Can we talk about the incomprehensible menu
You spot a nice restaurant, sit down, and get the menu. And then the confusion begins. Some menus are impossible to understand. The biggest question marks? Here they are.
Earlier, we wrote off our astonishment and irritation when it comes to waiters who crouch, or menus full of so-called humor or annoying spelling mistakes. It can get even stranger: you might think that most menus simply list the starters with their prices, followed by the main courses, and finally the desserts. But no. Apparently, it can be a lot more creative.
These menu trends can stop: incomprehensible
Creativity is fun in many places, but we just want to understand a menu. We find these kinds of menus rather inconvenient:
#1: Shopping list
A dish is described as a list of its main ingredients. But then you actually still know nothing. Are you going for the salmon, hop shoots, capers? Or will you choose the artichoke, lemon, farmhouse cheese? Pollock, chocolate sprinkles, scouring pad? Those aren’t dishes; that’s a shopping list. Before ordering, we’d really like to know whether the salmon is fried, poached, or smoked. Or raw? Or grilled?
#2: Deliciously creative
The menu says: 3D tiramisu. What do you imagine that means? Should you think of those 3D posters you had to look at through your eyelashes, after which you suddenly saw a dinosaur or a Buddha statue? Or do you need to put on virtual reality goggles to experience all the dimensions of the tiramisu? And is other tiramisu normally in two dimensions? Riddles, riddles—and the chef is laughing in the kitchen.
#3: I don’t know those people
Grandma Bob’s croquettes are now more or less well known: they’re simply croquettes, and who Grandma Bob is remains a mystery. Just like the other people mentioned on the menu: Grandma Ditje’s chicory soup, Henk’s sandwich (who is Henk, and which part of him is on my sandwich?) and latte macchiato the way Sandra makes it. Maybe it’s perfectly clear to regulars, but if you just happen to drop by craving soup, bread, or a café latte, this menu is a mystery.
#4: The reading file
Not one but three menus arrive at the table. A lunch menu, a drinks menu, and a separate menu for coffee specialties. Fancy a beer? Check the beer menu, which is in the holder with the pepper and salt shakers—or on the table. The daily special is on the blackboard, the children’s menu is stuck to the high chair, and fancy a cocktail? Wait, the server will go and get the cocktail menu for you. And so you leaf through the complete reading file while still not knowing what you actually want to order.
#5: The half-empty menu
Avocado on toast? Sorry, we’ve just run out. And unfortunately, the cheesecake is no longer available either. We’re still waiting for the greengrocer, so we can’t make a salad just yet, and I’m sorry, but we’re pouring the last beer—would you mind having a bottled beer instead? Wait: just tell us what is available, because that list is shorter than the dishes you’re out of, and we’ll choose from that.
Read also:
- Research shows: these are the most incomprehensible words on a menu
- 20 of the worst translated menus ever, part 2
- This restaurant has a menu for your dog
