Chalkboard menus are easily updated

1893 menu for a London club. Because of the influence of French cuisine, many of the dishes have French names.

A menu is a list of dishes to be served at a meal. Menus have been around in Europe since the 18th century. There is a special need for them in Chinese cuisine because of the wide range of dishes on offer. Menus have been discovered from the Song Dynasty in China. In the larger cities of the time, the variety of cuisine from different regions led caterers to create a list for their patrons.