Skip to main content

How menus, categories and items fit together

What this is for​

Read this once before you start typing. Restodesk builds a menu out of four pieces, and knowing how they nest saves a lot of rework.

The four pieces​

Menu — a named collection, like "All day", "Lunch" or "Weekend brunch". Most restaurants need exactly one. You'd add a second if you genuinely sell a different list at different times.

Item category — a group within the menu: Starters, Mains, Desserts, Wine. Categories are what give your POS and your online menu their sections.

Menu item — the thing you sell. A name, a price, a photo, a category.

Modifiers — the choices attached to an item: how it's cooked, what size, what goes with it. They live in modifier groups and can add to the price.

Nesting looks like this:

MenuAll day
  • CategoryStarters
    • Burrata12.00
    • Soup of the day7.50
  • CategoryMains
    • Confit duck leg22.00
      Modifier groupChoose a sideFries or salad included · Truffle fries +3.00

The order to build in​

Working backwards causes pain, because each piece needs the one above it to exist first.

  1. Create a menu.
  2. Add your categories.
  3. Add your items into those categories.
  4. Add modifier groups and attach them to the items that need them.

If you have a lot of items, do steps 1 and 2 by hand and then bulk-upload the items from a spreadsheet.

What else an item can carry​

Beyond a name and a price, an item can hold: a photo, a description, a type (veg, non-veg, contains egg, halal, drink), dietary labels, allergens, a preparation time, tax settings, variations such as sizes, availability, and whether it shows on your customer site. Those are all covered in Adding menu items.

Good to know​

Your menu belongs to a branch. Building it in one location does not build it in another — though you can copy it across. See Adding branches.

Variations vs modifier groups. Both offer choices, and people mix them up:

  • Use a variation when it's the same dish in a different size and each has its own price — Small / Medium / Large.
  • Use a modifier group when the customer is choosing extras or options — sauces, sides, cooking temperature.

Next​

Creating a menu