Indian Summer
MENU SUITE RE-DESIGN, BRIGHTON U.K.
Indian Summer is one of Brighton's longest-established Indian restaurants, with a reputation built on authentic flavours and genuine hospitality. Consistently highly rated, it is particularly known for dishes rooted in the traditions of the Indian diaspora, a cuisine the restaurant has championed in Brighton for over two decades.
Good Noise were commissioned to redesign the restaurant's full menu suite ahead of a spring 2024 relaunch.
The Challenge
Whilst developing a full brief along side our client, we identified the existing menus were working against the restaurant in several ways. The pricing structure was the most immediate problem, side dishes were included in the price of main courses, but this wasn't communicated clearly. The result was that dishes looked more expensive than they were, and the restaurant could have been losing customers at the point of decision, not because the value wasn't there, but because the menu wasn't making the case for it.
Beyond pricing, the menu structure gave customers little room customise their eating experience. Sharing wasn't being facilitated or encouraged, key dishes we’re not being highlighted. The suite of menus had grown organically over time without a unifying design approach, which left them visually inconsistent and difficult to read in the low-light conditions typical of a restaurant dining room.
For a venue with Indian Summer's reputation, the menus simply weren't doing justice to the experience on the plate.
Our intention was to address all of this, while also ensuring the redesigned menus could be managed and updated operationally – without requiring a full redesign each time the kitchen changed a dish or a seasonal menu came around.
Our Process
We began with a research and discovery phase, reviewing menus from comparable restaurants across the UK to identify approaches that were working and those that weren't. This informed our thinking before we went anywhere near the design tool.
That research fed directly into a client workshop with the Indian Summer team, where we worked through layout options, agreed section structures, and established a direction that would suit both customer experience and the practicalities of running a busy restaurant. Getting under the skin of how a menu actually works in service, not just how it looks is central to how we approach this kind of project.
Commercial considerations were embedded in the design strategy from the outset. We applied the 'golden triangle' principle to draw the eye towards high-margin dishes, including the Thalis, Biryani, and Indian Junk Food sections.
We also identified an opportunity to introduce a set menu be integrated into the main lunch and dinner menu, making it more visible, easier to order from. It proved to be one of the most commercially significant decisions of the project.
With a clear direction agreed, we developed two full design routes for the complete menu suite: the lunch and dinner menu, set menu, dessert menu, wine list, and cocktail menu.
We specified light backgrounds and high-contrast type to ensure legibility in the low-light conditions, directly addressing one of the issues identified in the original brief. We also introduced a colour-coding system was introduced across the suite to make each menu immediately distinguishable.
The Result
Sales and footfall increased following the launch of the new menus.
The set menu, repositioned within the main menu rather than sitting separately, proved particularly effective in driving bookings and spend a direct outcome of the strategic thinking that shaped the design.
The redesigned suite gave Indian Summer a coherent visual identity across their menus for the first time. Legibility improved significantly. Navigation became more intuitive. The restructured layout actively encouraged sharing and flexible ordering, which reflects how most customers naturally want to eat Indian food.
Menu design can be a commercial and strategic exercise, not just a visual one. This project is a good example of that.
