Guide
How to translate a menu – for tourists and international guests.
Guests from abroad prefer to read your menu in their own language. Here you'll find which languages are worth it, what to watch out for when translating and which way fits your place. For cafés, bakeries, takeaways and small restaurants.
With tips for the UK and Ireland.
Why translate
Why a multilingual menu is worth it
If guests can't read the menu, they order what they already know – or they ask. A menu in your guests' language takes away the guesswork.
- Guests know what they're ordering – even with dishes they've never heard of.
- They're more likely to try your specialities when they can read what's in them.
- Fewer questions at the counter: you and your team have more time for orders.
- Guests feel welcome, even if they don't speak much English.
Not just for tourists
Guests who live, work or study here often prefer to read in their own language too. So a translated menu helps all year round, not just in the holiday season.
Choose languages
A menu in several languages for tourists – which ones?
Translate into the languages of your guests, not into as many as possible. Two or three good languages help more than lots of half-finished ones.
How to find your languages
- English is your starting point: many international guests get by with it. Translations help everyone who reads it less easily.
- Listen at the counter: which languages do your guests speak with each other or when they ask?
- Look at your Google reviews: which languages do guests write about you in?
- Ask hotels, B&Bs and holiday lets nearby where their guests come from.
GBUnited Kingdom
In big cities, university towns and holiday spots, guests come from many countries. Which languages fit depends on your area: a seaside café can need different ones than a café near a language school. Your counter and your reviews tell you more than any list.
IEIreland
In Dublin, Galway or Killarney, many visitors come from continental Europe. Ask the hotels and B&Bs near you where their guests come from, and start with the one or two languages you hear most.
Tips
7 tips: a good menu in every language
A good translation sounds like a menu, not like a dictionary. Here's what matters.
Keep your specialities and explain them
Names like “Welsh rarebit” or “Eton mess” belong to your place. Keep them and add a short explanation, for example in French: “Eton mess – meringue, crème fouettée et fraises”.
Translate descriptions, not just names
Everyone understands “carrot cake”. With a “ploughman's” or a “bowl”, the description makes the difference: what's in it, and how is it served?
Keep amounts and sizes the same
330 ml, 500 ml, 250 g: numbers and units stay the same in every language. That way, every guest gets the same amount.
Name ingredients and allergens clearly
Nuts, milk, gluten: this is where guests reading a foreign language feel least sure. Write important ingredients into the description, then they're in the translation too.
Don't translate word for word
Word for word, a “toad in the hole” becomes a “crapaud dans le trou” in French – a toad in a hole, and nobody knows what's coming. Better to say what it is: sausages baked in batter.
Have your key dishes checked
Do you know someone who speaks the language well – in your team, among your regulars or friends? Ask them to have a quick look at your bestsellers and specialities.
One menu for all languages
Every language shows the same dishes at the same prices. Keep your menu in one place, or one version will soon be out of date.
Three ways
Printed or digital: three ways to a multilingual menu
Each way has its strengths. What matters is how often your menu changes and how many languages you need.
One printed menu per language
- What it looks like
- An English and a French menu. Every guest gets theirs.
- When a price changes
- Change and reprint every menu separately.
- Works well if …
- your menu is small and rarely changes.
One printed menu in two languages
- What it looks like
- English and French one below the other on one sheet.
- When a price changes
- Change just one menu. But it gets long, and more than two languages hardly fit.
- Works well if …
- one extra language is enough.
QR menu with language choice
- What it looks like
- Guests scan the code at the table and pick their language on their phone.
- When a price changes
- Change it once – up to date in every language automatically.
- Works well if …
- your menu changes more often and guests come from several countries.
With momoscreen
A multilingual digital menu – how it works with momoscreen
You enter your menu once, in your language. momoscreen translates it automatically, and your guests pick their language in the QR menu.
In the app: “Settings” › “Your business”
Choose languages
Under “Languages”, tap “Choose languages”. Under “Translation languages for your guests”, pick up to 3 languages, for example French and Spanish, and tap “Save”.
momoscreen translates your menu
Categories, dishes, their descriptions and your special menus are translated automatically. You don't have to translate anything yourself.
TipWrite a short description for your specialities. It gets translated too – so guests also understand what a “lemon drizzle” is.In the QR menu
Guests pick their language
At the top, next to your business name, there's the language choice with the globe. Guests tap it and pick their language, for example “Français”. The whole menu switches with it, including opening hours and notes like “vegetarian”.
In the app: “Categories”
Make changes as usual
If you change a dish or a description, tap “Save” as usual. momoscreen translates the change automatically. Prices, tags and “Sold out” need no translation – they apply in every language automatically.
On paper too
In “Print menu”, choose one of your languages under “Language on the paper”. That way you also have your menu in French to print – with the QR code guests use to pick their language on their phone.
More about the printable menuQuestions
Quick answers
What many owners ask before they translate their menu.
Do I have to translate the menu myself?
No. In momoscreen, you choose your languages and momoscreen does the rest automatically: categories, dishes, descriptions and special menus. Still, ask someone who speaks the language well to check your most important dishes once.
Which languages are there?
You pick up to 3 languages for your QR menu: English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese or Turkish. Choose the ones your guests speak most.
Do I need a menu in several languages for tourists?
If tourists or international guests come to you, it helps. Many of them read some English, but a menu in their own language is easier – especially for dishes they don't know. If lots of guests come from one country, add their language.
What happens when I change a price or a dish?
Prices, tags and “Sold out” need no translation: they apply in every language automatically. momoscreen translates new or changed names and descriptions automatically after you tap “Save”. So your multilingual menu is always equally up to date.
What if I don't like a translation?
The translation follows your own text. Write it more clearly or add a short description, for example what's in a dish, and tap “Save”. momoscreen translates the changed text again automatically.
Can I print the translated menu too?
Yes. In “Print menu”, choose one of your languages under “Language on the paper”. You can also create several menus, for example one in English and one in French.
Does the translation cost anything?
No. Translation is included in momoscreen, like all other features. No subscription, no costs.
Read on
Goes well with this
- The momoscreen QR menuGuests scan the code at the table and see your menu on their phone, in their language.
- Add your menu to Google MapsAdd your menu link from momoscreen to your Google Business Profile. Then guests see your current menu right on Google.
- Printable menuAn A4 menu made from your dishes – in the original or in any language of your QR menu.
Your menu in up to 3 languages.
Sign up for free, add your dishes, choose your languages. momoscreen translates your menu automatically – and every change after that.
No subscription, no costs.