Price list layout

The price list is the traditional menu: names, descriptions and prices in a readable column, grouped by section. It is the least fashionable of the five layouts and the right choice more often than any other.

What it looks like

• Items in a vertical list, grouped under their category headings.
• Name, subtitle and description on the left; prices on the right, with an icon per serving format.
• Allergen icons beside each item.
• The logo and the utility controls at the top.
• The category navigation moves between sections.

When it works

• Long menus. It is the only layout that stays usable past sixty items.
• Menus with partial or no photography — nothing looks missing.
• Wine lists, spirits lists, breakfast cards, counter menus.
• Any menu where guests compare prices, which is most of them.
• Multi-format pricing: full and half portions, or four bottle sizes, side by side.

When to choose something else

• The menu is short, photogenic and complete, and the restaurant is selling an experience rather than a list.
• Dessert or cocktail menus, where the image does the selling.

Nothing prevents a site from using Price list for the à la carte menu and Masonry for desserts. Layouts are per menu type.

Why it is usually the safe default

Three practical reasons:

1. It degrades gracefully. A missing photo, a long description or an item with one price all look normal.
2. It is fast. No large images means it opens immediately on a phone at a busy table.
3. It is comparable. Guests see several prices at once, which is how ordering decisions are actually made.

Making it read well

• Keep descriptions to one or two lines. In a list, a long description pushes the next item off the screen.
• Keep description length consistent — an uneven column looks unfinished.
• Use the subtitle for a qualifier, not a second name.
• Fill only the prices the item really has; each filled format adds a line to the row.
• Order items deliberately within each section, since there is no visual hierarchy to compensate.

Images in a price list

The layout can show images where they exist, and it does not punish their absence. That makes it the right choice for a menu where photography is being added gradually: start as a price list, add photos over time, and consider a photo-led layout only once the set is complete.

Check it on a phone

• [ ] Prices and names are legible without zooming.
• [ ] The price column does not collide with long dish names.
• [ ] Multi-format prices remain distinguishable — this is the densest layout for wine lists.
• [ ] Descriptions do not push prices out of view.
• [ ] Category headings are visible as guests scroll.
• [ ] Allergen icons are readable at their real size.
• [ ] The whole section can be read without horizontal scrolling.