How to organize a menu?

Need some advice from other chef, writing a menu and not sure how it works?

• im a chef writing a menu, its just a little thing im doing for fun but i wana make it properly like how i would do it if i was actually opening a restraunt. i want to do it in the future but just putting some ideas together. My dream restraunt is a fairly small place, maybe 30-40 seater breakfast restraunt in the city, with a british menu my questions are; 1: how do you calculate how many dishes to put on the menu? (i understand that if there is too many and too much prep its not possible, i got a bit carried away with my menu and ended up designing 24 recipes and i think i need to reduce this) 2: How do you cost a menu? specifically how do you know when to limit expensive ingredients, for example using smoked salmon and avocado is going to put my costs up loads, every dish has its pricey ingredient, do you take this off the menu altogether or replace it or what. any advise whatsoever would be really nice, thanks.

• Answer:

  A couple of suggestions - Develop one "signature" dish that will inspire the public to advertise for you. (It doesn't matter if it is a salad, soup, appetizer, dessert or main course.). If your restaurant is very good, you won't get nearly as much advertising as a competitor's restaurant that served "the most amazing fish & chips I've eaten in years." - Reduce the regular number of menu items to 18. Introduce the other 6 items as "specials" - one week at a time, to see what sells. Add specials to the regular menu as appropriate.