Platebill
Veg and non-veg symbols on a menu: a practical guide
In India, a small green or brown mark beside a dish name tells guests at a glance whether it is vegetarian. For many diners it is the first thing they look for, so it needs to be on every dish, clear, and consistent.
What the marks look like
Both marks are a small square outline with a shape inside. The vegetarian mark is a green square with a filled green circle. The non-vegetarian mark is a brown square with a filled brown triangle.
You will still see older menus that use a red or brown dot for non-veg. India's current food labelling rules use a brown triangle for packaged food. The triangle has a practical upside: the two marks can be told apart by shape, not only by colour. That helps guests with colour blindness and survives faded printing, so it is a good choice for menus too.
| Mark | Looks like | Means |
|---|---|---|
| Veg | Green square, green filled circle | No meat, fish or egg |
| Non-veg | Brown square, brown filled triangle | Contains meat, poultry, fish or seafood |
| Egg | No official mark, often a yellow or amber dot | Vegetarian apart from egg |
What about egg?
Under the packaged food rules, egg counts as non-vegetarian. On restaurant menus, many places add a separate egg mark because a large group of diners eat egg but not meat. If you serve omelettes, egg bhurji, baked goods with egg or egg curry, a separate egg mark saves a lot of questions at the table.
Whatever you choose, explain it in a legend. A guest should never have to guess whether your yellow dot means egg or something else.
Vegan, gluten free and spicy
Veg does not mean vegan. Paneer, ghee, curd, butter and cream are all vegetarian but not vegan. If you have vegan dishes, mark them separately. Short codes keep the line tidy: VG for vegan and GF for gluten free are widely understood, especially in cafes and international menus.
- VG, vegan: no animal products at all, including dairy, ghee, honey and egg.
- GF, gluten free: no wheat, barley or rye. Only use it if you can keep the dish away from flour in the kitchen.
- Spicy: useful when your heat level is higher than guests might expect.
Listing allergens
Allergens are different from diet marks. They are about safety, so be specific and plain. A short line under the dish, such as contains nuts, dairy, works better than a row of tiny icons guests have to decode. Common ones to call out are nuts, peanuts, dairy, gluten, egg, soy, sesame, fish and shellfish.
Rules on allergen information differ by country and change over time. If you are unsure what you must show, check with your local food authority. Many places also add a footer line asking guests to tell staff about any allergies.
Placing marks on the page
- Put the diet mark right before or beside the dish name, at the same spot on every line.
- Size it a little smaller than the dish name so it reads as a mark, not a bullet.
- Mark every dish, not just the vegetarian ones. A missing mark is ambiguous.
- Add a small legend at the foot of the menu that shows each mark used and what it means.
- Use the same marks on your printed menu, your phone menu and any table cards.
Diet marks in Platebill
In Platebill each dish has a mark choice of veg, non veg, contains egg or no mark, plus vegan, gluten free and spicy tags and a free text allergens field. Veg prints as a green square with a circle, non veg as a brown square with a triangle, and egg as an amber square with a circle. Every layout draws the marks the same way, prints VG and GF codes, sets allergens as a contains line, and adds a legend for only the marks your menu uses. The phone menu shows the same marks. When you paste a menu as text, writing (v), (nv), (egg), (vg), (gf) or (spicy) after a dish name sets them for you.
Questions people ask
What does the green dot mean on an Indian menu?
A green circle inside a green square means the dish is vegetarian, with no meat, fish or egg. It can still contain dairy such as paneer, ghee or cream.
Is the non-veg symbol red or brown?
India's current packaged food labelling uses a brown triangle inside a brown square. Many menus still use a red or brown dot, but the triangle is clearer because guests can tell it apart by shape as well as colour.
Is there an official symbol for egg?
No. For packaged food, egg counts as non-veg. Many restaurants use their own egg mark, often a yellow or amber dot, and explain it in the menu legend.
Is vegetarian the same as vegan on a menu?
No. Vegetarian dishes can include dairy, ghee and honey. Vegan dishes contain no animal products at all, so mark them separately, for example with VG.