Which pricing method works for à la carte menu items as well as menu items that comprise a meal?

A la carte or Set Menu?

Mixed bundling, by offering a package deal as well as separately priced items, can be a revenue-maximizing pricing strategy in the face of varying customer needs.

I went to a Chinese restaurant in Tokyo in 1970 for a set lunch consisting of 3 courses. I liked the items very much. So I invited my American host and his wife for dinner in the same restaurant. I ordered the same lunch items a la carte. But the prices were so much higher that I almost fell out of my chair.

That set meals usually cost a lot less than the same items a la carte is familiar to all restaurant goers. The reasons are simple. First, the items are not exactly the same at least in portions and/or presentations. Second, the set meals are usually offered at a time when business is slower. Additional revenue over and above variable cost could help pay for the fixed cost. Third, set menus allow the kitchen to prepare the limited number of items in bulk thus saving preparation time. Fourth, the items offered could be bought cheaply in bulk or must be cleared out of the refrigerator before expiration. Fifth, the menu may include new promotion item that is not familiar to most customers. Sixth, the set menu is a promotion deal to attract customers to the more expensive a la carte meals.

The low prices of set meals usually come with strings: First, no substitution. Second, narrow service-time window. Set meals are still a good deal if ordering the package deal cost just a little more than what you have been prepared to pay for some of the desired items in the package. And if the desired items in the set menu vary from customers to customers, the set menu can capture enough customers to justify the package deal for the restaurant. And for those customers who need only one item out of the set menu, they could always order a la carte. The offer of both a set menu and a la carte selection is known as mixed bundling.

Mixed bundling is the common practice in most products except in cable TV. Except for a few movie channels which could be ordered a la carte, the basic cable package consists of 50 or 60 channels (WSJ). Not surprisingly, there is a heated debate on whether allowing viewers who watch an average of only 17 channels (Newsday 2/10/2006) to choose channels a la carte could reduce their subscription fees. Cable networks that sell only packages of channels to cable providers claim that channel bundling actually lowers subscription fees because a larger potential viewership commands higher offsetting advertising rates. But a new FCC study counter-claims that a la carte channel choice could lead to 3% - 13% rate reduction under some options (Newsday 2/10/2006). Only a market test allowing mixed bundling could prove which side is correct. It may be that only a few households would benefit from pure a la carte choice. Much more likely will be a two-part pricing system where every subscriber must pay a basic subscription fee for some common channels and a la carte fees for individual channels on top of the basic package. The basic subscription fee will cover the overhead cost and siphon off some of the consumer surplus arising from single pricing of individual a la carte channels.

Which pricing method works for à la carte menu items as well as menu items that comprise a meal?

Which pricing method works for à la carte menu items as well as menu items that comprise a meal?

It ain't just kitchen slang. The meaning of a la carte comes down to us through French. In the 19th century, English speakers adopted the phrase to refer to a certain type of menu item-occasionally a lamb wine pairing-and it stuck. Another word for a la carte is according to the menu or by the menu.

So, what is this mysterious menu item, and why does it pop up in so many high-end restaurants?

In this post, we’ll first look at the meaning of a la carte, then we’ll dive a bit deeper. We’ll look into some popular a la carte menu items, what an a la carte table cover looks like, and a la carte menus themselves.

There’s even a free downloadable a la carte menu template if you’re designing your own. Additionally, we give you an example of what a complete a la carte menu would look like.

Which pricing method works for à la carte menu items as well as menu items that comprise a meal?

What Does A La Carte Mean?

When a dish at a restaurant is offered a la carte, it means the dish is ordered individually. It is not a part of a larger meal or a course of dishes. If you order a steak a la carte, you get a steak and just a steak. There may be garnishes or sauces with it. Some guests may choose to order a side dish with their a la carte steak. But they’d be ordering that side dish a la carte, too.

Defining Characteristic

That’s because the defining characteristic of an a la carte menu item is that it’s served differently—separately—from the way the dish is offered on the restaurant’s full menu. This contrasts it with fixed menus like the table d hote menu and the prix fixe menu.

More Expensive Dishes

Another defining feature of the a la carte menu is that it’s priced differently than the rest of the menu. A la carte dishes tend to be a bit pricier, ounce-for-ounce, compared to their regular menu counterparts. That’s primarily because the restaurant isn’t selling you numerous side dishes with your entree.

Side dishes that tend to have higher margins. So, they’ll raise the price of the a la carte menu item to make up for it. Knowing how to price a menu is key to profitability.

Which pricing method works for à la carte menu items as well as menu items that comprise a meal?

A La Carte Menu Card

A menu made up of numerous a la carte dishes is called an a la carte menu. It’s also sometimes referred to as an a la carte menu card. It can be a paper menu or a digital menu like a QR code menu.

And if you’re ordering your meal solely from the a la carte menu card, a la carte service doesn’t necessarily differ from the service anyone else gets. The only difference is that you’ll likely have to coordinate with your server when you want each a la carte dish to hit the table. If you want that a la carte side of sauteed spinach to come out with everyone else’s appetizers, make it known.

What Are Common A La Carte Dishes?

What dishes are on a restaurant’s a la carte menu depends entirely on the type of cuisine the restaurant serves. There isn’t a certain type of dish that is more inherently a la carte than any other.

Again, what makes a dish a la carte is that it’s served individually—separate from the full menu.

But here's a list of a la carte dishes that tend to show up on a la carte menus. This should give you a decent idea of just what types of menu items are typically served as a la carte dishes. What will show up on yours is typically what's most popular on its own—a data point important to food menu engineering.

For this example, we’ll be envisioning an American-style steakhouse that’s open for breakfast (these items also answer the question of "What is brunch food?").

4 Common Breakfast A La Carte Dishes

  • Omelets
  • Oatmeal
  • Waffles
  • Blintzes

An omelet a la carte, for example, would just be the omelet. No slices of fruit, no pancakes, no hash browns. Get it? Let’s look at a lunch version.

Which pricing method works for à la carte menu items as well as menu items that comprise a meal?

4 Common Lunch A La Carte Dishes

  • Sandwiches
  • Pastas
  • Soups
  • Salads

Looks like a regular menu, doesn’t it? That’s because the type of item on an a la carte menu isn’t fundamentally different from what’s on the regular menu. It’s just sold individually.

How about dinner?

4 Dinner A La Carte Dishes

  • Steaks
  • Crab cakes
  • Short ribs
  • Lasagne

Here, imagine ordering a steak and just getting a steak. Like in our previous example. Maybe it comes with a garnish, but it’s typically just the steak.

Are There A La Carte Beverages?

Good question! Often the beverage part of a menu is considered a la carte, given that drinks are ordered separately.

A beverage menu is inherently a la carte in that sense. It can be any type of beverage menu, too- from a wine list to a cocktail menu. And they can be presented digitally, too, depending on the restaurant technology used.

We know what a la carte menus look like. Now let's look at what a table should look like when a la carte menu cards are being served.

What Is the Standard A La Carte Table Cover?

All sorts of restaurants have a la carte menus, from fast-casual spots to luxurious white tablecloth fine dining establishments. This section is mostly concerned with the latter. 

The a la carte table setting is simply how each guest’s place at the table is set when an a la carte menu is being served.

So here’s how to do it. This usually applies when the entire party is ordering off the a la carte menu.

And that tends to be a more common dining experience in Europe than it is in the U.S.

Here are the five steps to creating an a la carte table cover:

  1. Place the base plate in the center of the cover position
  2. Place the fish knife and fork around the base plate
  3. Place the side plate about 5-6” to the left of the base plate and place the side knife on top, on the right, facing left
  4. Set a napkin in the center of the base plate
  5. Position a glass up about 2-3” and to the right about 2-3” from the tip of the fish fork

Which pricing method works for à la carte menu items as well as menu items that comprise a meal?

Voilà, you’ve got your a la carte setting. 

A La Carte Menu Sample

To put it all together for you, here’s an example of an a la carte sample menu we put together for a fictional restaurant, Le Sanglier Brûlant.

Which pricing method works for à la carte menu items as well as menu items that comprise a meal?

A La Carte Menu Template

If you run a business, you’re probably coming up with your own a la carte menu ideas at this point.

That’s why we’ve got this cool (and free) downloadable a la carte menu template PDF file. With your new expert knowledge on a la carte menus, you can download it and use it to create your own a la carte menu.

Digital A La Carte Menus

A great way to digitize an a la carte menu is using a QR code. All you have to do is have a menu, either a PDF document or a published HTML website. Then you'll link the QR code to the PDF or a URL. There are some QR code security issues if you use a free online service for this, beware. 

Then situate your new QR code in a QR code template for easy scanning and place it around your restaurant. It may also help to have material visible about how to scan QR codes on Androids and iPhones along with troubleshooting any issues around QR code scanning problems.

Aside from menus, a QR code is used for so many other things. QR code marketing, for example.

The Next Level A La Carte Menu

No matter the types of menu your business uses, it’s becoming clearer and clearer that custom QR code menus are the future of the industry. Various menus that are QR code-based, for example, are more hygienic and one of the best ways to increase restaurant sales. It even works for your wine food pairing menu (see more on wine pairing with salmon and turkey wine pairing ideas).

4 Reasons Why Digital Menus Are the Future

  1. Digital menus save businesses loads of time and money.
  2. More accessible to consumers who search for information electronically.
  3. The right partnership with a tech company gets you an ADA-compliant digital menu right when you start.
  4. More hygienic than their paper counterparts.

What’s more, any menu can be digitized. Table d’Hote, fixed menus, happy hour menus, a la carte menus, static menus, you name it. Every single menu out there can be made cleaner, safer, and more convenient.

Which pricing method works for à la carte menu items as well as menu items that comprise a meal?

Frequently Asked Questions About A La Carte Menus

What Is an A La Carte Menu?

An A La Carte Menu refers to the situation when a guest orders one type of dish that's separate from a plate of an original menu. The meaning of the term is to go opposite of the menu. It came into English in the 1830s and is the opposite of Table d'Hote, which means according to the menu.

What are the Characteristics of an A La Carte Menu?

Five common characteristics of an A La Carte Menu include:

  1. An extensive choice of dishes within each course or category.
  2. Each dish is priced separately and includes a description.
  3. Dishes are cooked as per order but might be partially prepared in advance.
  4. Each dish has a waiting time.
  5. Customers are billed according to the order they place.

What Items are Normally Set Up for A La Carte Dining?

Place settings are called covers (French="couverts"). The cover includes the place for each guest, including tableware, cutlery, glassware, crockery, and napkin.

How Is A La Carte Different From Buffet?

A la carte is a type of service where each item on the menu is ordered and served separately, while a buffet is a type of meal where food is placed in a public area and diners serve themselves. A la carte is usually a plated, sit-down meal, while a buffet can be either sit-down or stand-up. In addition, buffets often have a wider variety of food items than a la carte menus.

Which pricing method works for à la carte menu items as well as menu items that comprise a meal?

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