What Is a Tasting Menu?

Last updated on Oct 30, 2020
Jason Kurtz

Have you ever wondered how to highlight culinary art in your restaurant? If so, you might be interested in developing a tasting menu. Food lovers and critics are willing to travel to cities across the globe to experience the best a restaurant has to offer, and a tasting menu is the perfect way to highlight your signature dishes. Below, we've provided information on what a tasting menu is, the benefits of offering one in your restaurant, and everything you’ll need to know in order to create and serve one to your guests.

What Is a Tasting Menu?

Tasting Menu

A tasting menu, or degustation menu, consists of several bite-sized dishes that are served to guests as a single meal. They were inspired by the French term degustation, which is defined as the careful tasting of various foods with a focus on the senses and culinary art. The key distinction between a traditional menu and a tasting menu is that you aren't just paying for a meal, you're paying for an experience. In fact, many guests will order them for milestone events such as birthdays and anniversaries.

While a typical full course meal can include up to four courses, tasting menus can consist of eight, ten, or even twenty courses spread out over a longer period of time. In some cases, completing a tasting menu can take over three hours. Because of this, they require more attention than normal from your chef and staff, resulting in a higher price tag.

Benefits of a Tasting Menu

When executed correctly, there are many benefits that a tasting menu can bring to your restaurant. It's important to explore these possible benefits with your chef as you formulate your menu. Carefully plan out what you'll serve and how you'll serve it for the most effective experience.

  • A tasting menu highlights the best of what your restaurant has to offer. During a typical dining experience, customers might only order one dish from the menu before leaving. Through a tasting menu, they can experience a variety of dishes from multiple parts of your menu.
  • Smaller portion sizes help your chef express their creativity. They’ll have the opportunity to display their skills and ideas in ways they normally couldn’t.
  • Tasting menus give your chef a chance to test out changes they might be considering for a current dish, or even prepare recipes that aren’t currently available on the menu!

Preparing a Tasting Menu

Creating a tasting menu involves more than choosing a few popular dishes and shrinking them down to bite-sized portions. It's essential to keep in mind that you aren't just putting together a meal, you're creating a culinary experience. Below, we'll examine the decisions you'll need to make in order to create an enjoyable and memorable tasting menu experience for your guests.

Deciding on the Menu

One of the most daunting tasks that comes with creating a tasting menu is deciding what to include on it. Choosing which dishes will appear on your menu can depend on a variety of factors, including the time of year, which ingredients are in season, and any themes you plan on using. For example, if you are creating a tasting menu in July, you might include dishes that feature traditional summer foods or center your menu around a summer theme.

Organizing the Menu

Organizing the Menu

In addition to deciding how to organize your menu, determining the number of courses to include is essential to creating your tasting menu experience. Remember that there isn't a set amount of courses that need to be included in a tasting menu. While an established restaurant might consider including upwards of 10 courses throughout the tasting menu, smaller venues or menus developed to serve fewer people will likely include less.

Additionally, some tasting menus are served in homes rather than traditional restaurant settings. Wine tastings, beer tastings, and other food tastings are just a few popular tasting menus that are commonly held at people’s homes.

Choosing a Highlight

Deciding what meals to highlight is one of the most important parts of creating a tasting menu. This can vary based on your intentions for creating the menu. One common example is to highlight the skills and creativity of your chef, while another could be introducing your guests to new dishes you’d like to feature on your menu. If you’re hosting your own food tasting party, you might want to focus on broad appeal.

Serving a Tasting Menu

Menu Presentation

Once you’ve established what's going to be on your tasting menu and who you plan on serving it to, it’s time to focus on how you’ll present the food to your guests. Keep in mind that the focus of a tasting menu should be on the food itself. You'll want to make sure guests can enjoy each course with minimal interference from outside factors.

Tasting Menu Presentation

In order to invoke a sense of culinary art in each course, consider serving them on smaller, plain dishes. This will help your guests to focus on the look and texture of the food rather than the plates you serve them on. In addition, keep a variety of dining utensils ready so that your guests can enjoy the different dishes they’ll be served.

Offering Palate Cleansers

To ensure your guests fully enjoy each dish, consider offering a palate cleanser before each new dish arrives. They work to remove any aftertastes lingering in the mouth so that guests can enjoy each dish without continuing to taste the last. Palate cleansers are a key part of a tasting menu because each dish you serve can vary greatly from the one that came before it.

When choosing a palate cleanser, make sure to look for something with a fairly neutral flavor. Some commonly used palate cleansers include sparkling water, lightly brewed tea, celery sticks, and occasionally champagne.


Creating a tasting menu gives you the opportunity to highlight your strengths, creativity, and inspirations. What started as a luxury in 19th century France has grown into an experience for food lovers across the globe. If you’re looking for a new way to engage your guests and highlight culinary art, consider developing a tasting menu to serve in your restaurant or at your next food tasting party.

The information provided on this website does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice. Please refer to our Content Policy for more details.
External Link

You are about to leave the security of WebstaurantStore.com.

We are not responsible for the privacy policy or any content, links or software, or any consequences from your access to or use of the technologies, websites, information and programs made available on this new site.

Do you want to proceed?

Related Resources

  • What is a Prix Fixe Menu?

    A prix fixe menu offers guests a multi-course meal for a fixed price. In most circumstances, guests will have options to choose from for each course. In some cases, the entire meal is planned and selected ahead of time by the chef. In this blog, we'll introduce what prix fixe menus are, how they work, and the advantages and disadvantages associated with them. Prix Fixe Menu Definition Prix fixe (pronounced pree-feks), is the French term for “fixed price.” Sometimes referred to as a table d’hote, a prix fixe menu typically features a full-course meal consisting of an appetizer, entree, and dessert. It’s important to note that some prix fixe menus feature more than the typical 3-course meal, while others may feature less. How Does a Prix Fixe Menu Work? There are several different ways that a prix fixe menu can work. Below, we’ll investigate some of the most popular options: Individually: In most cases, a prix fixe menu is ordered individually. Shared: Some restaurants offer a prix fixe menu for two at a set price. This can consist of two smaller meals or one larger meal to be shared. Platters: Select restaurants may offer a shared tapa, entree, or even dessert platter for an entire table at a fixed price per person. Buffet: In some cases, a restaurant can offer a buffet-style menu at a fixed price per person. Prix Fixe Menu Examples Prix fixe menus are typically found at fine dining or contemporary casual restaurants and can be used for several different occasions. Below, we’ve included examples of events, occasions, and situations where a prix fixe menu might be beneficial: As a tasting menu: In some cases, a prix fixe menu can serve as a tasting menu of sorts. A tasting menu is a multi-course meal that consists of small portions of different dishes, many of which showcase the chef’s skills or highlight local flavors. For a special occasion: Many restaurants may offer price fixed menus for occasions such as Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, and New Year’s Eve. Not only does this set a special tone for the day, but it also provides a convenient way for restaurants to prepare ahead of time for the large crowd. For weeknight dining: If your restaurant usually experiences slow weeknights, consider offering a special weeknight prix fixe menu. Doing so can prompt customers who wouldn’t normally dine during the week to visit your restaurant. Incorporated on your everyday menu: Some restaurants choose to implement a prix fixe menu alongside their everyday menu. This allows them to appeal to different guests and offer different pricing options. Other restaurants might offer a prix fixe menu for lunch, creating a unique happy hour promotion. Prix Fixe Menu Advantages Prix fixe menus offer significant benefits that can improve the happiness of your guests and reduce stress on your staff. Below, we’ll introduce some of the most notable advantages associated with a prix fixe menu: Makes ordering easier: According to menu psychology, offering fewer choices on your menu can reduce stress on customers and make ordering more convenient. Creates memorable experiences: In some instances, a prix fixe menu can help to create a special experience for your guests. Not only will they have the ability to experiment with different foods, but they may be enticed to come back. Convenient for large crowds: Whether it’s a special occasion such as Restaurant Week or a busy holiday, prix fixe menus allow you to manage large crowds. With a set choice of dishes, back-of-house staff can easily prepare for the crowd without sacrificing quick service. Increased sales: If your menu is correctly priced to maximize your bottom line, a prix fixe menu should ultimately optimize sales in your restaurant. Guests who take advantage of the deal will be treated to more food than they typically would order at a slightly higher price, boosting sales while keeping them satisfied. Prix Fixe Menu Disadvantages While prix fixe menus feature a variety of benefits, there are still potential downsides. Below, we’ve included a list of the most common disadvantages associated with offering them: Market changes: The price of ingredients can fluctuate over time. In some cases, the ingredients for a dish on your prix fixe menu can dramatically increase, leaving you with the decision to either remove that dish from the menu entirely or lose profits on it. Financial commitment: Some high-priced prix fixe menus can deter customers from ordering. How to Create a Prix Fixe Menu Whether you’re putting together your first prix fixe menu or are looking for tips to improve your existing menu, there are many different details to take into account. Below, we’ve listed some of the most common: Analyze sales: Figure out which of your items sell the most, and create a prix fixe menu that incorporates those dishes. Keep margins in mind: Include high profit margin items to make your prix fixe menu lucrative. Highlight seasonal foods: Feature seasonal items, such as fruit and vegetables. Not only does this resonate with health-conscious, environmentally aware patrons, but the lower purchase price of seasonal items will be beneficial to your bottom line. Embrace a theme: Ensure that all dishes are cohesive together to create continuity throughout the courses. Try basing the meal off the season, a region, or a certain mix of flavors. Focus on the main course: However you choose to structure or create your meal, make sure that it can provide a high-quality main course. Offering a prix fixe menu is an excellent option for restaurants and guests alike. Whether for a special occasion or as a permanent part of your restaurant menu, fixed-price menus have the potential to increase guest satisfaction, quicken up service, and improve your bottom line.

  • Is Restaurant Week Worth It?

    As a growing phenomenon across the United States, restaurant week draws local foodies and tourists to community food service establishments. With options ranging from hole-in-the-wall specialty restaurants to high-end dining establishments, this event provides customers with the opportunity to find their new favorite haunt and restaurants the chance to showcase their best menu items. However, participating in restaurant week takes a lot of time and preparation, making many businesses question whether it's worth joining. To help you make a decision, here's everything you need to know about restaurant week, how it can benefit your business, and how your restaurant can get the most out of the event. What Is Restaurant Week? Restaurant week is an event where restaurants offer reduced or discounted menus, so customers can try different types of food that may normally be out of their price range. Prix fixe menus are also popular during restaurant week, offering full course meals for customers at fixed prices. Typically, mid- and upper-range establishments join restaurant week, but any restaurant can participate in the event. Restaurant week appeals to locals and tourists alike, and most operations that participate see increased traffic during the occasion. The History of Restaurant Week Restaurant week was created in New York City in 1992 by Tim Zagat, the creator of the Zagat Survey, and Joe Baum, a famous New York restaurateur. The promotional event was originally lunch-only and scheduled to coincide with the Democratic National Convention to draw visitors, reporters, and politicians attending the event to local restaurants. The first restaurant week saw huge success, and it has since spread to cities large and small all over the country. How Does Restaurant Week Work? Restaurant week can occur any time of year, and timing varies by location. Typically, restaurant week happens in either early winter or spring, which are periods that are usually slower for restaurants. Additionally, while the first event was only one week long, now most restaurant week events last anywhere from two weeks to a month. Many large cities will also hold multiple restaurant weeks per year. The event is typically organized by the chamber of commerce or local tourist organizations, so check out those resources to find out when your restaurant week is. During restaurant week, many operations offer several package meals at different price points. Providing several meal options is important because it makes guests with varying budgets feel welcome in your restaurant. A common practice is to have a menu that highlights three price packages. The most expensive option may include a better cut of meat, one cocktail per person, or a bottle of wine for the table. The cheapest option may be as simple as a signature soup or salad complemented by a dessert. How Does Restaurant Week Benefit My Business? Restaurant week is a great way for businesses to draw new customers while keeping existing customers satisfied and interested. However, many owners question if giving out a week of deals will help their operation or if the specials will eat up any potential profits. Here are a few reasons why joining your city's or region's restaurant week is a good idea: Although you offer your meals for reduced prices, restaurant week brings in more traffic than usual, which will make up for the lower dollar amount. Restaurant week allows you to impress customers with your food and service, and the experience may persuade some guests to come back and become repeat customers. Taking part in restaurant week can boost your reputation as a high-quality and fashionable restaurant in your community. Participating in your city's restaurant week can also help improve the local economy and build your city's reputation as a foodie destination, which will improve tourism. How to Get the Most Out of Restaurant Week Once you've joined your city's restaurant week, you want to take advantage of the opportunity. During the week, guests visit many different restaurants, so you want to be the one everyone remembers and returns to after the event ends. Here are a few tips for taking full advantage of your city's restaurant week to benefit your establishment: Create a menu that helps you reach your goal. If your goal is to stand out from the crowd for your creativity, use the event as an occasion to serve experimental and unique dishes. If you're looking to appeal to new audiences and bring in new diners, you can fill your menu with your most popular dishes to wow guests. Give customers more than they expect. Make guests feel like VIPs immediately when they enter your operation. Additionally, creating an attractive table setting and having a clear menu can make the experience that much better. Appeal to different target audiences. People of all ages, demographics, and walks of life participate in restaurant week, which allows you to appeal to a wide audience. When you are creating your menu, you should also be considerate of dietary restrictions and offer at least one vegan menu option. Partner with a local business. Consider teaming up with a local winery, brewery, or distillery and offer a complete food and drink package. You can also use fresh produce from local farms and markets. This partnership is a great way to help another business increase its branding and shows that your restaurant is a true part of the community, which is what restaurant week is all about. Restaurant Week Marketing Tips Since this event offers numerous options for food lovers, it's challenging to make your restaurant stand out. Building awareness, hyping your menu, and offering incentives are crucial aspects of a successful marketing campaign that draws customers to your restaurant. Check out some of our restaurant week marketing tips that help you catch the eye of excited diners. Use social media. Whether you prefer marketing using Instagram, sticking to Facebook, or creating great videos on TikTok, social media is the best way to promote your restaurant to a wide audience. Since restaurant week also attracts people outside your community, using a restaurant week hashtag allows you to reach tourists specifically coming for the event. Additionally, put your social media handles on your menu or place QR codes on tables so customers can follow you for more promotions. Offer coupons and promo codes. Great for social media and email campaigns, a coupon campaign offering a free dessert with the purchase of a menu item invites price-conscious customers to try your establishment. Take advantage of event resources. In addition to the restaurant week hashtag, the event organizers have many marketing resources used to promote the whole event. Make sure your restaurant name is in all brochures, newsletters, and web resources, and ask if there are any other ways you can utilize their marketing. Follow up after the event ends. Participation in restaurant week aims to create a new, loyal customer base for your establishment. Create a loyalty program or post-restaurant week discount menu to continue building relationships with your new regulars. Starting as a week-long event in New York City, restaurant week has grown into a nationwide phenomenon that draws millions of visitors to restaurants in cities nationwide. Restaurant week is an exciting, fun, stressful, and beneficial event all wrapped up in one. Whether you're a veteran of the tradition or this is your restaurant's first year participating in the event, there is something to gain from joining restaurant week.

  • How to Make Your Restaurant Stand Out on Google

    Having a strong online presence is just as essential to your restaurant marketing plan as word-of-mouth referrals. Studies show that over 75% of customers look at menus before choosing a restaurant. Posting your menu online and having an engaging website can help draw both new and returning customers to your restaurant. Give yourself an edge over the competition by following the tips below to boost your online ranking and improve your existing site. Use these links to navigate our restaurant SEO tips: 1. Keyword Research 2. Create Original Content 3. Make Your Website Mobile Friendly 4. High-Resolution Images 5. Link to Social Media 6. Create a Listing on Google My Business 7. Indoor Google Street View 8. Encourage Reviews 9. Submit Menu to Third Party Sites What Is Restaurant SEO? Once you’ve created your restaurant’s website, it’s good to make sure it’s optimized for search engines, like Google, Bing, and Yahoo, so they can find your content, store it in their database, and provide it to users in relevant searches. Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving your website to increase its visibility in search engines and the amount of traffic your website gets. SEO differs from paid search/advertising in that it is an organic (free) way to boost your website’s ranking.Basic SEO for restaurants should ensure your phone number, hours of operation, location, and menu show up in local searches and are up to date. While SEO can be technical, there are some basic practices you can use to help optimize your restaurant’s website and organic ranking. We've put together a list of nine restaurant SEO tips to follow: 1. Keyword Research Keywords are the words and phrases, or search queries, a user enters into a search engine to find relative content. Before you begin keyword research, understand who is your target market and how they are searching for your business. Here are some questions to ask yourself: What Are People Searching For? If you operate a bakery, what kinds of bakery items are people searching for? Are they looking for gluten-free or vegan options? Why Are They Searching? Are people looking to fulfill large orders of baked goods or are they looking for a grab-and-go snack? When Are They Searching? Are there seasonality trends? Do people want baked goods during the holidays? Knowing the answer to the questions as it relates to your target audience will help you formulate the correct keywords. When creating your website’s content, it’s important to include both niche and local keywords so that your website shows up when potential customers search for your type of restaurant. For example, let’s say you’re trying to improve SEO for your vegan bakery located in Charlotte, NC. Here’s a list of keywords you might want to target: vegan bakery vegan desserts vegan donuts vegan bakery charlotte nc vegan cupcakes charlotte nc Fortunately, there are plenty of free keyword research tools from companies like Moz, Semrush, and Ahrefs that you can use to find applicable keywords for your business and location. 2. Create Original Content Search engines value content that is original, clear, and engaging to readers. Creating content that is made for and relevant to users, and not search engines, should always be your priority. For example, let’s say you are trying to target the keyword “pizza Tampa”. That’s not how one would normally speak, so it wouldn’t make sense to put that phrase in your About Me section just for the sake of including the keyword. Including phrases like “pizza in Tampa”, “authentic New York style pizza in Tampa”, or “best pizza in downtown Tampa” will all target the intended keyword and looks natural to readers. Your content should also be informative to customers, easy to navigate, and representative of your business. Including content on the below topics on your site can help establish a stronger brand, which will help improve your rankings. Brand: Highlighting your business's history, mission, and any unique qualities, such as sourcing local and organic food or hosting live events, are all great to include for customers. Location and Business Hours: The location(s) of your business, phone numbers, and business hours should all be information a customer can easily find on the homepage. Menu: Make sure your menu is up to date with the current selections, pricing, and any specials. If you offer happy hour specials, clearly provide which days of the week, the time of day, and what food times are included in happy hour. Online Ordering: With an increasing amount of customers wanting take-out options for their favorite foods, having an online ordering platform is a great way to acquire new business and create repeat customers. Reservations: If you accept reservations in your restaurant, provide a link to request a reservation online or add a clickable call button so customers can easily make a reservation. 3. Make Your Website Mobile Friendly With so many people accessing the internet on their smartphones, you must be sure your website and menu are mobile friendly. The best practice for this, in terms of ranking high on Google, is to display all the same content as a desktop version, but formatted and arranged specifically for a mobile device’s screen size. Additionally, you should always offer guests the option to view the desktop version of your site on their mobile device, if they wish. Because potential customers will be viewing your menu on a smaller screen, you need to make everything easily readable and clickable. Be sure any images or graphics are high resolution. While you may get away with lower-quality images on a desktop screen, phone screens will easily show blurry or pixelated images. Ensure your online menu is engineered to be mobile-responsive. While desktop users may appreciate a full-size view of your menu, this can become cluttered or hard to read on a smaller, mobile device. Instead, try breaking your menu up into clickable categories. For example, you could break it down into something as simple as breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert, or offer more specific categories such as salads, soups, poultry, seafood, and pastas. If your menu is currently displayed as a PDF on your site, it is recommended you take screenshots or re-upload them as text on the page. Additionally, you should consider a font size of at least 14 pixels and bigger button sizes so that users can easily click them. 4. Offer High-Resolution Images Give guests a taste of your menu offerings by incorporating high-quality images on your site. While you want to limit the number of graphics or images to keep site speeds fast, a few eye-catching design elements can draw customers in before they even look at your menu. If you offer unique, Instagram-worthy dishes or cocktails, displaying high-quality photos of them on your site can even interest foodies looking to post images of fun foods on their own social media accounts. In addition to showcasing unique menu items, uploading a few professional images of your dining area, outdoor patio, or any other special features will also help entice customers. When choosing a place to eat, many users also search for what the inside of a restaurant looks like if they like the menu to get a general feel for its atmosphere. The images you feature on your site will also populate in Google's image search, which can help boost your rankings in local search. 5. Link Your Site to Social Media Accounts As guests are perusing your site, make it easy for them to connect to your various social media accounts. Include links to your Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter to give them a more personal feel for your establishment. If you post regular updates on your social media accounts, you may also want to consider implementing a live feed on your site showing your posts and updates. Linking to your social media sites also encourages guests to interact with your business online before, during, and after their visit. Use this opportunity to gain feedback, obtain customers’ photos of your food, and encourage patrons to revisit regularly. 6. Create a Free Listing on Google My Business Creating a free listing on Google My Business allows customers to keep up to date on your hours, address, reviews, wait times, and phone number. It can also be used to update and maintain your profile and current hours of operation. Plus, Google My Business drops a location pin for your restaurant on Google Maps, making it easier for guests to find your restaurant. A location pin on Google Maps can also attract patrons perusing the site for local restaurants who may not have heard of your business before. 7. Film an Indoor Google Street View of Your Restaurant Another way to increase visibility and transparency is to add an indoor street view of your restaurant. This will appear in Google search results and on Google Maps. Creating an indoor street view gives future customers a virtual tour of your restaurant. This can help them to visualize themselves in your space and anticipate their dining experience. Because indoor street views are conducted and posted by a third party, they can help build consumer trust even before customers visit your business. These street views are especially important because, according to Google, customers who view a business listing with a virtual tour are twice as likely to book a reservation. And, it gives your business an advantage over other local establishments that have not yet participated in this opportunity. 8. Encourage Reviews For many, the search for a new restaurant starts online, which includes checking online reviews. Encouraging customers to leave reviews can help boost your business's credibility, click-through rates, and ranking. The more good reviews you have, the higher your website will be ranked in search results because Google can see you offer customers a positive experience. If you have an email marketing list, try sending an email to your subscribers asking for a review. Or, simply post a “Let us know how we’ve been doing!” sign in your business to encourage your guests to share their thoughts. 9. Submit Your Menu to Third Party Sites Uploading your menu to third-party sites such as AllMenus or MenuPages goes a long way towards bringing your business more publicity. These sites house menus from restaurants all over your area, making them a one-stop shop for hungry customers. Because they’re already well-established domains, these sites often appear within the first page of relevant search terms on Google – including “restaurant websites” and “restaurant search sites.” By submitting your menu to these sites, you can better connect with guests who are specifically searching for your menu. Additionally, you may catch the eye of customers searching for similar restaurants in your area. Back to Top Using good SEO practices for your restaurant is a great way to improve your ranking on Google and draw new customers to your restaurant. As you build your restaurant's web presence, post an updated version of your menu to as many places as possible and spruce up your existing website to distinguish yourself from the competition.