Unusual Medieval Fantasy Tavern Menu Items?

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Medieval Peasant Meal (public domain from Wikimedia Commons)

I plan to add menus to my Random Inn/Tavern Generator. (Currently it does floorplans and inn/tavern names.) Going out to the standard equipment lists, I can find costs for Ale, Bread, Cheese, generic Meat, common and fine wine. But what are some more unusual items you might want to see on a Fantasy themed tavern menu? Or if you know of some menus out on the web that I should look at, please post a link.

Here are some menu items I’ve found and considered:

Appetizers

Chicken Liver Pate and Bread

Stuffed Mushrooms with Thyme & Creamcheese

Smoked Pork

Smoked Fresh Trout Fillets

Cheese rolls with a filling of nuts, honey and vegetables

Baked aubergine in almond cream sauce

Stuffed chicory barks with cheese, eggs and vegetables

Salads

Breast of Chicken Salad

Ham Salad

Smoked Salmon Salad

Entrees

Roast Stuffed Leg of Lamb with Mint Sauce

Breaded Breast of Chicken, Whiskey & Mushroom Sauce

Boiled Callan Bacon & Cabbage Parsley Sauce

Breaded Breast of Chcken

Beef Stew

Shepherds Pie

Beef & Vegetable Casserole

Prime Roast Sirloin

Grilled Fillet of Salmon

Whole Ham off the bone

Platter of Grilled Meats (turkey, pork, sausages and chicken wings)

Roast Duck with apples

Roast Goose strewn with Caraway seeds

Pork Knuckle Roasted in Beer

Roasted and Smoked Pork spareribs

Traditional Brewer’s Style Beef Goulash

Roast Beef Served with Cranberry Sauce

Roast Boar

Medieval coal burner’s dish (potato with pastries and ground pepper)

Roasted peppers filled with a mix of cheeses

Beef Ginger & Cinnamon

Pickled Sausage

Honey Glazed Carrots and Parsnips

Dessert

Fruit Wine Grenache

Candied Ginger

Cakes

Fruit pies

Ice Cream?

Breakfast

Baked pancakes filled with vegetables and cheese

Cauliflower and egg

Egg omelette with vegetables

Spirits

Wines named after areas or cities of the region

Elvish wines named after plants and spices

Ales named after areas or cities of the region

Dwarven Spirits and Ales (perhaps some varieties named after clans)

Hard liquors (specific Whiskey, Scotch, Rum, Vodka varieties)

8 Comments on “Unusual Medieval Fantasy Tavern Menu Items?”

  2. I think the crazier and more medieval the better. Calf’s brains and jellied eels. Nothing that sounds appetizing to the modern. Players will all be eating Cheetos at the table anyway.

    There was somewhere a Warhammer “Cuisine of the Empire” table where you could roll up things like blood sausages and onion and kidney pie…

  3. Your menu list looks like it came from a fancy modern restaurant. Even the recipes we have no from medieval times all represent the upper class; people who could afford someone to cook for them and someone else to write it down.

    I’d expect an inn or tavern menu to look something like this:
    porridge
    stew
    roast meat
    beer
    ale

    But mostly porridge and stew.

  5. That’s exactly the feedback I’m looking for. I’d like a mix of simpler things and some more unusual things. (Cuts of fantasy beasts?) Thanks!

  6. Maybe putting in a switch for high/low class establishments with appropriate menus might be an option.

    Also, since you’ve specified that it was a fantasy setting some more fatastical menu items might be in order: Wyvern Wing Soup, Roast Griffon, Goblin Sausage (not made from goblins, but for them), etc.

  7. I made a Fantasy Menu generator on Abulafia: http://www.random-generator.com/index.php?title=FantasyMenu – it may not have quite the variety of ingredients you’re after, but it does pretty well and occasionally throws a curveball. It’s Creative Commons Attribution, so feel free to steal as much of it as you want as long as you link to it. The Tavern generator on there doesn’t have floorplans, but it does have an “Other Services” category that might be useful to you.