🍽️ A Menu Without Prices — or Rather, Without Currency. Clever or a Mistake?
Hello! Anyone here from the restaurant business?
A restaurant at St. Andrew's Café at the Culinary Institute of America in New York ran an experiment: they removed currency symbols from the menu — and the average check went up. 🙄
Why did it work? The psychology of perception, money signals, and how our brains make decisions.
What they did and what they achieved: • Removed or hid currency symbols • Made prices less prominent (embedded in descriptions rather than next to dish names) • Added expensive "anchors" — so that moderately priced dishes looked like better value
Test results: • People spent less when the menu contained "$" or the word "dollar" next to the price • Menu format affects average spend — without explicit money signals, people choose pricier items • The compromise effect: mid-range options win when the menu includes extreme high and low anchors
How to apply this: • Test a menu without currency symbols in a print or digital version • Remove or minimize the currency symbol • Visually emphasize the dish story or section — not the price • Add a premium "anchor" that makes adjacent items seem more reasonable • Measure: average check, share of premium orders, customer reaction
The takeaway: A menu is not just a list of dishes. It's a tool that shapes perception. By playing with formats, visuals, and "price signals," you can influence what people order — often without them even noticing.
I've personally never seen a menu without prices, but menus without currency symbols? Often. Drop a comment if you've encountered one!
#businessinsights