Bar menu template
Cocktails, beer, and wine first, then bar snacks, plates, and a late-night list for after the kitchen slows down. This is a sample bar menu set in Gaslamp’s Classic American design.
No card needed · then $19/mo or $190/yr · cancel anytime
The real menu, first two pages
The sample puts the drinks on the first menu page and the food after: bar snacks with the kitchen hours in the note, plates, and a late-night section with its start time.
Sample menu. Dishes and prices are examples. Want to see one on a phone? Scan a live sample menu.
- The filePDF, 132 KB
- Pages4, with a coverThe cover carries the name and a QR code to the live menu.
- PaperUS Letter, portrait
- To download and printfree
No signup, no email. It is a finished sample, so it carries sample dishes. Putting your own menu into it takes the free trial. The trial includes one published live menu with QR codes. PDF downloads and additional menus start when you pick a plan.
What belongs on a bar menu
A bar menu is a drink list with a kitchen attached. The drinks come first because that is the first order, and the food has to say when the kitchen closes.
Cocktails
Four to six, mostly the ones the bar makes fastest on a busy night.
- House old fashioned13
- Paloma12
Beer and wine
Draft with the pour size in the note, a shot-and-a-beer line if you sell one, and three wines by the glass.
- West coast IPA8
- Tallboy and a shot10
Bar snacks
Fries, a pretzel, fried pickles, olives. The kitchen’s closing time goes in the note under the heading.
- Soft pretzel10
- Fried pickles8
Plates
A burger, wings, tacos, a grilled cheese. Four is enough for a bar kitchen.
- Smash burger16
Late night
Two or three things one cook can make after 11, with the start time in the note.
- Loaded tots9
- Sliders11
Example lines and prices show format only. They are not pricing advice.
How Classic American sets it
Classic American’s single centered column and dotted leaders read like a bar card from the last century, and they hold up in low light. Short names and whole-dollar prices keep the column tight.
Section notes print in italic under each heading. On a bar menu they carry the hours: “Kitchen open until 11 p.m.”, “After 11 p.m., until close”.
The QR code prints on the cover page. For a bar, set a small card every few seats along the rail and a tent on each table; people at the rail are the ones who cannot see a board.
Other drink documents: for a restaurant’s whole beverage list, the drink menu template; if you only need the cocktails, the cocktail menu template; and for wine alone, the wine list template.
Prices on a bar menu
Drinks and food price differently, and the menu should not mix them in one section. A double or a premium pour can be a second labeled price on the same drink.
Happy hour is not a second price on the same line. Keep a Happy Hour section you show and hide, or a separate happy hour menu with its own code.
Price cocktails from the pour cost and plates from the plate cost. The menu item price calculator does the second; the cocktail guide covers the first.
Set it up in Gaslamp
- 1
Start from this bar menu
Pick Classic American and start from this sample. Every section, line, and price is already in place, so you type your own over it instead of building a blank page.
- 2
Type your dishes over it
Replace each name, description, and price in the editor. Delete the lines you do not serve and add the ones you do. The layout reflows as you type.
- 3
Put the kitchen hours in the notes
Type your kitchen closing time in the note under Bar Snacks and your late-night start time under Late Night.
- 4
Publish, then print
Publish the live menu behind one QR code that never changes, print the table tents once, and print the PDF whenever the paper copy needs to catch up.
Running it
11:05 p.m.
Kitchen switches to late night
The grill is down. Switch off Plates on your phone and save; the QR menu shows the late-night list and snacks for the rest of the night. Switch Plates back on tomorrow.
7:30 p.m.
Seasonal tap changes
The seasonal keg is a pumpkin ale now. Edit the seasonal tap’s description and save; the bartender stops answering the question.
Bar menus, straight answers
- Is this bar menu template free?
- Yes. The Classic American PDF on this page is free to download and print, with no signup. It is a sample, so it carries sample dishes and prices. To put your own menu into the design, start the 14-day free trial, no card needed. The trial includes one published live menu with QR codes. PDF downloads and additional menus start when you pick a plan.
- What goes on a bar menu?
- Drinks first (cocktails, beer, wine), then bar snacks, a few plates, and a late-night list with its start time. The sample shows that order.
- Can the menu switch to late night automatically?
- No. Gaslamp does not switch menus by time of day. Switch the Plates section off from your phone when the grill goes down, and back on tomorrow.
- How do I list happy hour prices?
- As a Happy Hour section you show during happy hour and hide after, or a separate happy hour menu. Gaslamp does not switch prices by the clock.
- Should the bar menu and the drink list be separate?
- For most neighborhood bars one menu is enough. If the cocktail list is long or changes weekly, make it its own menu with its own code on a paid plan.
- How much does it cost?
- Start with a 30-day free trial, no credit card needed. Then it is $19 a month, or $190 a year (2 months free). No setup fee. Cancel anytime. The trial includes one published live menu with QR codes. PDF downloads and additional menus start when you pick a plan.
If you run one
Every design takes every menu. Switch between them anytime and your dishes stay put.
For the day-to-day, menu software for cocktail bars covers what changes on menus like yours and how often. For what to serve and how to price it, read how to build a cocktail menu.
The free QR code menu generator makes a code for whatever menu you have now.
All menu templates
The grill went down at 11. The menu on every phone can say so at 11:01.
No card needed · then $19/mo or $190/yr · cancel anytime