Usual sections
- Kebabs and wraps: in pitta or wrapped, chicken, lamb or mixed, doner or shish.
- Falafel and veggie options.
- Platters and boxes: kebab with rice, chips and salad; boxes to take away.
- Lahmacun and Turkish pide, if you make them.
- Sauces, with their allergens.
- Sides and desserts: chips, hummus, baklava.
- Drinks: ayran, tea, soft drinks.
If you have only a few items, put kebabs, wraps and falafel in one section with the same columns. They’re easier to compare.
On its own or as a meal: two columns
It’s the question asked at the counter every day. Answer it with two price columns and the label once at the top of the section:
| On its own | Meal | |
|---|---|---|
| Chicken doner | 7 | 9.50 |
| Mixed doner wrap | 8 | 10.50 |
| Falafel wrap | 6.50 | 9 |
Example prices in pounds. Underneath, a note with what the meal includes and the extras: “Meal: with chips and a drink · Extra meat +1.50 · Extra cheese +0.80”. If you have two sizes (regular and large), add a third column or a separate row for each.
If you’re not sure about prices, the guide on how to price a menu shows how to work them out from your costs.
Meat, bread and sauce
- The meat: chicken, lamb or mixed. Call it what your supplier’s spec sheet calls it: if your “lamb doner” is a lamb-and-beef mix, the menu should say so, because mislabelled meat is a trading standards issue.
- The bread: pitta, wrap (dürüm), Turkish flatbread. A short explanation helps anyone who doesn’t know it: “Dürüm: wrapped in a thin flatbread”.
- The sauces: in a section of their own, each with its allergens, and a note: “One sauce included · Its allergens add to those of the dish”. That way you don’t have to repeat every combination on every line.
Turkish names (döner, şiş, dürüm, lahmacun, ayran, baklava) stay as they are; one line of description is enough for everyone to know what they’re ordering.
Allergens in a kebab shop
- Gluten: pitta, wraps, lahmacun, bulgur, baklava; and the meat if the product contains flour or breadcrumbs.
- Milk: yoghurt sauce, cheese, ayran, baklava; and many meats marinated in yoghurt or made with milk powder.
- Eggs: garlic sauce and white sauces made with mayonnaise.
- Sesame: tahini, hummus and seeded breads.
- Tree nuts: the pistachios and walnuts in baklava.
- Soybeans and mustard: in some meat products and bought-in sauces.
Doner meat is the tricky part: it almost always arrives ready-made and its recipe changes from one maker to the next. Ask for the spec sheet and mark it exactly as stated; if you change supplier, check the menu again. The fryer counts too, if you fry falafel and chips in the same oil.
Check every dish against your recipes and your suppliers’ spec sheets. More detail in the guide to allergens on menus.
Writing tips
- Few words per line: it’s read standing up, from a couple of metres away.
- Useful tags: spicy on the sauce that’s hot, vegan on the falafel and hummus if they are.
- One or two featured items: the house wrap or your best-selling meal.
- The same price format throughout.
- Opening hours in large type if you’re open late. In England and Wales, selling hot food between 11pm and 5am needs a late night refreshment licence, so check that yours covers the hours on your menu.
Format and style
- A3 poster or 16:9 screen behind the counter: people order looking at the wall.
- A4 on the tables, if you have them.
- Tri-fold for delivery or to put in the bag, with the phone number and opening hours on the front.
- Post or story to announce deals or a new dish.
The template’s style is Poster, with big lettering like a poster. Souk, with a Middle Eastern feel, Block, with chunky lettering and yellow, and Market, like a fish-market chalkboard, also suit fast food. More examples in menu templates.
Make it in MenuDesign
Open the kebab shop template, adjust the on-its-own and meal columns, add your sauces with their allergens and download the PDF or the image for your screen. Free, no sign-up, and saved in your browser for when prices change.
Frequently asked questions
How do I price a kebab on its own and as a meal?
With two columns, ‘On its own’ and ‘Meal’, and a note saying what the meal includes: ‘Meal: with chips and a drink’. If lamb costs more than chicken, put them on separate rows.
Which allergens does a kebab usually contain?
The bread, gluten; the yoghurt sauce, milk; the garlic sauce, eggs if it’s mayonnaise-based; falafel with hummus or tahini, sesame. Doner meat is usually a prepared product and can contain milk, soya, gluten or mustard depending on the maker: ask for the spec sheet.
Can I put ‘halal’ on the menu?
Only if it’s true and you can prove it: normally your meat supplier is certified and can give you the certificate. If you don’t have it, leave it off.