It stars an ensemble cast consisting of Ralph Fiennes, Anya Taylor-Joy, Nicholas Hoult, Hong Chau, Janet McTeer, Judith Light, and John Leguizamo.

It follows a foodie and his date traveling to a remote island to eat at an exclusive restaurant where the chef has prepared a lavish menu but reveals shocking surprises throughout the meal.

Foodie Tyler Ledford and his date Margot Mills travel by boat to Hawthorn, an exclusive restaurant on a private island operated by celebrity chef Julian Slowik.

The other guests are food critic Lillian Bloom and her editor Ted; wealthy regulars Richard and Anne Leibrandt; washed-up movie star George Diaz[a] and his personal assistant Felicity Lynn; business partners Soren, Dave, and Bryce; and Slowik's alcoholic mother Linda.

Unhappy with angel investor Doug Verrick's attempts to involve himself in Hawthorn's management, Slowik arranges for him to be drowned in front of the guests.

After seeing a framed employee of the month award showing Slowik as a young and happy cook preparing hamburgers at a greasy spoon diner, Margot finds a radio, calls for help, and returns to the restaurant with the barrel.

The dessert is an elevated s'mores dish for which the staff decorates the restaurant with sauces and crushed graham crackers, then dresses the guests in marshmallow stoles and chocolate fezzes.

Will Tracy dined at Cornelius Sjømatrestaurant, an island restaurant outside Bergen, Norway, during a honeymoon and later suggested a story to Seth Reiss inspired by the experience.

[5][6] Several figures from the world of fine dining were brought on as consultants for the film, including chef Dominique Crenn, who recreated several dishes from her San Francisco restaurant Atelier Crenn for the fictional restaurant Hawthorn, and second unit director David Gelb, who was brought on to recreate the filmmaking style from his Netflix docuseries Chef's Table.

[8][11] In June 2021, Anya Taylor-Joy entered negotiations and was confirmed in July to replace Stone, who had left due to commitments to other projects;[12][10] Hong Chau and Nicholas Hoult joined the cast the same month.

[13][14] John Leguizamo,[15] Janet McTeer,[16] Judith Light,[17] Reed Birney,[18] Rob Yang,[19] and Aimee Carrero joined in September.

[20] In October, Paul Adelstein, Arturo Castro, Mark St. Cyr, Rebecca Koon and Peter Grosz were confirmed as parts of the ensemble.

The website's consensus reads: "While its social commentary relies on basic ingredients, The Menu serves up black comedy with plenty of flavor.