MenuCraft

What it does

MenuCraft turns a list of menu items into a print-ready PDF in about 5 minutes. Operator types in items, prices, and short descriptions; picks a layout; outputs a designed menu ready for the print shop or in-house printer.

Most operators don't update menus often enough because the friction is high — designer back-and-forth, file formats that don't match the printer's specs, weekend-only revisions that cost $300 each. MenuCraft drops the friction to where a Wednesday special goes onto a printed menu the same day, not three weeks later.

The app handles full menu rebuilds (rebrand or seasonal turn) and quick updates (change one item, reprint). Outputs are scaled to standard menu paper sizes — letter, half-letter, legal — and resolved at print-quality DPI for offset or in-house laser printing.

Key features

5-minute menu generationType or paste your menu items. Pick layout. Output PDF. Done.
Print-ready output at multiple sizesLetter (8.5×11), half-letter, legal, and tabloid layouts. Bleed margins handled correctly for the print shop.
Item-level editing without rebuildingChange one item or one price; the whole menu re-renders in seconds. No DTP-software roundtrip.
Multiple menus per restaurantLunch, dinner, brunch, happy hour, banquet — store them all, reprint any one independently.
Specials and seasonal itemsMark items as time-limited (lunch only, Saturday only, seasonal); the app handles which items appear on which printed menu.
Direct send to printOutput goes to the iPhone's print dialog or saves to Files for emailing to the print shop.

How operators use it

Weekly special reprintWednesday morning, owner adds a Saturday-night special. New menu insert prints by Wednesday afternoon. Server briefing happens with the actual printed menu in hand.

Seasonal menu turnEvery quarter the menu rebuilds — 30+ items rotated, prices updated, photography refreshed. The app handles the typesetting in an afternoon instead of a 3-week designer cycle.

Catering menu spin-offTake the dining-room menu, strip the items that don't travel, output a catering-only menu PDF in 10 minutes.

Related glossary terms

FAQ

What output resolution does it generate?

300 DPI PDF — the standard for offset printing. Also generates lower-resolution versions for in-house laser printing or web display.

Can I customize fonts and colors?

Yes — pick from a curated set of restaurant-appropriate fonts (serif, sans, slab) and brand colors. The constraints are intentional: too many options is what makes design tools paralyzing.

Does it support multiple menus for the same restaurant?

Yes — store as many menus as you need (lunch, dinner, brunch, happy hour, banquet, catering). Each re-renders independently.

Print to in-house printer or send to a print shop?

Both. iPhone print dialog handles the in-house route; PDF export handles the print-shop route.

Free tier limits?

First 3 menu generations per month free, indefinitely. Paid tier unlocks unlimited generations, custom branding, and multi-location menu management.

Built by an operator

MenuCraft is published by ALSTIG INC, founded by Ben Mouton — a 14-year independent restaurant operator. Every app on the ALSTIG stack came from a problem hit during the run, and every feature was tested at Mouton's Bistro & Bar in Cedar Park, TX before release. Free to start. No platform contracts. Read the operator-direct articles or browse the operations glossary.

What it does

Key features

How operators use it

Related articles

Related glossary terms

FAQ

Built by an operator