Is a menu needed for buffet dinner?

I'm not sure it's even needed for sit-down, since people have usually already made their choice and are now stuck. Cross this right off the "Worry List" and move on!

Agreed. They will see the food when they go through the line!

True.. I'm sure we eat more with our eyes than anything lol. I'll be saving time & paper from not having menus. Thanks all!

We didn't have menus for our family-style dinner.

I don't think it's totally necessary although I think it's nice, and if we'd had the extra time and money we would have splurged on them. If you do something cheaply through vistaprint it can be wrapped up in a napkin on the plate and actually help decorate the table.

I think it might be nice if you have items with allergens in them - like a peanut sauce, or something veggie-looking that actually contains bacon or some other animal product, etc.

I agree that they're not needed, but I'm doing them for my buffet dinner. I'm placing one menu at each table. I have several vegetarian (and gluten free, etc) friends I figured it would be a nice way to clearly indicate what was in each dish.

We didn't have a menu, although I think it could look nice as part of the place setting (we used our I Spy and MadLibs cards instead).

BUT we did make sure the venue would label everything at the buffet stations clearly. Nothing worse than not recognizing a particular dish

Thanks for the tips. I do know of a few guests that are vegetarian and vegan, so it might be helpful for them to know what dishes are truly "vegetarian" or "vegan".

I like that idea of I Spy or MadLibs. Did you use that as an activity for guests?

I agree with M. With so many guests with food allergies and low carb preferences, most of my clients let them know what's on the menu with a simple single table card. This also moves the line along as they don't have to "anticipate" what is being offered. For you as the hostess, it lets guests feel like you have put more thought into a bountiful buffet, rather than a skimpy plated item.

Cheers,

Susan

I'm allergic to seafood. I always have to ask the servers if any of the dishes have seafood in them. If DH is with me, I send him through the line ahead of me so he can let me know what to avoid.

We are doing a buffet style and we are not printing up any menus, at our friends wedding they had like a small chalk board next to the food and had the name of the food on it..just and idea

Also with the buffet and allergies or special diets - if you have anyone with serious restrictions and it will be difficult for them to navigate what's what, you can always ask your caterer to make them a special plate. Or you can just put up signs on the "safe" items that say *Vegan friendly* or *Gluten free* to make it easier for them to navigate through the line without having to flag down a caterer.

Since our dinner was family style and we did have several special diets in the crowd, I gave our caterers a heads-up about which tables had vegans/celiacs/peanut allergies, so the servers made sure to say, "Hey, is there someone here with an allergy? Okay, just to let you know, this is safe for you, this is safe, this is made with beef broth" etc so people just knew what to avoid. Seems like it worked out pretty well.

We're going sit down (so no menus) but I'm doing small signs for our dessert bar. Like Kris said, there are people with allergies so I want them to be safe. We're also adding a "menu card" to the napkins. We're blending some serious culture lines here, so on the front will be a "Thank you" message on and the back will be info about our DJ, info about the band, a note to tell them to hit the photo booth and a message about our personalized favors and how they were made with my Nana's famous recipe. It sounds like a lot, but it's not and I just didn't want his family to think we were crazy, and I didn't want me 80 year aunt to think she were in the wrong place with the pig dance and music.

We are having people mark what they want for a main dish on there rsvp.

I think it is a good touch for the table...you can go to the dollar store and get some frames and add the menu. It is cheap and adds decor to the table!!! message me for any other advice!

I am thinking I am going to do it for my buffet dinner. I was thinking about just doing one though, a chalkboard menu next to the buffet.

I think it will be super cute, in our rustic barn venue.

But, I definitely don't think its needed and if my budget gets too tight, it will be the 1st thing to go.

I like some of your ideas. Sounds like a good idea to at least include a menu on the buffet table or on each table so guests arent' surprised or unsure of what they can eat. Thanks everyone!

Interesting post! Thanks for initiating Adele!

We are doing buffet style too and I will include a menu on a frame at the beginning of the buffet table

I'm having a buffet dinner too and I did my own menus.. So my guest know what we are serving and to add some more detail to the guest table..

Most brides don't have a menu. However, I am. This way our guests will not only know what is being served, but will know the ingredients (for those with a special diet/food allergies)