How to write prices on a menu, from ₹ to half and full portions

Pick one number format and stick to it

Decide once how every price looks, then use it everywhere. If most of your prices are whole numbers, leave the decimals off. 180 reads faster than 180.00, and a column of .00 adds nothing. Only show decimals where the price really has them, such as 4.50.

Write large numbers the way your guests read them. In India that means Indian grouping, so a thali platter for twelve might be ₹1,200 and an event package ₹1,20,000. In the US and UK it is 1,200.00, and much of Europe writes 12,50 € with a comma for the decimal.

With or without the currency sign

When the whole menu is in one currency, many restaurants leave the sign off each price and add one line such as prices in ₹ at the foot of the page. The list looks cleaner and the prices line up neatly. Showing the sign on every price is clearer for tourists and for menus shared online, where the guest might not know where you are.

Half and full, and other portion sizes

Many Indian restaurants serve curries, biryanis and starters as half and full plates. Cafes sell drinks as regular and large, pizzas come small, medium and large. The tidy way to show this is with columns: write the size names once at the top of the section and line the prices up underneath.

Columns only work when every priced dish in the section uses the same size names in the same order. If a few dishes only come in one size, give them a single price in the last column. If sizes really differ between dishes, set the sizes inline instead, for example Regular 160 Large 200.

Add-ons and extras

Write add-ons as the thing and then its price, directly under the dish they apply to: add extra cheese 40, add egg 30. If an extra applies to a whole section, such as oat milk for all coffees, put it once in the section note instead of on every line.

Taxes and service charges

Say plainly whether your prices include tax, and whether you add a service charge. A short footer line is enough, for example prices are exclusive of taxes. The rules on what must be shown differ by country and change over time, so check your local requirements rather than copying another menu.

Where to put prices on the line

There are two good places for a price and one to avoid. Pick one of the good ones and use it in every section. See restaurant menu design for how price placement fits into the overall layout.

• Right aligned in a column, often joined to the dish name by dot leaders. Easy to scan and compare.
• Straight after the description, in the same type. Calmer, and guests read the dish before the price.
• Never centred under each dish in a long list. The eye has to hunt for every number.

Prices in Platebill

Platebill formats prices for you from a currency you pick, with 12 to choose from including ₹, $, €, £, AED and S$. Rupee prices use Indian grouping. You choose numbers only, in which case a prices in ₹ line goes in the legend, or numbers with the sign. Whole numbers print without decimals. Each dish can have one price, or several sizes such as Half and Full, and when a section shares the same sizes the layout sets them as labelled columns. Add-ons print under the dish. When you paste a menu as text, a line like Paneer tikka 180 / 320 becomes Half and Full prices on a rupee menu, or Regular and Large in other currencies, and three prices become S, M and L.