Tasting menu and fine dining menu makerThe turbot came in at four. Tonight’s menu says turbot.
A tasting menu is rewritten a little every day. The fish depends on the boat, the pairing depends on what is drinking well, and the menu at each cover carries tonight’s date. Gaslamp keeps the courses, the pairings, and the house typography in one menu you change at four o’clock and print by five.
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What changes on a fine dining menu, and how often
A menu is designed once and edited forever. These are the edits this kind of place makes, and what each one takes in Gaslamp.
| The change | How often | In Gaslamp |
|---|---|---|
| The fish or the produce changes | Most days | Rewrite that course in the tasting menu’s description. The PDF and the hosted menu come from the same edit. |
| The date on the printed menu | Every service | Change the date in the note under the heading, save, and print the covers from the new PDF. |
| A pairing wine runs short | A few times a month | Change the pairing line to the new bottle before lineup, so the menu in the guest’s hand names what is actually poured. |
| The menu turns for the season | Four or more times a year | Rewrite the courses. The outgoing menu stays in version history, which keeps the last 50 versions. |
| A supplement comes or goes | When the truffles and caviar do | Supplements are their own priced lines. Mark one sold out when it runs out. |
4:10 p.m.
The truffle invoice went up at 4:10. So did the supplement.
The delivery came in at a new price per gram. Before lineup, change the supplement, tap Save & update live menu, and print tonight’s covers from the fresh PDF. The menu at each place and the one behind the QR code agree before the first seating.
The editor runs in your phone’s browser; there is no app to install. The menu rebuilds in about two seconds, and phones that scan the code see the change about thirty seconds after you save.
Your phone
The menu
How fine dining rooms set up their menus in Gaslamp
Menus
- TastingThe courses, pairings, and supplements, dated for tonight
- Wine listBy the glass and the bottle, on its own menu if the cellar is deep
Sections, for example
- The tasting menuone line, one price, the courses in the description
- Pairingswine and zero-proof, one line each
- Supplements2 or 3: caviar, truffle, a cheese course
- À la carteif the lounge serves it, about 8
- After dinnerdessert wine, digestifs, coffee
Most tasting menus use four or five sections. The whole meal sits on one line; its description carries the courses in the order they arrive.
Start with Upscale Contemporary
Charcoal and gold on warm white, fine rules, no ornament. It stays out of the food’s way and holds the house standard: the same type, spacing, and logo every night, whoever edits the courses.
Start from the sample menu set in Upscale Contemporary, then type your dishes and prices over it in the editor. After that, the job is keeping it right from your phone. See the free template for the full layout.
Where the QR code goes
Each menu gets one code, and it never changes. Print it once; every edit after that shows up behind it. Gaslamp makes the printable pieces for you.
From the floor: Most fine dining rooms do not want a code on the table, and they are right. Hand guests paper. The code belongs by the door and in the check presenter.
- Menu by the doorthe posted menu, the way it has always been done, with a code for the phone
- Host stand cardfor the guest who wants to read tonight’s courses while the table is set
- Check presenterfor the guest who wants to remember what they ate
Good to know before you start
- Prices go up to $9,999 per item, so a tasting menu at 245 per guest is a normal priced line. Pairings can share it as a second labeled price, or sit on their own lines with the supplements.
- Allergy and dietary substitutions do not belong on the printed tasting menu. Your staff handle them at booking and at the table, as they always have.
- The date does not change itself. Update it in the note under the heading before you print.
- Gaslamp does not print. Download the PDF and print on your own stock, or send it to your printer.
Fine dining menu questions
- How do I print a dated menu for every guest?
- Put tonight’s date in the note under the tasting menu heading, save, and download the print-ready PDF. Print one per cover on your own stock. Gaslamp does not print or ship menus.
- Can a tasting menu cost more than $200?
- Yes. Gaslamp prices each item from $1 to $9,999, so a tasting menu at any realistic price is one line at its per-guest price. Keep pairings and supplements as priced lines below it, or give the tasting line a second labeled price for the pairing.
- Can I keep a record of past tasting menus?
- Version history keeps the last 50 saved versions of each menu, and you can restore any of them. Fifty versions go quickly if you save several times a day, so for a permanent archive, keep each night’s PDF.
- Should allergies and substitutions go on a tasting menu?
- Keep them off the guest menu. Gaslamp has dietary tags for each item, which suit an à la carte list. On a tasting menu, substitutions are worked out by your staff, and the printed menu describes the meal as most of the room is served it.
- 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.
Tomorrow the boat brings something else. The menu will say so.
No card needed · then $19/mo or $190/yr · cancel anytime