7 Movies You'll Love If You Liked The Menu

Shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic started wrapping up, several Hollywood films found interesting ways to discuss class warfare and inequality with their elevated premises. One such film was 2022's "The Menu," which actually references the pandemic in a striking way. The pic, which nailed its fine dining aesthetic, follows the beloved Chef Slowik (Ralph Fiennes), who emotionally and physically toys with his diners during a premium meal service. As the malicious chef tries to "kill" his fat-pocketed diners, the working-class Margot (Anya Taylor-Joy) tries to plot her escape. A biting satire, "The Menu" succeeds in showing how cooking, like many hobbies and passions, can become commercialized purely for the enjoyment of the wealthy. 

Upon release, "The Menu" received extremely positive reviews. Looper critic Reuben Baron gave the film a whopping 10/10 score, praising it for its performances, clever satirical elements, and "eat-the-rich" attitude. Unsurprisingly, "The Menu" has become a recent favorite for many, especially on the film-centric social media site Letterboxd, where over 5,000 cinephiles have given the pic an average 3.5-star rating. 

Everyone loves something different about Mark Mylod's "The Menu," which is filled with a complicated cocktail of themes. Some love the film for satirizing (and occasionally celebrating) the world of cooking and fine dining, while others adore it for calling the elite out on their nonsense. If you're looking for movies that are like "The Menu," here are seven that you'll probably end up loving. 

If you loved "The Menu" because of how it tackled social inequality, particularly in terms of wealth, then you'll absolutely adore "The Triangle of Sadness." It's difficult to discuss how this is similar to "The Menu" without getting deep into spoilers, so we'll be vague. Directed by Ruben Östlund, "Triangle of Sadness" follows a young couple who are "influencer"-types (the late Charlbi Dean and Harris Dickinson) as they embark on a cruise whose passengers are extremely wealthy. On the prestigious cruise, they feel out-of-place and awkward, until things take a surprising turn. 

With a wonderful supporting performance from Woody Harrelson as the ship's dejected captain, "Triangle of Sadness" is a biting satire on social inequality and how power is distributed by society. Like "The Menu," Östlund's film isn't subtle, and emphasizes its theme with a sense of radicalness and brutal honesty. Beyond that, if "The Menu" breaks down the world of fine dining, then "Triangle of Sadness" is an insight into beauty standards and the modern-day world of fashion and the stock influencers have. Not only is the film undeniably funny, but it's also filled with thrills and a second act twist that flips the entire pic on its head, leading to something that's totally unique.

While "The Menu" is filled with solid social commentary, some might have liked it just because of how food-focused it is. While Ralph Fiennes' Chef Slowik feels pretty depressed about the state of fine dining, he ultimately falls back in love with cooking by the end of the picture. If you're looking for a film that celebrates the power of cooking and how food can bring people together (in a non-deadly way), then you've got to watch "Chef." Released in 2014 and directed by Jon Favreau, "Chef" is a film about, you guessed it, a chef who falls out of love with cerebral, posh dining and decides to start up a food truck. 

It's a film that also mimics the arc of Fiennes' character in "The Menu," with "Chef" showing a character falling back in love with their passion, which they capitalized on by turning into a job. "Chef" is one of the most underrated films of the 2010s and has a very casual and easy, breezy vibe to it. And like "The Menu," it's star-studded, featuring performances from the likes of Sofia Vergara, Scarlett Johansson, Robert Downey Jr., and more. 

One of the most fascinating components of "The Menu" is how Margot immediately recognizes that something is off about the restaurant and its workers. While the wealthy diners think the strangeness and absurdity is part of the dining experience, Margot comes to a sinister conclusion early on in the film. Realizing she's in danger, she quickly starts hatching ways to escape the situation she's in, making it one of the most thrilling aspects of "The Menu." If you're looking for a flick that captures this energy, look no further than "Barbarian." 

At times horrific and not for the faint of heart, 2022's "Barbarian" follows Tess (Georgina Campbell), a woman who goes to a rental property, only to realize that it has already been rented out to a man (Bill Skarsgård). An already terrifying premise, the film takes a wild turn and descends into pure madness and terror, while still being relatively funny. Featuring a great performance from Justin Long and a consistent amount of thrills, "Barbarian" is one of the most underrated horror films in recent years. It also boasts some powerful social commentary, pointing out how embedded toxic masculinity and misogyny is within certain social cultures.

If you're seeking a distant relative of "The Menu" that plays upon the same themes and ideas, then give 2020's "The Hunt" a shot. A similarly-themed horror-comedy, "The Hunt" was controversial upon its release, but has since garnered a steady following. Directed by Craig Zobel, "The Hunt" can be seen as an inversion of "The Menu" in a perverse way. The flick follows a group of extremely wealthy individuals who kidnap working class, everyday people and hunt them. A modern-day riff on "The Most Dangerous Game" short story, "The Hunt" succeeds because of how it satirizes the way modern politics are conducted. 

Like "The Menu," it shows a certain part of society "fighting back" against their oppressors, albeit "The Hunt" is way more on-the-nose with it. With the wealthy running things in "The Hunt," we get to see their incompetence and hubris get the best of them. It's also fascinating to see how the film plays around with political ideologies in a twisted but self-aware way. Bloody, violent, funny, and frequently thought-provoking, "The Hunt" is totally worth a watch. At a brief 90 minutes, "The Hunt" features a career-defining performance from Betty Gilpin and features appearances from Hilary Swank, Emma Roberts, and funnyman Ike Barinholtz.

In "The Menu," tons of wealthy diners are invited to the restaurant. What most of the diners don't know is that, one way or another, they're directly related to Chef Slowik's disillusionment towards cooking. Because they're responsible for ruining the thing he loves the most, he wants to exact revenge on his patrons, who outwardly enjoy his cooking. A film with a sort-of similar theme that also has a very casual "eat-the-rich" attitude is Rian Johnson's "Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery." Also released in 2022, the murder-mystery comedy follows a group of intriguing characters who are invited to tech billionaire Miles Bron's (Edward Norton) private island during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Each individual has a complicated relationship with the eccentric Bron, who is holding information or money over their heads. Things get more complicated for the island's visitors when detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) shows up, forcing everyone's secrets to unravel. From a thematic standpoint, both "The Menu" and "Glass Onion" are directly tied, as the pictures satirize the lives and ambitions of the so-called "elite." Both projects are also star-studded, with "Glass Onion" boasting roles from the likes of Craig, Norton, Dave Bautista, Janelle Monáe, Jessica Henwick, and more. 

At its core, "The Menu" is essentially about a dinner party that goes horribly off the rails. If you're looking for a film that features a similar premise, then consider watching the immensely underrated "The Invitation." Directed by "Jennifer's Body" filmmaker Karyn Kusama,"The Invitation" follows Will (Logan Marshall Green) as he goes to a dinner party that's hosted by his ex (Tammy Blanchard). Though the evening starts off fine, and Will seems to be having a decent time mingling with the other guests, things slowly start taking a turn for the worse. Eventually, a simple dinner party escalates into a relatively grounded and chilling nightmare that can't be escaped. 

Both "The Menu" and "The Invitation" succeed in building dread and general uneasiness. While "The Invitation" isn't as funny or as star-studded as the 2022 film, it's equally as engaging as it's thought-provoking, touching upon themes of grief and the power of communal experiences. A relatively low-budget effort, "The Invitation" is one of the most underrated horror films from the 2010s and is absolutely worth visiting. 

"The Menu" succeeds at proving that cooking is a form of art, regardless of how it's presented and served. Every dish in "The Menu" is beautiful, balanced, and inventive, including the "Supplemental Course," which is described as "just a well-made cheeseburger." As the film wraps up, it succeeds in showing that any meal, no matter the cost of ingredients or presentation, can be wonderful, so long as it's made with love. While the ending has dozens of people dying, a less cynical interpretation is realizing just how important food can be. One film, like "The Menu," that shares the power of food, is the 1985 flick "Tampopo." 

A Japanese riff on the spaghetti Western genre, "Tampopo" is a film that celebrates the culinary arts in all its forms. It's an inventive, chaotic, and comedic picture that shows how food can bring anyone and everyone together, so long as it's good. The core premise follows two truck drivers (Tsutomu Yamazaki and Ken Watanabe) who decide to help turn a failing ramen shop around. Throughout the film are vignettes that show how important food can be for society, especially from a communal perspective. One of the most unique films on our list, "Tampopo" is an optimistic take on the art of making and selling food.