Which would you rather order: chocolate cake with vanilla frosting or homemade triple-layer chocolate cake with fresh vanilla buttercream frosting?
When customers place an online order, they cannot ask you or your staff for details about a particular item — so the more information you can provide in your description, the more likely they are to select an item they will enjoy (and come back for).
Here are our top tips to spruce up your delivery menu descriptions to help drive more orders.
1. Get specific about ingredients
Is your produce locally sourced? Is your meat organic? They don't have to be, but these are the kind of details customers appreciate and look for, especially if they are health- or environmentally-conscious.
OKAY: Cheeseburger
BETTER: Grade A, pasture-fed, organic beef with cheddar.
2. Use descriptive adjectives
When you're writing food descriptions, an adjective or two can go a long way toward making a dish sound as good as it tastes. Adjectives can be simple or a little fancy — you know your customers better than anyone, so you're the best judge of which words will work.
SIMPLE: Fresh, juicy, flavorful, hearty, sweet, smoky, tangy, wholesome, comforting, mild, peppery, seasoned, homestyle
COMPLEX: Succulent, aromatic, fragrant, infused, robust, velvety, tantalizing, earthy, exquisite, full-bodied, mellow
If a certain cuisine or locale inspires the item, include that too.
OKAY: Spaghetti with red sauce
BETTER: Hearty spaghetti in our homestyle Sicilian marinara made with fresh tomatoes, basil, and garlic.
3. Keep it brief when writing menu descriptions for delivery
Sometimes it's easy to get carried away — especially with a favorite menu item — but the best restaurant menus are short and simple. While it's important to be descriptive, avoid writing a whole story about each item.
OKAY: This fresh whole bass was caught fresh by Tommy, a local fisherman who works in the town marina. It is accompanied by roasted seasonal vegetables and spices from the Sunday farmer's market on Main Street (10 am - 2 pm). Choose between couscous and a wild rice blend from the kitchen of our chef's mother's kitchen.
BETTER: Fresh-caught whole bass served with roasted, locally grown seasonal vegetables. Served with couscous or Ma's homemade wild rice blend.
4. Highlight local farms and ingredients
The rise in sustainable restaurant practices and menu transparency means people are more curious than ever about where their food comes from. Name the farms, bakeries, and other neighboring suppliers from which you source ingredients to help diners feel like they're supporting the local economy.
OKAY: Garden salad with fresh greens.
BETTER: Crisp garden salad with locally sourced greens from Sunny Fields Farm, tossed with vine-ripened tomatoes and house-made vinaigrette.
5. Optimize for mobile viewing
Use bullet points to engineer your online menu. Many takeout customers will be scanning your menu on their phones, so call out key dishes at the top and break up long paragraphs into digestible sentences.
OKAY: Our famous cheeseburger is made with a hand-formed beef patty, topped with cheddar cheese, caramelized onions, and smoky chipotle mayo, and served on a toasted brioche bun.
BETTER: Our famous cheeseburger:
Hand-formed beef patty
Grade A, pasture-fed, organic beef
Topped with cheddar cheese, caramelized onions, and smoky chipotle mayo
Toasted brioche bun
6. Incorporate dietary and allergen Information
Add dietary labels for vegan, gluten-free, or nut-free dishes to accommodate a range of dietary preferences and make customers feel seen and catered to.
OKAY: Spaghetti with marinara sauce.
BETTER: Spaghetti with house-made marinara sauce using locally sourced tomatoes and topped with fresh basil. Gluten-free pasta available.
7. Include serving sizes where appropriate
For appetizers, sides, shared plates, or family-style entrees, it's helpful to include the number of items or to estimate how many people the dish serves so your customers know what they're ordering (and can add items if necessary).
OKAY: Vegetable samosas
BETTER: Two crisp samosas stuffed with a savory mix of potatoes, peas, herbs, and spices.
8. Regularly refine your restaurant menu descriptions
Your online menu is a powerful marketing tool to reach new customers. Take the time to regularly review and refine your food descriptions, and stay on top of the latest tips to design a menu that sells.
DoorDash partners can log into the Merchant Portal to add new items, edit descriptions, add modifiers or add-ons, and temporarily deactivate items in real time. Read our guide on How to Add Menu Items and Descriptions in DoorDash.
Spice up the food descriptions on your delivery menu to boost restaurant sales
You're now ready to craft enticing food descriptions for your delivery menu that will help grow your business. Whether you're highlighting your local suppliers or peppering in descriptive adjectives, make your restaurant menu a powerful sales tool.
Log in to the Merchant Portal to update your menu or sign up with DoorDash today to get started.
