Arabic–English Menu: Section Names, Dishes & Layout

In Saudi Arabia and the wider Gulf, a large share of restaurant and cafe guests either don't read Arabic or are more comfortable in English. A bilingual Arabic–English menu is now a baseline, not an extra — but it succeeds or fails on details: translation, layout, and spacing. Here is a practical starting point.

Menu section names in Arabic and English

• Breakfast — الفطور
• Appetizers or Starters — المقبلات
• Soups — الشوربات
• Salads — السلطات
• Main Courses — الأطباق الرئيسية
• Grills — المشويات
• Sandwiches — الساندويتشات
• Sides — الأطباق الجانبية
• Kids' Menu — وجبات الأطفال
• Desserts — الحلويات
• Hot Drinks / Cold Drinks — المشروبات الساخنة / الباردة
• Fresh Juices — العصائر الطازجة

Pick one term and stick with it across the whole menu — Starters or Appetizers, not both — and keep capitalization consistent.

How to write Gulf dish names in English

Transliterate the dish name as it is pronounced, then add a short English description underneath. Guests learn the name, and the description reassures them.

• Kabsa — spiced rice with chicken or lamb
• Mandi — slow-cooked rice and meat, smoky and tender
• Madhghout — pressure-cooked rice with meat
• Jareesh — cracked wheat slow-cooked with meat or yogurt
• Luqaimat — sweet fried dough balls with date syrup
• Karak Tea, Arabic Coffee, Kunafa, Hummus, Mutabbal

Avoid literal translations that lose the meaning, and never spell the same dish two ways (Kabsa and Kabsah) on one menu.

Cooking and allergen terms

• Grilled, Charcoal-grilled, Fried, Roasted, Smoked
• Spicy, with cheese, Creamy
• Vegetarian, Vegan, Gluten-free, Contains nuts

Allergen labels are not decoration: show them in the same place in both languages, ideally as small consistent icons explained at the bottom of the page.

Laying out two languages on one menu

• Two facing columns — Arabic on the right, English on the left, the price between them or after the description. Best for wide printed menus (free template).
• Two lines per item — the Arabic name with the English below in a smaller size. Easiest for long menus and phones.
• Separate pages or menus — fine for large menus, as long as items and prices match exactly.

Whichever you choose: pair an Arabic and a Latin typeface of similar weight, leave enough space between items, and show each price once.

Common mistakes

• Spelling errors like "Chiken" or "Expresso" — proofread before printing.
• Unreviewed machine translation.
• Different prices in the Arabic and English versions.
• Oversized English text crowding the Arabic.

Get the bilingual layout right the first time

Upload a photo of your current menu to meenuu and see a clean bilingual redesign with an improvement report. The preview is free; pay only when you want the files.