The food at a murder mystery party has one constraint most dinner parties do not: it has to fit around three rounds of people standing up, moving around and lying to each other. Here are menus that do, by theme, with the timing.
The rule: one course per round, nothing that needs two hands
The game runs in three rounds of about 20 minutes, then a vote and a reveal. Dinner has three courses. Line them up:
| Game | Food |
|---|---|
| Arrivals and drinks | Something to pick at, standing |
| Round 1 | Starter |
| Round 2 | Main |
| Round 3 | Plates cleared; nothing on the table |
| Vote and reveal | Dessert comes out after the killer is revealed |
Round three is accusations. People stand up and point. Do not have hot food on the table. The murder mystery dinner party kit page shows the same timing with a full game.
For ten or more, switch to a buffet laid out before round one and left out until round three. Nobody will sit still for plated courses in a big group, and you should not be plating during a round you are also playing.
1920s speakeasy menu
The setting is a Chicago bar in 1927. Cocktail-party food, everything in one bite, drinks in coupes.
Drinks. One batch cocktail: a gin punch or a French 75 in a jug. Label one bottle “PRIVATE: V.M.” and leave it on the bar; it is a prop, but it will be opened. Soft option: ginger ale with a lime wedge, served in the same glass so nobody looks left out.
Standing. Deviled eggs. Shrimp cocktail in shot glasses. Olives. Oysters if you want to show off.
Starter. A wedge salad, or a cold soup in a cup.
Main. Chicken à la king on toast, or a roast chicken carved at the table. Both were on 1927 menus and both can sit for twenty minutes.
Dessert. Pineapple upside-down cake, or anything with a cherry on it.
Gothic manor / Halloween menu
A New England manor on a stormy Halloween night. Dark, rich, candlelit.
Drinks. Red wine. A dark rum punch with a cinnamon stick. Mulled cider for the soft option.
Standing. A big cheese board with figs, black grapes, dark rye and a honeycomb. It looks right by candlelight and it feeds a room for an hour.
Starter. Beetroot soup in small cups. It is red; that is the point.
Main. A beef stew or a mushroom pie, cooked earlier and kept warm. It survives a round that runs long.
Dessert. Something red or black: a blackberry crumble, a dark chocolate tart, red velvet.
Christmas lodge menu
Snowed in at a Vermont lodge on Christmas Eve. The one theme where a proper sit-down works for twelve, because the room is already set up for it.
Drinks. Mulled wine in a big pot on the stove. Eggnog if your group likes it. Hot chocolate for the soft option.
Standing. Sausage rolls, cheese straws, a bowl of clementines.
Starter. A squash soup, or smoked salmon on rye.
Main. A ham. It carves at the table, it is fine lukewarm, and leftovers are a feature. Roast potatoes and a green vegetable.
Dessert. Mince pies, a Yule log, or a trifle, after the reveal.
Our Christmas mystery has a Secret Santa in the story; if you run a real one, do it between round one and round two.
Feeding sixteen
At sixteen players, the food must take care of itself.
- Buffet, laid out before round one. Two platters of everything so there is no queue.
- One hot dish in a slow cooker, kept warm all night. Chilli, a stew, pulled pork.
- Everything else cold. Boards, salads, bread.
- Dessert in individual portions so it can be handed round during the reveal.
- Drinks self-serve, with the batch cocktail in a dispenser.
More on big groups in murder mystery for large groups.
What to skip
- Anything that needs cutting. Steak, whole fish. People are holding a phone and a drink.
- Anything with a smell that lingers. Fish courses in a sealed living room for two hours.
- Soup at a standing party. Fine for a seated round one; a disaster for a buffet.
- A dessert that must be eaten immediately. Soufflés and the reveal do not mix.
- Cooking during rounds. If you are at the stove, you are not interrogating anyone. Everything hot is made before guests arrive.
Props on the table
A few things on the table that are part of the game cost nothing and get photographed all night:
- A bottle labelled POISON (it is bitters).
- A place card with the character name, not the real one.
- One upturned glass at the victim's place setting.
Our Party Pack (a $9 add-on at checkout) has a themed playlist and a décor checklist for each of our mysteries, which is the rest of the room sorted.
See also murder mystery party ideas for the rest of the night and how to host a murder mystery party for the full sequence.