FILM · 2022 · USA
The Menu
- Directed by
- Mark Mylod
- Runtime
- 107 min
- Studio
- Hyperobject Industries, Searchlight Pictures, Gary Sanchez Productions
71 archived facts 6 topics 1 source Last reviewed Sep 2026
A young couple travels to a remote island to eat at an exclusive restaurant where the chef has prepared a lavish menu, with some shocking surprises.
Summary: TMDB
9 Facts on the Deeper Meaning of The Menu
- #004
Contains a major spoiler — show
A newspaper article in the chef's room shows that he once worked at a restaurant called Tantalus. Tantalus is the name of a figure in Greek mythology who invited the gods to dinner at his home but, to test their omniscience, tricked them into eating a stew made from the flesh of his son, whom he had killed and cut apart. When the gods realized what he had done, they cursed Tantalus to stand in a shallow pool of water beneath a fruit tree; whenever he raised his hand to take fruit, the branches rose beyond his reach, and whenever he bent down to drink, the water receded. In the same way, the chef served the elite (the gods) and sacrificed his dream (his craft), and now all food and drink are meaningless to him.
- #010
Contains a major spoiler — show
Much of Margot and Tyler's early conversation takes on an entirely different dimension once it is revealed that they are not a couple and that Margot is an escort he hired. From Margot cheerfully saying that Tyler paid (not just for the meal, as was initially implied) to Tyler's earlier complaint that he had never spent time with women like Margot, their dialogue is full of double meanings and foreshadowing.
- #023
In November 2022, in a New York Times article about the closure of The Willows Inn on Lummi Island, Washington State, Julia Moskin reported that the restaurant (and its "numerous allegations of sexual harassment and lawsuits claiming wage theft") was among the inspirations for the restaurant depicted in this film. In an earlier article titled "'The Menu' Serves Fine Dining on a Skewer," Moskin also listed other restaurants that were among the film's inspirations: "The fictional restaurant Hawthorn is a mash-up of haute-rustic destinations like Noma in Copenhagen, Blue Hill at Stone Barns north of New York City, Mugaritz in the Basque Country, the Willows in the Pacific Northwest and chef Francis Mallmann's private island off the coast of Patagonia. Reviewed by critics and award panels and mostly visited by wealthy gastro-tourists, they are, according to their own literature, places where chefs are not cooks but 'storytellers' about 'time and place,' where they not only feed people but 'weave a story of senses, gestures and emotions.'".
- #027
Contains a major spoiler — show
Julian's guest books end in 2019, with no books for the following three years. It makes sense that he stopped hosting guests during the pandemic, and afterward it is implied that he began inviting guests rather than taking reservations.
- #031
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From the very beginning, Margot shows a genuine appreciation for the food that the wealthy customers take for granted at the show. Throughout the whole meal she says she likes just a simple oyster rather than all the oysters, showing that the problem is not taste but loveless, overblown food.
- #034
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While eating the first course, Margot mockingly imitates Slowik's intellectual process behind creating the dishes. As the film progresses, it emerges that Margot is the only one who truly understands where Slowik's dissatisfaction comes from.
- #045
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The film's digital release came just days after Copenhagen's (Denmark) iconic fine dining restaurant Noma, whose characteristics (locally sourced ingredients, an exclusive clientele and an air of strictness and formality) probably inspired or at least parallel Hawthorn, announced it would close. A linked article happened to mention criticism that Noma mistreated and underpaid its staff, similar to the oppressive working environment in Hawthorn's kitchen; however, this problem is widespread throughout the food industry. Some even claim that the film's eerie similarities to reality may have been the last straw for the controversial Noma. This makes the finale, in which the restaurant and everyone in it are destroyed, a somewhat unsettling parallel.
- #050
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Because much of the film takes place in a single room, one of Mark Mylod's main inspirations was Bong Joon Ho's Parasite (2019).
- #068
During the tour, when the guests enter the dormitory, two open toilets are visible beside the lockers. Later, a reverse shot is taken over the toilets toward the guests, with the toilets at the bottom of the frame and the guests appearing to stand above them. The apparent implication is that the guests belong to the toilet.
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