Places that spell menu items incorrectly
 

...how does it affect your opinion of the place and does it impact whether or not you give them your business?

For example, coffee shops that use "expresso" instead of "espresso." 10-15 years ago I could maybe understand, but these days you should really know the product you are selling. The coffee shop near my office, where for years I would get my morning cappuccino, went under new ownership last year. The new owners renamed it "..... Expresso Bar" and there was a marked decrease in quality. I haven't been going there for a while now.

The other example that has most recently affected me has been while looking at wedding facilities. Often as part of the packet places will send their full menu offerings. When I look at the menus and see glaring errors (e.g. chicken francese) the place is immediately off of the list. If they can't get common food spellings right, what does that say about the quality?

Thoughts, opinions, experiences?

I always used to chuckle at the way my favorite Chinese restaurant spelled "fried rice" as "fired rice". :) Didn't affect the quality of it, however. Quite tasty. ;) And, it didn't keep me away either. :D

Best regards,

William R. Sanders
Online Guest Feedback Coordinator
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide

[email protected]

Well in that case I think it may be able to be chalked up as either a typo or bad translation ;)

I'm wondering more along the lines of places with egregious misspellings of items that should really be spelled properly. With the "expresso bar" example, I mean come on - it's their primary business, the main good they are selling!

I generally share the OP's view. If an establishment can't spell their menu items correctly, I sense a lower level of quality. I realize it's (almost) all perception, but that's my feeling. I especially feel this way on a printed menu - somebody had to take (or should have taken) the time to proofread the text before it went to the printer.

I've been known to refuse my custom to places that print
atrocities on their menus such as "expresso" (though that
may be an accepted spelling in some language or another),
"buerre," and "foi gra."

There's no excuse for an establishment to spell anything wrong when it's the native language and spelling.

For a printed menu to ever come off the press wrong is inexcusable, but my favourite is the daily specials blackboard.

I have on occasion in my regular haunts grabbed the chalk, stood on a chair, and made amendments. It's usually met with a laugh from the staff. :D

In generil, mispellings anoy mee.

I have done that too! I can't remember what was mispelled but I found the dry eraser and pen and changed the spelling.. customers saw it but the staff was non existent..

it was followed by two customers waiting that came up to me saying "SIR do you work here as we have been waiting for 10 minutes and not even recongnized or seated.. i am very upset.. this place sucks" (well why don't u leave) BUT seeing a perfect chance for karma to come around grabbed two menus and said "OH I am so sorry.. we were just busy.. follow me" I walked them into the restaurant and sat them and was handing the menus when the bedazzled manager came up "who are you.. "

i said "oh just another customer assisting people you should.. have a nice day" .. i walked off and the look on the guilbile customers and bedazzled manager was priceless

I was with a friend at the time whose mouth was on the floor by this time in shock ..

the customers had to walk back to the waiting area and never looked at me.. It was so hiliarious!! Everyone else waiting just was trying to not laugh

In my area the board outside a resto, often lists La Sagna.

I remember a very upmarket Fish place in London, offering "screamed pinach" as a side dish (newly printed too ~ botheration! :D)

Ohhh the number of times that I changed the listing for "Menage a trois" on a wine board in bars/pubs in the Southeastern US to "Ménage à trois" :D

JP

Is that really misspelled though? Or is it just the U.S. English way of writing it?

For example, in Spanish "México" has the written accent mark on the "e" but when writing Mexico in English it's not necessary.

Just try to order from this menu

Some of you may have seen this before. May not be safe for work, depending on how susceptible you are to laughing out loud. :D

If a menu item is misspelled, it depends if looking at the menu can reason away the typo...if I look at it and think "I see where they went wrong", I might still go with that item. I can accept that. What creeps into my head is to not order a misspelled item, because if the menu doesn't spell it right, how is that any indication that the recipe is being followed?

Menu Malaprops
 

The funniest menu malapropisms I ever saw were in Cambodia.

You should read William Dalrymple's "In Xanadu."

And never mind menus, what about signs....

http://www.flickr.com/photos/globetr...7602861347501/

A little off topic, but I lose faith in a restaurant (especially Italian) when they can't pronounce Bruschetta. I've had servers even try to correct me when I order it. It seems to be rarer and rarer to find one that pronounces it correctly!