8 Killer Cafe Menu Ideas

The size of your cafe is not important especially if you are in the early years of doing business, what matters is how you are cooking and if you are serving your very best. If you notice that few customers are showing up, then it’s a sign that you need to refresh the menu and add new items. 

Gain maximum customer flow by targeting early birds to late-night groups. Research for new food trends and what menu item is most famous among consumers. Then develop the menu incorporating your brand taste and impress everyone with your service.

Let’s look at some amazing menu items that you can include in your cafe to attract more customers.

Sandwiches and Wraps

Cafes are much more than just coffee and cakes, they offer more food items now. If your cafe offers a great ambiance and more food items, people will instantly connect with it and like to hang out for longer.

For your breakfast and lunch menu, you can include sandwiches and wraps. To make it a bit more interesting, allow the customers to get their custom sandwiches made by offering a variety of options.

Bagels

Bagels are a staple food item for coffee shops and cafes around the world. Although they’re a common snack that can be found in every supermarket, most customers prefer getting one with their morning coffee. It’s a very popular food pairing that could drive off customers and make them go to a competitor instead.

You can hire staff that knows how to make bagels from scratch or get them fresh everyday from a third-party vendor. Bagels don’t need any special marketing, just set up a display box with a variety of bagels and they will practically sell themselves.

Vegan Items

When you offer vegan items on your menu, you are targeting a whole new group of people for your cafe. Not just vegetarians but health-conscious people can enjoy salads and healthy food. Here are some vegan options you can add to the menu:

  • Stuffed sweet potatoes with chickpeas
  • Cuban black beans with rice
  • Avocado and walnut on toast
  • Crunchy chickpea salad

Desserts

Since most people like to drink their coffee unsweetened, dessert serves as a great companion. Choose the perfect coffee shop dessert to add to your menu to satisfy your customers. One of the most famous deserts these days is tiramisu. It is well known for its smoothness and incredible mix of ingredients. 

Another must-have menu item is cheesecake as it goes very well with almost everything, especially a good cup of coffee. Add more cookie options like oatmeal raisin, sugar cookies, peanut butter, gingerbread, and chocolate chip. Instead of prepping the cookies from scratch, you can good quality ready-made ones. For this purpose, check out the prices here and decorate your menu with a variety of cookie options.

Iced Coffee

What’s a cafe without its beverages? The simplicity of most drinks have customers making them at home and forgetting about coffee shops. So, you need to add a bit of character and uniqueness to your drinks to make them appealing. Another thing you can do is offer drinks that can’t be easily made at home, for instance, cold brews like iced coffee.

Cold brews are in great demand these days. Iced coffee is a versatile and somewhat complex yet delicious drink. All you need is some simple equipment and a barista that knows how to make it. There are tons of variations you could offer with the drink to set yourself apart from competitors.

Dinner Meals

You need to attract late-night diners as well and offer mouth-watering dishes. Offer a variety of hamburgers that not only look good but taste great as well. You can prepare a grilled burger with lamb and top it with pickled lettuce. Make sure to serve the main dish with side dishes like onion rings and fries.

You can offer meal packages for groups and include items like quesadillas, pizza, and pepper chicken wings. Mini burgers and fried chicken are also popular menu items.

Winter Meals

It is common for cafe owners to see a decline in business during the winter season. You can offer warm meals to help boost sales even during the colder months. Include a wide range of soup options like creamy pumpkin soup and rotisserie chicken noodle soup.

Offer a range of hot foods to your menu and you will see your sales go higher than before. It’s all about catering to your customer’s needs and adapting to changes that come along with time.

Menu Specials

Discounts on combined meals for breakfast and lunch can bring in a lot of customers. Ideally you should look at your surroundings and see how your competitors price their specials to set competitive rates.

Have special dishes on holidays like Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, etc. Post about your special deals on all your social media platforms and encourage customers to share them on their Instagram and Facebook stories.