Gaining an understanding of individuals’ perceptions of food may aid dietitians in improving their menu planning. We conducted a questionnaire survey regarding individuals’ perceptions of meals and dishes, and images of menus designed by dietitians. As the results, 77.1 and 75.8% of respondents defined a palatable meal as one consisting of a dish that could provide“ a feeling of calm and happiness” (comfort dish) and“ an uplifting feeling” (uplifting dish), respectively. Among sample dishes, those regarded as a“ comfort dish” by more than 50% were all Japanese style, with cooked white rice being identified by 70.5%. For each of 43 sample dishes,there was a negative correlation between the frequency of being rated as“ comfort” and being rated as“ uplifting”. The higher the frequency of being perceived as a“ comfort dish”, the larger the number of respondents expressing their desire to consume“ more than once a week”, whereas the higher the frequency of being regarded as an“ uplifting dish”, the smaller the number of respondents expressing their desire to consume“ more than once a week”. Dietitian-planned menus were perceived as“ nutritionally balanced” by 91.4%, while only 32.1 and 33.3% rated them as“ consisting of a comfort dish” and“ palatable”, respectively.