When the menu changes each day

Source A: an original imagined restaurant review.

The short menu was written on a board beside the counter. By the time I reached the front, one dish had been crossed out. I chose another and enjoyed it, but I understood why the customer behind me looked less pleased. He had travelled to eat the dish which had disappeared.

A changing menu can be a pleasure. It asks me to attend to what is offered today rather than automatically order the same thing. It also gives the cook room to respond to what is available. I would rather see a clear line through an unavailable dish than hear an elaborate apology after ordering it.

Still, spontaneity is easier to enjoy when the choice is genuinely open to you. A person checking ingredients or planning around a particular need may need information before arriving. The romance of a board which changes every morning is no substitute for a useful answer to a specific question.

Source B: an original imagined statement by the restaurant owner.

We keep the menu short because we want to prepare a limited set of dishes well and change them when our deliveries change. I cannot promise every dish all day. Crossing one out tells the next customer something true about what we can serve.

However, the board is only useful to somebody already standing in the restaurant. We now put the day’s menu on our information page and invite customers to contact us with questions before travelling. The page also says that availability may change. A photograph of a full board taken at opening time must not quietly become a promise for the afternoon.

I hope visitors enjoy discovering a different choice, but I do not expect everyone to build a day around surprise. We should be clear about what we know, honest about what may change and willing to say when we cannot provide what a particular customer needs.

Compare the views in Sources A and B about the advantages and limitations of a changing restaurant menu.