How to make your restaurant's Father's Day menu

A Sunday that spills into the weekend

Father’s Day is always a Sunday, but not every family can make that day. Some come on Saturday, others book Friday dinner. A set menu that you offer across the weekend has advantages:

• You spread the bookings instead of squeezing them into one service.
• You order with margin: the same menu, with the same dishes, over several days.
• The family knows what they’ll pay, and whoever is treating dad gets no surprises with the bill.
• The kitchen works with few dishes and lots of mise en place.

Structure of the menu

A Father’s Day menu usually revolves around a great main:

1. Sharing starters: two or three dishes for the table, with seasonal produce such as asparagus, new potatoes or the first tomatoes.
2. Choice of main: a steak or a roast, a fish and a vegetarian option. If you offer a special cut, such as a côte de boeuf to share, list it with a supplement.
3. Dessert: a classic pudding, such as sticky toffee pudding or a cheesecake.
4. Drinks and coffee: a pint, a craft beer flight or a glass of red.

If you cook over charcoal, make the most of it: meat, fish and vegetables can all come off the same grill, and the menu hangs together.

Price and what’s included

The price is per head:

£42 per head · Three courses and a pint or a glass of wine

• Supplements next to the dish, such as “Côte de boeuf for two (+£15)”, never on the bill without warning.
• Drinks: which wine, how much beer or soft drink, and whether coffee is included.
• Children: a children’s menu with its own price and the age it applies to.
• Days: write on the menu which days you serve it, for example “Friday 18 to Sunday 20 June”.

In the UK, the price shown includes VAT; in the US, say whether tax and gratuity are added.

Father’s Day and early summer in 2027

In 2027, Father’s Day comes three weeks after the Spring bank holiday weekend, with the beer garden season in full swing: if you have outdoor tables, decide in advance whether the set menu is served outside too. In the US, Juneteenth falls on Saturday 19 June (the federal holiday is observed on Friday 18 June), so many families have a long weekend.

The practical thing is to prepare it alongside your summer menu, in May, and decide which dishes the two share. A good grilled fish, for example, works on both. See how to make a summer menu.

Allergens on a grill menu

Grilled meat on its own contains none of the 14 allergens. The allergens are in what comes with it:

• Sauces: béarnaise has eggs, milk and often sulphites from the vinegar or wine; peppercorn sauce usually has milk; chimichurri, sulphites from the vinegar.
• Burgers: the bun means gluten and often sesame.
• Coleslaw and slaws: eggs from the mayonnaise and often mustard.
• Sticky toffee pudding and cheesecake: gluten, eggs and milk.
• Fish: fish, obviously, and in some sauces and dressings too.
• Wine: sulphites. Beer: gluten.

If you use bought-in sauces, rubs or marinades, check their labels: that’s where mustard, celery and sulphites tend to hide. There’s more in allergens on menus.

When to prepare it

For Sunday 20 June 2027, a sensible timeline:

• Mid-May: menu, price and days finalised, alongside the summer menu.
• Late May: on the door and online. Bookings open.
• The week before: order adjusted to bookings and a check of allergies.

You’ll find all the dates in the restaurant calendar.

Design and formats

The Embers style, made for steakhouses and grills, suits a menu built around meat. If your place is more classic, try Brasserie. Formats that work:

• A5 on each table or alongside your usual menu.
• A4 or A3 on the door from late May.
• Post and story to promote it on social media.

Write the date as a custom date (“Father’s Day · 20 June”) instead of the automatic date. If you run a steakhouse, there are more ideas in the steakhouse menu.

Make it with MenuDesign

Open the Father’s Day template, change the dishes, price and days, mark the allergens and download the PDF and the image for social media. There are more designs in the menu templates. Free, no sign-up.