HotelChatter

Since its recent inception, the firm has signed clients across the country and across industries, with names Hyatt, Joie de Vivre, and W Hotels, as well as restaurants like Spago in Beverly Hills, wd~50 in New York, Simon Palms Place in Las Vegas, and a host of restaurants in Taste Envy’s hometown of Seattle.

As any foodie can tell you, a restaurant experience is about more than just the food, especially in this day and age when every restaurant venture is a fight for survival and restaurateurs must do anything and everything just to distinguish themselves from the competition and create an “extraordinary” experience for their patrons. That effort at distinction extends to every design aspect in a restaurant, including the one that guests arguably interact with the most: the menu. As the Browns see it, “we believe that menus are an integral part of the dining experience and should be viewed as the presentation: the story of what your customer can expect.”

That storytelling aspect is key to Taste Envy’s pitch. Taking a look at some of Taste Envy’s menus, their designs run the gamut from fun and frivolous binders with splashes of color, to eco-minded paper printed in rich earth tones, to serious bible-like books bound in embossed leather. These menus are meant to reflect the individual character of each restaurant on Taste Envy’s client roster—and based on our quick perusal, they certainly do—as well as to tell you what kinds of foods and cuisines to look for.

So next time you sit down to a meal and are trying to decide between the fish and the steak, take a moment to reevaluate the menu you hold in your hands. Chances are, it’s already made the choice for you.