A lot of restaurants put their dishes into one to three columns on a page and call it a menu. But there is an art and science to reading and writing menus, and these five restaurants have put a lot of thought and care into it.

For the next few weeks when you're dining out, take a look at how most menus are laid out and written. You'll see how achingly similar they are.

Thanks to these guys below and anyone else doing something a little different, but still making it easy to order a drink or dish. It's so appreciated.

Smith Restaurant

553 Church St
Toronto, ON

Smith

A huge thin newsprint page gives you the feel of holding a genuine old-fashioned newspaper when you’re reading the menu at Smith. Owner Renda Abdo has a fantastic design eye (go check out her place House Maison across the street – it’s like taking a trip to Nantucket), so of course that continues onto the menu. 

Stunning black-and-white illustrations lend dishes of Berkshire Bacon & Frisee Salad ($19) and Seared Scallops ($24) an encyclopedic feel.

If you’ve ever been tempted to stuff a menu into your bag as a keepsake, it’s this one.

Mildred's Temple Kitchen

104-85 Hanna Ave
Toronto, ON

Pasting the drinks menu of MTK onto pages of actual paperback copies of Mildred Pierce (pictured above) is so brilliant, you’ll still be talking about it when the drinks arrive. 

Or in fact, reading.

Johnny Jackson Restaurant & Bar

587 College St.,
Toronto, ON

The menu at Johnny Jackson is all about how it’s written, not what it’s on. Check out these descriptions:

JLK
A secret blend of shredded cheeses, macaroni, and colourful language all combined and baked. Mop it up with Texas garlic bread triangles – because triangles taste better.

Jake ‘N Elwood
Straight from the Mississippi State Penitentiary comes this crowd pleaser. Mashed potatoes, pulled pork, gravy, onion rings, slawand a sweet bun. Fork. And a suitcase of the Blues.

Let’s hope they publish a book soon, because this is good stuff.

Guu

At first glance, Guu’s menu is a visual nightmare - white Japanese kanji characters that look like messy scribbles on a black background, with English translation underneath. It’s too busy for the eye to focus on one place.

But thankfully, the dishes are laid out in grids and they are colour-coded for your convenience. Red is appetizer, green denote cold dishes, etc.

Luckee Restaurant

318 Wellington W
Toronto, ON

Brenda Bent is a fabulous designer (Bent, Luckee) who reinvents dining rooms with carefully curated artifacts and objets d’art. But it’s her design of the Luckee menu that is particularly captivating. The cover features old images of Chinese men, women and children, dressed in layers of silk and cotton at outdoor food markets. Subtly coloured with muted tones, it gives them both a haunted beauty and simultaneous age and modern edge.

The interior of the menu continues the authentic feel, with a list of dishes in both English and Chinese.

At what first appears to be chaos turns out to be quite orderly. You just have to settle into it.

Which actually describes the place itself very well.