How to make a digital menu for your restaurant without a designer

Why isn't a printed menu enough for a restaurant anymore?

Because a restaurant's menu changes faster than it can be printed. Ingredient costs rise, a dish sells out, the breakfast combo only applies until eleven, and Tuesday's promotion lasts one day. Every one of those changes forces you to redesign, print and put up a new sign.

The cost is not only printing: it is the owner's time. In the Displei.co pilot in Colombia, businesses reported 3 hours saved per month per location compared with designing and printing signs every week. This is a pilot average and results vary by location, but it shows the scale of the invisible work.

The other problem is consistency. When the printed menu's price does not match the sign taped to the wall, the cashier ends up explaining the difference dish by dish. A screen with a single published piece of content removes that friction.

What are the steps to make a digital menu without a designer?

There are three steps: you describe the menu or promotion in one sentence, the AI generates two designs with your brand, and you pick the one you prefer to publish and schedule on the screen. You do not open an editor, choose fonts, or need Canva templates.

• 1. Describe it: "Cheese bread + coffee combo for $6,900 until 11 a.m." One sentence with product, price and validity.
• 2. The AI designs it: you get two versions with your logo, your colors and your fonts; pick the one that fits your goal best.
• 3. Publish and schedule: set days and time slots in Colombia time and the screen changes on its own.

That is how Panadería La Esquina, in Bogotá, uses it: one piece for the morning breakfast combo, another for lunch at midday, and a third for the afternoon close. Marcela Ríos, the owner, describes it this way: she used to print a new sign every week, and now she types the promo of the day on her phone and two minutes later it is on the counter screen.

The important detail is that all three pieces are scheduled once. The screen rotates between breakfast, lunch and close without anyone on staff having to remember to change it.

What do I need in the store to show a digital menu?

A screen and an internet connection. A smart TV you already own works, as does a regular TV with an Android box (COP $140,000 to $400,000, one-time) or a counter tablet (COP $320,000 to $600,000, one-time). No professional hardware or specialized installation needed.

• If you already have a smart TV: equipment cost $0.
• TV + Android box: COP $140,000 to $400,000, one-time.
• Counter tablet: COP $320,000 to $600,000, one-time.

On the software side, the plans have published prices in Colombian pesos: Esencial at COP $129,000 per month (plus 19% VAT) with up to 3 screens, and Pro at COP $397,000 per month (plus 19% VAT) with up to 10 screens, AI images and video. The full breakdown, with a return example, is in how much it costs to put a digital screen in your business in Colombia.

How long does it take to publish or change the screen's menu?

Minutes, not days. In the Displei.co pilot, the full path — writing the promotion, choosing the design and publishing it — took 2 minutes from idea to screen, and 98% of publishes happened without technical help. These are pilot averages and results vary by location.

Pilot businesses rated ease of use 4.8 out of 5. That number explains the 98%: if publishing were complicated, the owner would delegate it or leave the screen outdated, which is exactly what happens with most digital signboards installed by integrators.

Reference estimate: these figures come from the pilot in Colombia and vary by location, content type and the screen's connection.

If you want to see how this translates to your type of business, check the digital signage for restaurants and cafés page for sector-specific cases and features.