How to make a summer menu for your terrace or beer garden

A different menu for outside

The dining room menu rarely works outdoors. In summer, people want something fresh, quick and for sharing, and on a small table there’s no room for a four-page booklet. A well-planned summer menu:

• Fits on one sheet, both sides at most.
• Is grouped by moment: something light, plates to share, drinks and something sweet.
• Has few dishes that the kitchen can send out fast with the garden full.
• Puts drinks centre stage, because in summer they’re a big part of the bill.

Structure of the menu

1. Light bites: chilled soups such as gazpacho, salads with seasonal tomatoes, burrata, crudités and dips. Dishes that come out of the fridge in a minute.
2. Sharing plates: calamari, halloumi fries, chicken wings, fish tacos, nachos. With two prices, small and large.
3. Drinks: pints, a shandy, Pimm’s, a spritz, rosé by the glass, jugs of sangria, soft drinks, homemade lemonade and water. If you have summer cocktails, two or three are enough.
4. Ice cream and iced coffees: a sundae, a couple of sorbets and an iced latte.

If you want to highlight a dish, like a barbecue platter or a Sunday seafood special, mark it as recommended instead of adding another section.

Prices outside

What causes most questions in summer is the outdoor price:

• If you charge differently outside, make a separate outdoor menu with those prices and write it at the bottom. Customers need to know before they order.
• Small and large in two columns with headings. If a dish only comes in one size, leave the other empty.
• Jugs and bottles: say how many people a jug of Pimm’s or sangria serves, so nobody is surprised by the price.
• Final prices: in the UK, prices include VAT; in the US, say whether tax is added at the till. If you charge for bread or add a service charge, write it down.

Allergens on the summer menu

Cold dishes look harmless, but many contain allergens you might not expect:

• Gazpacho and chilled soups: gluten if they contain bread, sulphites from the vinegar, and celery in many recipes.
• Pesto: cheese means milk. Pine nuts aren’t one of the UK’s 14 allergens, but they are a tree nut on the FDA’s list in the US; other recipes use cashews or almonds, which are tree nuts everywhere.
• Fried plates: calamari are molluscs, whitebait and fish tacos are fish, and the batter usually means gluten and sometimes eggs. If the chips share the same oil, note the cross-contact.
• Wine, rosé, spritz and sangria: sulphites. Beer and lager: gluten.
• Ice cream: milk and, in nut flavours, tree nuts. Ask your supplier about cross-contact.

Mark every dish, even if it’s only on the menu for the summer: the information duties are the same.

When to prepare it

Outdoor season starts earlier than you think. In 2027 Easter falls from 26 to 29 March, and with good weather people already want to sit outside. A practical timeline:

• March: review prices and drinks suppliers before Easter.
• Early May bank holiday (3 May): summer menu finalised, printed and on social media.
• Spring bank holiday (31 May), also Memorial Day in the US: a good date to launch new dishes and open the peak season.
• September: take the high-summer dishes off and stretch the season with an autumn menu.

You’ll find the rest of the year’s dates in the restaurant calendar.

Formats that survive the summer

• A4 double-sided, laminated or in a sleeve: the toughest format.
• Slim A4: takes little room on small tables and can be held in one hand.
• A3 poster by the door or at the bar, so it can be seen from the street.
• Post and story to announce the new menu and the ice creams.

If you get visitors from abroad, translate the menu and explain dishes with local names, such as a ploughman’s or a Pimm’s.

Make it with MenuDesign

Open the summer menu template, with the Azulejo style, change the dishes and prices and download the PDF. If you’re by the sea, try the Beach Bar style; for a pub garden, the Pub style. There are more designs in the menu templates.