Butcher Bar Menus
A butcher bar is a steel rail fixed across the wall with the menu panels hung from it on hooks — the same idea as the rail in a traditional butcher's shop, which is where the name comes from. It looks considered rather than corporate, and any single board can be lifted off and swapped without touching the rest of the run.
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Butcher Bar Menus, made properly
We set the rail out to your wall, then make the panels to suit: printed rigid boards, chalkboard finishes, or brushed and painted metal. Because the panels simply hang, you can add one when the menu grows, drop one when a line stops, or take the lot down for a deep clean. It suits places that change their offer regularly and want the boards to look like part of the interior.
- Any panel lifts off the rail in seconds
- Add or drop boards as the menu changes
- Rail set out to your wall, any width
- Printed, chalkboard or metal panel finishes
What should you know before ordering butcher bar menus?
How many panels does a butcher bar need?
One board per section of the menu is a sensible start, with room on the rail for what comes next. BD Signs sets the rail out across the full width of your wall, then sizes the boards so every category has its own and nothing is crammed in. The count is never fixed, because the boards simply hang: add one when a new range launches, or take one down when a line stops.
Which panel finish suits a butcher bar?
That depends on the room around it. Printed rigid boards take food photography and crisp type, which suits a busy takeaway counter. Chalkboard finishes bring a hand-made feel to delis, grills and coffee shops. Brushed or painted metal looks solid and sits well in a working butcher's shop. Bring photos of your interior to BD Signs and we will suggest the finish that belongs in it.
Is a butcher bar menu lit?
No. The boards have no lighting of their own, so they depend on the shop's lights falling on that wall. That is a large part of the appeal: no glow, no power supply to run and nothing to switch on, so the menu reads as part of the interior rather than as a sign. If the wall is dim, BD Signs will say so at the survey and talk through lighting it or choosing a lit menu box instead.
How does BD Signs make butcher bar menus?
Designed in-house, manufactured in our own factory, fitted by our own teams. 30 years in the industry.
- Step 1
Setting out the rail
BD Signs measures the wall and marks where the rail runs, at a height that reads well from the counter. We note the wall construction, the fixing points and how the room lighting falls on the boards.
- Step 2
Designing the boards
The menu is split across the boards, a category to each, with the hierarchy set so your best sellers lead the eye. You see a visual of every board hanging on the rail before anything is made.
- Step 3
Making rail and boards
The steel rail is cut to length and the boards are made in our own factory as printed rigid board, chalkboard finish or brushed and painted metal, each ready to hang from the rail on hooks.
- Step 4
Hanging the menu
Our own teams fix the rail securely to the wall and hang the boards in order. Before we go, your staff are shown how one board lifts off, so the next menu change is a job they can do themselves.
Butcher bar or illuminated menu box: which suits your shop?
Both carry a full menu above the counter. What separates them is light, look and how often the offer moves. BD Signs makes both, and this is how they honestly compare.
| Compare | Butcher bar | Illuminated menu box |
|---|---|---|
| Lighting | Unlit, relying on the room lighting | LED lit from behind and readable from the door |
| Look | Hand-made, part of the interior | Bright, bold and photographic |
| Changing the menu | Lift a board off its hooks and hang a new one | Drop a replacement printed panel into the frame |
| Growing the menu | Hang another board on the rail | Best planned into the length of the run from the start |
| Power | None needed | A supply near the run for the LEDs |
| Suits | Butchers, delis, grills and coffee shops | Takeaways, chip shops and busy counters read from the queue |
What allergen and calorie information does a hanging menu need?
Every food business has to make allergen information available. For loose food that is not prepacked, which covers most of what a butcher bar menu lists, FSA guidance allows it to be written on the menu or a chalkboard, or given verbally as long as a clearly visible written notice tells customers how to ask.
Natasha's Law is a separate rule. It covers food prepacked for direct sale, such as sandwiches or salads packed on the premises before a customer chooses them, and needs a label on the pack with a full ingredients list and the allergens emphasised. A menu board does not replace that label.
Businesses in England with 250 or more employees must also show kcal on their menus under the 2021 calorie labelling regulations. Because butcher bar boards come down one at a time, an allergen notice can have a board of its own on the rail, so it stays up whenever the menu changes.
Butcher Bar Menus we've installed
The part of the menu that keeps changing.
A lit panel is the right answer for a menu that stays put. It is bright, it costs almost nothing to run and it never crashes. But every menu has a part that moves — the special, the price that went up, the thing that sold out at two o'clock — and reprinting a panel for that costs you every single time.
So most counters end up running both. Screens, video walls and window displays you can change from your phone. We build the first set of content ourselves, so it goes live looking like your brand rather than like a spreadsheet.
Our own digital menu platform, written in-house and developed over 15 years.
Both on the same wall
Lit panels for the menu that stays put, a screen for the part that moves. Specified as one scheme so the finishes match rather than nearly match.
Change a price from your phone
A printed panel costs you money every time it changes. A screen costs you a couple of minutes, from the back office or a beach.
Breakfast to lunch on a timer
The board changes itself at eleven. You stop paying for a menu that is wrong for half the day, and you stop relying on somebody remembering.
No design fee to put up an offer
Thousands of templates and food images come with the platform, and our designers keep adding to them. A new special takes minutes instead of a quote.
What do people ask about butcher bar menus?
How do you change a board on a butcher bar?
Lift it off its hooks and hang the new one in its place. Nothing is unscrewed and the rail stays put, so a new dish or a price change takes moments and the rest of the menu never comes down. Send BD Signs the changes and we make the replacement board to match the others on the rail, in the same finish and layout, ready to hang.
How do you clean butcher bar menu boards?
Take them down. Every board lifts off the rail, so it can be cleaned flat on a worktop rather than from a ladder, and the wall and rail behind get done at the same time. A damp cloth with mild detergent suits printed and painted faces; scourers and strong solvents do not. Chalkboard and metal finishes each need slightly different care, and BD Signs will explain which applies to yours.
What kind of wall does a butcher bar rail need?
One that will hold the rail and a full set of boards hanging from it. Solid brick or block takes fixings easily. Plasterboard needs the rail fixed into the studs or with cavity fixings rated for the load, and tiled walls are fine with the right drilling. BD Signs checks the wall at the survey and tells you before fitting day if a batten or a different fixing point is needed.
Other systems we make
“Used BD Signs Design and Print services to design a new logo for my company and to design and print some large labels to use on my jobs. Professional service from start to finish. Highly recommended.”
“Excellent service as always. Friendly staff. Highly recommend.”
Need butcher bar menus?
Send us your menu and a photo of the wall. We will lay it out, quote the whole job as one price, and fit it.
Or email info@bdsigns.co.uk — we answer everything the same working day.