The Menu ending explained: the cheeseburger and the s'more
Spoilers ahead: this article discusses the ending.
The Menu ending explained hinges on a cheeseburger. The Menu ending explained in full shows why the simplest dish in the film is the one that saves a life, while everyone else is turned into dessert.
Mark Mylod's 2022 satire stars Ralph Fiennes as Chef Julian Slowik, Anya Taylor-Joy as Margot and Nicholas Hoult as Tyler, a food obsessive who brings her to Hawthorn, an exclusive restaurant on a private island. The dinner has been planned as a murder-suicide from the start.
The Menu ending explained: what happens at the end
Margot was never meant to be there. Tyler's original date dumped him, and the restaurant does not seat lone diners, so he brought her as a last-minute replacement. As the courses grow more violent, Margot refuses to play along. After a struggle with the maître d' Elsa, played by Hong Chau, she finds a radio, but the coast guard officer who arrives is one of Slowik's cooks.
Back at the table, Margot tells Slowik his food is joyless and that she is still hungry. She orders a cheeseburger and fries. Slowik, visibly moved, makes it himself with care. She takes a bite, says it is good, and asks for the rest to go. He boxes it, and she walks out.
The final course is a s'more. Staff and guests are dressed in marshmallow and chocolate, and Slowik sets the room on fire. Margot watches the restaurant burn from a boat, eating her burger.
Why the cheeseburger works
Slowik has lost any joy in cooking. Margot is the only diner who asks him to cook for pleasure rather than art. By ordering takeaway she becomes a customer, not a guest, and that gives him a reason to let her go.
Why Tyler dies first
Tyler knew the dinner would end in death and brought Margot anyway. When Slowik makes him cook in front of everyone and shows he has no real skill, the humiliation is total. Tyler hangs himself. He represents the worst kind of fan: someone who consumes the culture without understanding or respecting the work.
What the film is satirising
Writer Will Tracy got the idea after a meal at an island restaurant in Norway on his honeymoon. Critics noted Hawthorn parodies real fine-dining spots such as Noma and Eleven Madison Park. Guests are targeted for ruining the chef's passion or exploiting the people who cook, from wealthy regulars to a movie star played by John Leguizamo.
What the ending means
The s'more is Slowik's final artwork: a childish treat turned into a funeral. The cheeseburger is its opposite, honest food made to be eaten. The ending argues that cooking is for feeding people, and that a culture which turns it into status destroys the cooks as well as the diners.
Behind the camera, Mark Mylod took over as director in 2020 after Alexander Payne left the project. The script by Will Tracy and Seth Reiss keeps the tone balanced between horror and comedy, and the cast includes Janet McTeer as a food critic, Judith Light and Reed Birney as regulars and John Leguizamo as a fading movie star. Each guest's fate reflects the way they have treated food or the people who make it.
Questions people ask
Why does Chef Slowik let Margot go?
She asks for a cheeseburger, reminding him of when he cooked for pleasure, and takes it to go as a customer.
What is the final course in The Menu?
A s'more, with the guests and staff covered in marshmallow and chocolate before the restaurant is set on fire.
Why did Tyler bring Margot?
His original date left him and the restaurant does not seat solo diners, so he brought Margot knowing the night would end in death.
Who survives The Menu?
Only Margot. Everyone else, including Chef Slowik and his staff, dies in the fire during the final course.