Restaurant Table Tents: Menu Boards and Specials Guide

What Should Go on a Restaurant Table Tent?

Put one item or one offer on each panel. A tri-fold tent has three faces; give each a job. One panel for the featured special, one for a drink or dessert, one for a loyalty program, a QR code to the menu or an upcoming event.

On each panel: the name of the item, a photo of the dish you actually serve, a short description and the price your restaurant charges. Use large type for the name and price. Guests read tents from across the table, not with their noses on the card.

Have the manager check every price on the proof against the menu. A printed price is a promise at the register.

Which Specials Belong on Table Tents?

Put lasting offers on table tents and changing specials on signs you can swap. Table tents start at 1,000 per design, so they suit offers that run for months: happy hour, a signature cocktail, a dessert you always make, a loyalty card, a catering service, a weekday lunch deal.

Weekly or daily specials change too often to print a thousand of. Put those on an A-frame, a foam board sign or a chalkboard, and use the table tent to point to them: "Ask about today's specials."

What Can You Use as a Menu Board?

Use an A-frame for a menu board on the sidewalk or at the entry, and a foam board sign for a menu on an indoor wall. Both are catalog products; a dedicated menu board is not.

A Standard Signicade holds a 24 x 36 inch graphic and folds flat at closing. It starts at $267.49 with the printed graphic. A foam board sign is a light, rigid board for indoor use, mounted on a wall or set on an easel, starting at $64.99 for 11 x 17 inches. Both print in 3 business days.

For a menu that changes daily, print a branded board with a header and leave the lower area for a dry erase sheet or chalk insert you already own.

How Should Table Tents and Boards Work Together?

Use the board to pull guests in and the table tent to sell once they are seated. The sidewalk A-frame says "Happy hour 3 to 6" to people walking past. The table tent shows the happy hour menu at the table. The wall board lists the full drink menu at the bar.

Use the same design on all three: the same fonts, colors and photo style. Guests who see the special outside recognize it on the table.

Train the staff on what the tents say. A server who mentions the special on the tent while dropping off water turns a printed suggestion into a conversation, and a guest who has already read the tent is halfway to saying yes. Keep the staff briefed whenever a new tent goes out, so nobody is surprised by a question about it.

Which Table Tent Size Should You Choose?

Choose by the table. The product page opens on 4 x 6 inch tri-fold table tents and offers three compact sizes. A small cafe table or a crowded bar top suits a compact tent that does not take space from plates and glasses. A larger dining table can carry a bigger tent with more room for photos.

Measure the clear space on your table with the full place setting in place. A tent that gets knocked over by every plate is a tent that ends up on the floor.

How Many Table Tents Should You Order?

Table tents start at 1,000 per design, which covers a lot of tables for a long time, plus replacements for tents that get stained, bent or taken. 1,000 4x6 Tri-Fold Cover Stock table tents are $641.99, which is about $0.64 a table tent. Artwork prep is $14.99 per item. Printed in the USA in 3 to 5 business days and shipped nationwide, flat $10 shipping to any US address.

Store the extras flat and dry in their box, and swap out damaged tents during the weekly clean. A restaurant that rotates two or three designs a year can order each as its season starts.

How Do Bars Use Table Tents?

Bars use table tents to sell what the bartender would recommend if they had time: the house cocktail, the draft of the month, the happy hour menu, the trivia night. On a busy night, the tent does the talking while the bar is three deep.

Keep bar tents compact, so they fit between glasses on a narrow bar top. Put happy hour times in large type; it is one of the first questions guests ask.

A sturdy tri-fold tent stands on its own on a bar top, with no holder for guests to knock over. Replace tents that get wet; a warped tent looks tired fast.

What Photos Work on a Table Tent?

Photos of the actual dish or drink, shot close and in good light, work on a table tent. A guest compares the photo to what arrives, so the photo has to match the plate.

Shoot on a plain background or the restaurant's own table, in daylight from a window, and fill the frame with the food. One strong photo per panel beats a collage of small ones.

If you do not have a good photo, use a clean text layout with the item name large and a short, appetizing description. Text that tells the truth sells better than a stock photo that does not.

How Do Table Tents Support QR Ordering?

A table tent is a natural home for a QR code that opens the menu, the ordering page or a loyalty sign up. Put the code on one panel with a short line saying what it opens, so guests are not scanning blind.

Print the code dark on a light background, with clear space around it, large enough to scan from a seated position. Test it from the proof with two phones, and test the page it opens on a phone, too; a code that opens a slow or broken page is worse than no code.

How Do You Keep Table Tents Clean and Current?

Wipe table tents with a dry or barely damp cloth during table resets. Cover stock is sturdy but not waterproof; a soaked tent should be replaced. Keep a stack of fresh ones at the host stand.

Pull tents for offers that end on the day they end. A guest who orders an expired special and is told no remembers the tent, not the apology.

What Should You Check on Table Tent Proofs?

Check first for prices and offer terms against the menu. Next, check for the folded view: each panel should read upright when the tent stands, so look at how the panels fall after folding. Also check for the QR code; scan it from the proof with two phones.

How Do You Order Table Tents and Menu Signs?

Choose the table tent size, decide the three panels, and send the photos, prices and logo. Add an A-frame or a foam board sign for the specials that change. Artwork prep is $14.99 per item if you send a phone photo or a ChatGPT image, and a free proof comes with every order.

Table tents print in 3 to 5 business days; A-frames and foam board signs in 3 business days, after proof approval. Each product ships for a flat $10 to any US address.