Kebab, meatball and bento menus explained
After the hamburger menu, designers kept the food theme going. Here's the menagerie of dotted and gridded menu icons, what they're called, and what users expect each to do.
The family
| Icon | Name | Typical meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ☰ | Hamburger | Main navigation menu |
| ⋮ | Kebab | More options (vertical, often per-item) |
| ⋯ | Meatball | More options (horizontal, often for a toolbar) |
| ▦ | Bento | A grid of apps/products to switch between |
| ≡ / döner | Döner | Filters or a sidebar (less standardized) |
Why the nicknames
They're informal designer slang, not official terms — but they've become common shorthand in design teams and documentation. The food theme started with the hamburger and snowballed.
Use them predictably
Kebab and meatball both mean “more,” so keep their placement consistent (kebab on list items, meatball in toolbars). The bento specifically signals switching between apps or products, popularized by Google's app grid.
Frequently asked questions
What is the three-dots menu called?
Vertical three dots (⋮) is the “kebab” menu; horizontal (⋯) is the “meatball” menu. Both mean “more options.”
What is a bento menu?
A grid-of-squares icon (▦) that opens a switcher between apps or products, like Google's app launcher.