WeeklyEats

Kota menu template: make yours free

Type your kotas, extras and combos with their prices, choose a look, and the menu draws itself while you type. Save it to post on WhatsApp Status, or print it as a poster for the counter.

Start typing your menu

  • Kasi look, Story size
  • Chalkboard, Story size
  • Shisa nyama look, square, the first nine items
  • Cream card, the Sunday lunch look, A4 to print
  • Green chalkboard, A4 to print
  • Cream card, the Sunday lunch look in navy, Story size

Made-up places. Prices are examples, not a guide to charge.

Size
Story: 1080 by 1920 pixels, tall like a phone screen.

This is an example. Type your place name and what you sell, and your own picture takes its place.

What are you making?
Paste a list
Section 1

The picture

Look
Add a photo of your food to get the Photo, Circle and Split looks. They are for specials, so a menu uses the others.
Colours
Photo and logo (optional)

Nothing you type here is sent to us unless you press one of the buttons below. It is kept on this device so it is here when you come back.

Run a weekly deal? Put it on a free page people can open.

Listing is free. Nothing goes on the page until you have checked it and published it.

We put weekly deals on a page, not whole menus: a special with its price and the days it runs. If you run one, you can send it to us, and where we can check the place is yours we set it up for you to check and publish.

To make sure it is really your place, we set it up with the email address your place shows publicly, on its website, Google or Facebook. If it shows no email, we phone the number it lists and ask you to confirm by email. A phone call alone is not enough. So we can only set up a page when we can check the place is yours from something it already shows publicly. If your place has nothing online yet, we cannot set one up from here, and the poster maker stays free to use. If you message us on WhatsApp, message from the number your place shows publicly.

Add your place name and an item to send them to us.

WhatsApp opens with your message ready, and the form opens filled in. Nothing is sent until you press send. See an example page

You get a picture (PNG) and a printable A4 or A5 picture, not a Word file. Free, no account, and nothing is uploaded: the picture is made on your device.

What goes on a kota menu

1Use the name your street uses
A kota is a quarter loaf of bread, hollowed out and filled with slap chips and more. Some places say spatlo, sphatlho or skhambane. Write the word your customers say. A bunny chow is a different dish: a hollowed loaf filled with curry.
2Go from small to big
Start with a plain kota, then let each step add something. Add each step as its own line in the first section, in the order you want it read, and use Up and Down to move a line if you change your mind.
3Say what is in each one
Chips, atchar, polony, russian, egg, cheese, a patty, a sauce: write what you really use, in brackets after the name if there is room. Keep the fillings in the same order on every kota so they can be compared.
4Extras in a section of their own
Add a second section called Extras and put extra cheese, an egg or extra sauce in it. The kotas then come first and the extras follow.
5Chips and combos
Chips often come small and large: tick "This section has two prices" and name the columns Small and Large. A kota and a cold drink can be one line in a Combo section.
6Where you are and when you open
The "Address, hours or a note" box puts a note of up to two lines at the foot of the menu, above your phone number. Tick the WhatsApp box if people can message that number. Leave out anything you cannot keep up to date.
7A kota list you already have
If your kotas are already typed in your notes or a WhatsApp chat, open Paste a list and paste them in. A line like "Russian kota 38" or "polony kota...30" becomes a name and a price, and you see how each line was read before anything is added. A line such as "Extras" with no price becomes a section name when a priced line follows it.

Kota menu design ideas

Six ways one kota menu can look, from the pictures above. Tap one to start from it, then type your own kotas over the example.

Kasi look, Story size
Kasi is flat colour with tilted white tabs for the section names and the prices lined up on the right. It is the plainest of the looks, so a long list of kotas stays tidy.
Chalkboard, Story size
Chalkboard sets the menu in chalk lettering with dotted lines from each kota to its price. It suits a menu that goes on a wall or in a window.
Shisa nyama look, square, the first nine items
The Shisa nyama look has a checker edge, a heavy slab name and yellow section labels. It is loud and warm, and a square suits a short menu of nine items or fewer.
Cream card, the Sunday lunch look, A4 to print
Sunday lunch is a cream card with a green frame, serif item names and dotted lines to the prices. It is the calmest look and prints well on A4.
Green chalkboard, A4 to print
The same chalkboard in green, set for an A4 print. Each look has its own colours, so the same menu can match your wall.
Cream card, the Sunday lunch look in navy, Story size
The same card in navy for Status. Every look has its own set of colours, and the colour buttons under the looks swap them in one tap.

A kota menu, step by step

The first picture comes from four sections typed into the form: Kotas with six lines, Extras with three, a Combo section with one line, and Chips with a second price for Large. Type the section name, then press next on your keyboard to move from the name to the price and on to the next item. If the list is already in your notes or a WhatsApp chat, open Paste a list, paste it, check how it was read, and add it.

Tips

  1. Keep each kota to one short line: the name, then the fillings in brackets if there is room.
  2. Type the price on its own in the price box. It is drawn on the right, so every price lines up.
  3. Use Up, Down and Remove on an item rather than starting again.
  4. Leave out what you are not selling today. A short list reads better than a long one with gaps.
  5. If you add a photo, take it in daylight, from above, with the food filling the frame, and wipe the lens first.
  6. When a price changes, change it in the form and save a new picture, then take the old one off your Status and your wall.

Sizes and printing

Story
1080 by 1920 pixels, tall like a phone screen
Square
1080 by 1080 pixels
A4 to print
1240 by 1754 pixels, about 150 dots per inch
A5 to print
874 by 1240 pixels, about 150 dots per inch

Questions

Is the kota menu maker free?
Yes. Making a kota menu picture costs nothing and needs no account.
Is my kota menu uploaded anywhere?
No. The kota menu, any photo and your logo stay on your device, and the picture is made there. We receive something only if you press one of the send buttons at the bottom of the form.
Can I change a price on my kota menu next week?
Yes. Open this page, change the line and save a new picture. What you typed stays in this browser on this device until you clear your browser data or use another browser.
Can I print my kota menu?
Yes. Choose A4 to print or A5 to print next to the picture and press Download. You get a picture (PNG), not a Word or PDF file.
Can I get a kota menu template in Word?
No. You get a picture (PNG) and a printable A4 or A5 picture, not a Word file. To change it later, come back to this page: what you typed is kept in this browser, so you change a line and save again.
Can I post my kota menu on WhatsApp Status?
Yes. Save the Story size and post it from your gallery as a Status.
What is the difference between a kota and a bunny chow?
A kota is a quarter loaf filled with slap chips and fillings such as polony, russian, egg and cheese. A bunny chow is a hollowed loaf filled with curry, and it began among Indian South Africans in Durban.

More templates

Sources