Plain-English menu
How to write a café menu that international students and visitors understand: plain wording, before-and-after examples, a menu word list and allergen lines.
For café owners
Café owner toolkit: welcome international students and keep them.
Practical words and tips that help a first visit go well, so new customers feel confident and come back. Built from the Australian coffee and culture series, with the owner’s view added.
Ten quick wins you can do this week
- Add one plain line under each drink name on your menu.
- Put “Order and pay here” by the till.
- Add a “Contains:” line for allergens.
- Teach staff the five-step order script.
- Repeat orders back to customers.
- Ask for the name for the order and say it clearly.
- Put your milk options on a sign.
- Offer one clear student offer with an end date.
- Reply to your last five reviews in plain English.
- Host one conversation night this month.
Guides in this toolkit
Café signs
Short, clear sign phrases for Australian cafés: ordering, paying, pickup, Wi-Fi, milk options, allergies, BYO cups and student offers.
Serve international students
Clear order scripts, “fast Aussie to clear” rewrites, teach-back and kind-upsell lines for cafés serving international students and new arrivals.
Student offers
Plain-English templates for café student offers, loyalty cards and terms, plus a simple four-week method to see whether an offer brings regulars back.
Review replies
Review-reply templates for café owners: asking for reviews, thanking, mixed and negative reviews, allergy complaints and English-language misunderstandings.
Owner glossary
Thirty-two café business terms with plain meanings and example sentences: roster, takings, float, handover, stocktake, surcharge, walk-in and more.
Conversation night
How to host a friendly English conversation night in a café: format, run sheet, twelve conversation starters, simple rules, poster text and promotion.
Reach learners through Chatsifieds
Chatsifieds is an Australian-English learning site. Cafés can sponsor a Phrase Wall phrase so learners meet the business while they learn words they will use there. No audience numbers are promised.
These are language tips, not legal or financial advice. For food labelling, allergen rules, surcharges, signage and trading rules, check FSANZ, your local council or state food authority, and the ACCC. Rules differ by state.