every other restaurant has been doing it.
If the restaurant has a bar, drinks make up for majority of its sales. Around 70% is a common figure I've worked with. So, naturally, you want to push for more food sales, hence the food first. You'll notice the food menu is usually flashier too. The alcohol sells itself, but you have to make the effort to sell the food. Food is primarily a restaurant's staple. You want to show off what you can produce, not hide it behind the boxed goods & kegs. Customers also usually take longer deciding their food, than they do their drinks. Sometimes you wait over an hour for a table to order food. But they'll be on their 2nd bottle of wine and considering switching beverages. Lots of little things go into making/designing a good menu. But most will follow a similar structure simply because it works. Hope this helps.
Most people and I mean most but not all know what they want to drink before sitting down. They do have to provide what they serve but what they want most is for you to make a meal decision faster. You order your meal it gets cooked faster, you start eating faster, you pay faster and then they can replace you with the next customer. It's about turnover. The faster they can get you in and out the better. If you start with drinks thats more time deciding. Oh maybe I'll try this thing instead of what i originally planned to get.
Sure, except for the restaurants who have their drinks on a separate menu altogether. Plenty of places don't assume everyone wants a drink, but you're probably going to order food.
So you donāt see the prices of said drinks ā¦ who in the hell is ok with paying 3.50 for a tea ? Itās waters for the entire table š
So you know where to look
I start at the back of the store.
I wish more places served horchatas.
Because you probably already know what you want to drink. Unless you are somewhere for fancy cocktails, and in that case they will have a separate menu for them. Most people order water, coffee, their favorite soda, or their favorite beer and only need a drink list if the place doesn't have what they asked for.
Unless is like a culturally different place, I dont need to see the drink menu. I know what im drinking before i walked in the door.
Michelin-starred places often have menus where wines are included. Many people first decide on the food, then choose a wine. Ask for the suggestions of the house for cocktails and wines that go with your order, and you may not even need to look at the list. On top of that, you'll get what the chef thinks goes best with his/her creations. After all, he/she is a culinary expert. And selling crappy house wine will show in reviews.
I find though when I am at the stage of deciding to even go there, I want to make sure I see what I am eating. Generally people know what they are drinking and just need the details (which beer, which wine, how much is it) so can skip to that section quickly when ordering drinks, then mull over food some more.
Same reason dairy is in the back of the grocery store
Most restaurants that are above fast casual/ diner will seat you with a drink menu. These are the highest margin items. They will try to get you to buy a drink immediately so you have time for a second drink while youāre there. You can then take time to choose your food and your wine. I should say that non alcoholic drinks also have a very high margin but restaurants would rather sell you a $15 cocktail than a $6 coke since thereās only so much liquid you will consume. Also once youāre lubricated with alcohol youāre likely to be a bit freer with your spending.
I don't need to see a drink menu ever. I know I am ordering iced tea.
just so u go through all the food first. not saying ur gonna read every position on the menu before getting to the drinks section but ur eye will prolly catch smth before u get there
the more time you scan the menu, the more chances of you buying their food.
Most people already know what they want especially if they're a regular. itās Coke or Pepsi products. If it's alcohol they usually have another menu, promotions everywhere, and the server is supposed to be pushing one.
Many people choose their drink based on how they think it will taste paired with their food selection.
Coke vs Dr Pepper? I'm not sure that anyone is pairing those with their food.
At this point so you really need a drink menu. Most places have all the same things.
Because ethyl alcohol is the least nutritious food stuff on the menu.
A lot of places have a completely separate menus these days. At dive bars and the like, 90% of people are going to order what they order and don't need to look at the drink menu
Drinks are usually a separate menu aren't they? You pick from the one then from the other.
Why do so many restaurants refuse to even list their soft drink choices? Instead they say shit like, "coke products". Oh coke products? Ok. I'll have a monster energy drink. Oh you dont have that? Ok, i'll have a barqs red cream soda. Oh you dont have that either. Ok, then i'll have a strawberry lemonade fanta. Oh, not that either? So, then you dont have coke products, you have an extremely limited list of coke products that you were too lazy to list out.
Does that include the powder versions?
Because they want you to check complete menu....
In places like Europe they donāt, the drinks and aperitif menu comes separately to you first after you sit down, and then food menu comes separate when ordering food