I like browsing desserts while waiting, yet staff often whisk the menu away. I dug into Q&A sites and asked friends in food service; the reasons are decidedly unsexy.

What I found (staff reasons)

• Damage/filth: Kids fold pages; adults doodle; price stickers get peeled; spills/crumbs land; some people even eat on top of menus. Paper-only menus are especially fragile.
• Not enough copies: A 50–80 seat family restaurant rarely has a menu per seat. Clearing them keeps them circulating and also signals “ordered.”
• Theft: Cute tri-folds or holders sometimes walk off.
• Space: Small tables need room for plates, so menus get pulled fast.

“They get dirtier than you think”

I used to think “wipe it, it’s fine.” But imagine 80 menus, 5–7 pages each, with oils and spills daily. If one person wiped every page for 5 seconds, that’s roughly:

80 menus × 7 pages × 5 sec ≈ 2,800 sec ≈ 45 minutes — every clean cycle. No wonder staff pre-emptively reduce the workload by removing menus before they get grubby.

“Not enough menus” in big seating plans

Family restaurants often seat 50–80. Stocking one menu per seat is expensive and heavy to maintain. Clearing after orders lets limited menus circulate and doubles as a visual “already ordered” marker for staff.

Service style and space

Higher-touch places (hotel restaurants, some family chains like Denny’s in Japan) clear menus to emphasize service: for reorders you call a server and decide together. Cost-focused chains (e.g., Gusto, Saizeriya) often leave menus to cut labor. Tiny cafés remove them simply because the table is too small.

Theft happens

Cute menu covers or holders occasionally get pocketed. Clearing them reduces temptation.

So what to do?

If you want to keep browsing desserts or drinks, just say so—most places will leave the menu or bring it back. Be mindful not to bend, stain, or “souvenir” it, and everyone’s happier.