Free Marketing Report
11×17 or 8½×11: Which Takeout Menu Size Is Right for Your Restaurant?
The two sizes every restaurant picks between — and how to choose.
One of the first choices in ordering takeout menus is also one of the simplest: how big should the menu be? Nearly every restaurant picks between two standard sizes — the big 11×17 and the letter-size 8½×11. Both are printed on heavy 80lb glossy paper, full color on both sides, and both can carry a full menu. The right one depends on how much you need to say, how much room your photos need, and where the menu will live. This article walks through both sizes, the folds that go with them, and how to pick with confidence.
The two standard sizes
The two standard takeout menu sizes are 11×17 and 8½×11. The 11×17 is the big one — about twice the size of a normal sheet of paper — and it gives you the most room for items, photos, and sections. The 8½×11 is the same size as a standard letter sheet, the size most people picture when they think of a sheet of paper. Both are printed on heavy 80lb glossy paper that feels solid in the hand and shows food photos at their best, and both are printed full color on both sides. Neither size is "better" on its own. The question is always which one fits your menu, your budget, and your customers' hands.
When 11×17 wins
The big size wins when you have a lot to show. A pizza shop with twenty specialty pies, a BBQ joint with meats, sides, sauces, and combo platters, a Thai restaurant with curries, noodles, and stir-fries across a dozen sections — all of them need room, and 11×17 gives it. It also wins when photos matter: a big menu lets each section carry a photo without squeezing the text. And it wins for mailed menus, because it clears the size rule for EDDM mailing with room to spare. If your menu has a catering section, a lunch section, and a dinner section all on one piece, the big size keeps it readable instead of cramped. When in doubt, a big menu with room to breathe beats a small menu that feels crowded.
When 8½×11 wins
The letter size wins when your menu is shorter, your budget is tighter, or the menu has to travel light. A diner with a focused menu, a sandwich shop with a dozen heroes, a sushi restaurant with a tight roll list — none of them need the big sheet, and the smaller size costs less to print and mail. It also wins for menus that ride along in delivery bags, slip into a folder, or sit in a stack by the register, where the big size would be awkward. An 8½×11 menu still gets the same heavy glossy paper and full-color printing, so it looks just as good — it simply says less per page. If your menu fits on it without shrinking the text, the smaller size is the smart, simple pick.
Folds, in plain words
A menu is not just a size — it is a size plus a fold, and the fold decides how customers open it. A bi-fold is one fold, making two wide panels, like a simple booklet. A tri-fold is two folds, making three narrower panels, the classic takeout menu shape that fits in a drawer. A 4-fold adds one more fold for menus with many sections. And the coupon fold adds a strip of coupons right on the menu itself — but it is only offered on orders of 10,000 or more, because it needs that quantity to make sense. The fold you pick should match how customers will use the menu: tri-fold for the kitchen drawer, bi-fold for a menu that opens flat on the table, coupon fold for a menu that is meant to bring people back.
Other sizes and papers exist
If neither standard size fits your idea, you are not stuck. Other sizes and papers are available — a square menu, a longer menu, a heavier stock, a different finish — and the team will price them with a custom quote. Call or text 646-721-1569, describe what you have in mind, and ask. A steakhouse wanting an upscale heavy menu, a bar and pub wanting a drink list that stands apart, a seafood restaurant with a raw bar section that needs its own panel — all of them can get something beyond the standard two sizes. The standard sizes cover most restaurants, but the custom route is there whenever your menu needs something special.
Where to start
Start by counting your sections and your items. If the list runs long or photos are a big part of the sell, go 11×17. If the menu is short and simple, go 8½×11. Then pick your fold — tri-fold for most takeout menus — and call or text 646-721-1569 with your size and fold choice. The design team builds the menu from scratch around the size you pick, so the size decision comes first and everything else follows it.
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