How to write a menu in Arabic, French and English
Published
In Morocco, the same terrace hosts regulars who read Arabic or French, Moroccans living abroad, and tourists looking for English. A three-language menu is not three translations stuck together: it is one menu, written so everyone understands it. Here is a simple way to get there.
Start the free trialWhy three languages, and for whom
Before writing, look at who sits at your tables. A neighbourhood café in Oujda and a rooftop in Marrakech do not have the same guests, but both get people who prefer Arabic, people who prefer French, and more and more visitors who read neither. English then becomes the shared language for every foreign guest.
The goal is not to look international. It is to let guests choose on their own, without calling the waiter over for every dish. A menu guests understand saves time for the whole room.
Start from one reference language
Write the full menu first in the language you know best, usually French or Arabic. That is your reference version: names, ingredients, prices in dirhams, options. Every correction is made there first, then carried into the other languages.
Do not translate word for word. "Petit-déjeuner beldi" means nothing to an English reader if you translate it literally. Explain what it contains instead: msemen, baghrir, olive oil, amlou, mint tea. Each language should read naturally for its reader.
Moroccan dish names: keep them and explain
Do not translate the names that make your identity. Harira, tagine, rfissa, msemen, pastilla: keep the name and add a short explanation underneath. "Harira: tomato, lentil and chickpea soup" helps the tourist without losing the word your regulars look for.
Pick one spelling and use it everywhere. If you write "msemen" on one line and "msemmen" on another, guests will think they are two different dishes. Same for nus-nus or café cassé: one name per item.
Short, useful descriptions
A good description fits on one line and answers the question guests actually have: what is in it, is it spicy, what does it come with. Skip empty words like "delicious" or "tasty": they translate badly and tell nobody anything.
Flag clearly what matters to some guests: nuts in amlou, gluten in bread, milk in blended juices, vegetarian dishes. A guest with an allergy should be able to see it without asking.
Arabic: a few practical points
Arabic reads right to left, and a badly laid-out menu quickly mixes up prices and names. Keep lines short and check the layout on a real phone. For dish names, use the words your guests actually say, like "حريرة" or "مسمن", rather than formal equivalents nobody uses.
For descriptions, simple clear wording works better than a fancy style. Write prices in figures and show the currency the same way across the whole menu.
Have a native speaker proofread
Machine translation can give you a first draft, but it knows nothing about your dishes or your guests. It may get "mint tea" right and then invent an odd name for tanjia. Always have each language checked by someone who speaks it every day: a team member, a friend, a regular.
Check again after every menu change. A new drink added in French and forgotten in English is enough to cause confusion.
Think about kitchen tickets
If you print tickets in the kitchen or at the bar, know that many thermal printers cannot print Arabic characters. Give each dish a short ticket name in Latin letters that the whole team understands: "Harira", "Tajine kefta", "Nus-nus". Guests see the nice name, the kitchen sees a practical one.
With Tablilo
With Tablilo, the QR menu comes in French, Arabic and English, and guests switch language themselves. The starter menu for your type of venue already has Moroccan items in all three languages, which you adjust. Diet and allergen tags let guests filter the menu.
Each dish can have a ticket name in Latin letters for printers, and each waiter uses the app in their own language. You can try it free at /signup.
Related features
- Menu in Arabic, French and EnglishA QR menu in Arabic, French and English: guests pick their language, each waiter works in their own, and tickets print in Latin letters.
- QR code menu for restaurants and cafés in MoroccoA QR code menu on every table: guests scan, choose and order from their phone, no app needed. Digital menu in French, Arabic and English.
- Receipt printer and cash drawer for snack bars and cafés58 or 80 mm thermal printer, bar and kitchen tickets, bills, cash drawer and Z report: the till for your snack bar or café in Morocco, with Tablilo.