Screenwriter Will Tracy came up with the idea of the story while on his honeymoon in Bergen, Norway, when he took a boat to a fancy restaurant (Cornelius Sjømatrestaurant) on a nearby private island and realized they were stuck (or trapped) on the island until the meal was done. There are numerous references to restaurant Noma (Copenhagen) in The Menu, starting from the location, idea, concept, and ending with the menu itself.
Actress Aimee Carrero revealed that director Mark Mylod offered each of the actors one "freebie" take after securing a scripted take, in which he encouraged the actors to improvise material, which is also how Slowik's "Taco Tuesday" line ended up in the final cut.
The entire kitchen team were trained to actually create the dishes broken down station by station, so that if at any time you look at them, they're all doing the correct things they should be doing for that dish were it real life and not a movie.
The lavish 'food' layouts were prepared by renowned French chef Dominique Crenn, the only female chef in the United States to attain three Michelin stars for her restaurant Atelier Crenn in San Francisco (as of 2016). Though many of the cast and crew were often tempted to taste the delicacies between takes, they had to be reminded that the food items were predominantly props, and thus inedible.
John Leguizamo's character is officially called George Díaz, but he is simply credited as "Movie Star." Leguizamo based his character of a washed-up action star on Steven Seagal, whom he called a "horrible human" due to a particularly bad experience while working with Seagal on Executive Decision (1996). The multiple references to Díaz playing a cook in one of his movies may be a nod to Under Siege (1992), where Seagal also played a cook.