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At the restaurant where I work, bottled beers aren't printed on the menu. There's a display of available bottles above the bar, but few patrons are seated where they can easily glance at what admittedly looks more like a shooting gallery than a menu addendum. That means it's up to the servers to rattle off a list of more than two dozen beers -– a list that starts sounding nonsensical about six beers in. (Having been on the receiving end of the alternative server strategy, which involves responding to the inevitable "what beers do you have?" question with the vaguely hostile challenge "what beer do you want?", I'm standing by the confusing method.)
Restaurant managers are constantly instructing servers to "verbalize" various specials, desserts and other items that didn't make it onto the menu, usually because the kitchen submitted its dish descriptions too late in the day or the back office printer wasn't working. But, as in the case of the unnoted beer, restaurants sometimes make the very deliberate decision to employ walking menus.
I first confronted the spoken menu as a diner at Longhi's, the famed Hawaiian eatery that made the schtick its signature. Bob Longhi, who opened the restaurant in 1977, explained his thinking in his memoir-cum-cookbook "Longhi's: Recipes and Reflections from Maui's Most Opinionated Restaurateur": "It gives (guests) an opportunity to relate to the people who are serving them ... My belief is that a written menu often causes a restaurant staff to treat their customers in a perfunctory manner. With a verbal menu the staff must be constantly aware of what is happening."
I imagine most promoters of the verbal menu philosophy feel much the same way. The problem is, in my experience, guests appreciate having their choices written down, so they can contemplate them before and after the server is standing over their table. When a menu's spoken, guests invariably conflate the item descriptions -- "wait, so it's the apple pie that has the chocolate sauce?" and block out intriguing but unfamiliar dishes. It's a no-win situation for servers, and one of the few they can't resolve through attentiveness and good cheer. If a customer wants a printed menu, nothing but a printed menu will do.
As it turns out, that's what patrons at Longhi's wanted. After nearly three decades, the restaurant retired its verbal menu.
"We stopped the verbal menu about five years ago," a staffer named Sheri e-mailed. "We do have some die-hard customers that really miss it, but overall the response of having printed menus is positive."
What do you think? Do verbal menus make for better service? Or would you rather just see the dessert tray?
| Yes, it's more personal. | |
|---|---|
| No, I'd rather read the menu myself. |
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12-02-2009 @11:58AM Eating The Road said... I can't stand verbal menus. Often the server just rants it off in a rote manner and it flies right over the diner's heads. If they sit and explain them well...maybe, but I'd still rather just peruse the menu leisurely. Also I find I have to ask them to repeat things ("wait...what was the one with the Gorgonzola again?") and that's no fun for anyone.
A verbal menu only makes sense for specials and even then it wouldn't be a bad idea to print a fresh one daily.
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12-02-2009 @1:20PM Catherine said... It usually takes me at least 15 minutes to decide AFTER reading all the menu choices. I want to be able to savor all the choices without someone standing over me waiting for a decision or getting annoyed because I had to have them repeat themselves over and over. Verbal menus throw me off and keep me from coming back a second time.
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12-02-2009 @1:01PM Dave said... The beer list absolutely needs to be written down, as does anything else for sale. I absolutely hate asking a server "what do you have on tap". I lose track about 5 beers in, and have to make a decision very quickly to avoid making the server wait. I don't understand why anyone would think that a customer would NOT want everything available to them on the menu.
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12-02-2009 @1:11PM eh said... As a server- I hated verbalizing menus. Most of it passes over the customers' head, especially if it's a foreign dish they've never heard of. They need time to look and compare. This doesn't allow for that so much.
As a customer- I hate verbalized menus. Just give me the menu to read and check back. If we have questions, we will ask. Having a busy server loom over your table is just uncomfortable.
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12-02-2009 @4:38PM dd said... I'd rather servers spend their time serving rather than repeating menu choices.
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12-03-2009 @5:06AM Jen said... I HATE, HATE, HATE verbal menus!!! What a terrible idea! The servers have to repeat themselves endlessly all night, I can't keep up with everything they rattle off, and end up just ordering what I can remember rather than what I really wanted. I would NEVER GO BACK to a restaurant that only had a verbal recitation!
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12-03-2009 @1:25PM Numb said... Not only do I want the menu in writing, I want it to be DETAILED. As somebody with a deep hatred for onions, I can't tell you how angry I get when I order a dish that had no mention of or allusion to onions and find that it in fact, is served in/with/under/on onions. I'm not saying menus should list every single spice, but if it's a moderately substantial part of the piece (ie, it's visable) then it really should be on the damn description.
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12-03-2009 @4:20PM Samme said... I kind of agree with Numb, I want to know the gist of what's in each dish, not just hear a list of names. We don't go out very often and I usually look for something new when we go out. I will often ask a server what they recommend, especially if I am looking for a certain flavor that evening, but it's a lot better to be able to familiarize myself with the menu and then ask whether they think the Kung Pao Ming Har is better than the the Cheng du Chicken.
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12-03-2009 @5:34PM dtm said... i don't mind verbal specials of the day (although i'd rather see them printed), but there's no excuse for failure to have a printed beer list. the beers don't change on a daily basis. no establishment would expect the servers to rattle off two dozen wines; why is beer different?
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12-04-2009 @6:47PM Annoachi said... I absolutly cannot stand verbal menus. Ususaly after the first two or three dishes I loose track of what goes with what and I like time to be able to think about what I want to order as well as see prices. I feel very put on the spot if I don't have a chance to actually read the menu with, hopefully at least somewhat detailed descriptions.
I'm also an expat living in a country where I only sort of speak the language, but read it very well. Written menus give me the time to actually parse what the dishes are and to order in the local language without making an ass of myself.
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