diff --git a/.changes/default-menu.md b/.changes/default-menu.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..13ce714a4257
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changes/default-menu.md
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+---
+"tauri": "patch"
+"tauri-runtime": "patch"
+---
+
+* Change `Menu::default` to create a default menu filled with default menu items and menus. Previously, it returned an empty menu and now you can do:
+    ```diff
+      tauri::Builder::default()
+    +   .menu(tauri::Menu::default())
+        .run(tauri::generate_context!())
+        .expect("error while running tauri application");
+    ```
diff --git a/core/tauri-runtime/src/menu.rs b/core/tauri-runtime/src/menu.rs
index 2dfaa103901d..8445c521bd00 100644
--- a/core/tauri-runtime/src/menu.rs
+++ b/core/tauri-runtime/src/menu.rs
@@ -155,7 +155,7 @@ pub trait TrayHandle: fmt::Debug + Clone + Send + Sync {
 }
 
 /// A window menu.
-#[derive(Debug, Default, Clone)]
+#[derive(Debug, Clone)]
 #[non_exhaustive]
 pub struct Menu {
   pub items: Vec<MenuEntry>,
@@ -183,7 +183,7 @@ impl Submenu {
 impl Menu {
   /// Creates a new window menu.
   pub fn new() -> Self {
-    Default::default()
+    Self { items: Vec::new() }
   }
 
   /// Creates a new window menu with the given items.
@@ -227,6 +227,70 @@ impl Menu {
   }
 }
 
+impl Default for Menu {
+  fn default() -> Self {
+    let mut menu = Menu::new();
+    #[cfg(target_os = "macos")]
+    {
+      menu = menu.add_submenu(Submenu::new(
+        "app_name",
+        Menu::new()
+          .add_native_item(MenuItem::Separator)
+          .add_native_item(MenuItem::Services)
+          .add_native_item(MenuItem::Separator)
+          .add_native_item(MenuItem::Hide)
+          .add_native_item(MenuItem::HideOthers)
+          .add_native_item(MenuItem::ShowAll)
+          .add_native_item(MenuItem::Separator)
+          .add_native_item(MenuItem::Quit),
+      ));
+    }
+
+    let mut file_menu = Menu::new();
+    file_menu = file_menu.add_native_item(MenuItem::CloseWindow);
+    #[cfg(not(target_os = "macos"))]
+    {
+      file_menu = file_menu.add_native_item(MenuItem::Quit);
+    }
+    menu = menu.add_submenu(Submenu::new("File", file_menu));
+
+    let mut edit_menu = Menu::new();
+    #[cfg(target_os = "macos")]
+    {
+      edit_menu = edit_menu.add_native_item(MenuItem::Undo);
+      edit_menu = edit_menu.add_native_item(MenuItem::Redo);
+      edit_menu = edit_menu.add_native_item(MenuItem::Separator);
+    }
+    #[cfg(not(target_os = "linux"))]
+    {
+      edit_menu = edit_menu.add_native_item(MenuItem::Cut);
+      edit_menu = edit_menu.add_native_item(MenuItem::Copy);
+      edit_menu = edit_menu.add_native_item(MenuItem::Paste);
+      edit_menu = edit_menu.add_native_item(MenuItem::SelectAll);
+      menu = menu.add_submenu(Submenu::new("Edit", edit_menu));
+    }
+    #[cfg(target_os = "macos")]
+    {
+      menu = menu.add_submenu(Submenu::new(
+        "View",
+        Menu::new().add_native_item(MenuItem::EnterFullScreen),
+      ));
+    }
+
+    let mut window_menu = Menu::new();
+    window_menu = window_menu.add_native_item(MenuItem::Minimize);
+    #[cfg(target_os = "macos")]
+    {
+      window_menu = window_menu.add_native_item(MenuItem::Zoom);
+      window_menu = window_menu.add_native_item(MenuItem::Separator);
+    }
+    window_menu = window_menu.add_native_item(MenuItem::CloseWindow);
+    menu = menu.add_submenu(Submenu::new("Window", window_menu));
+
+    menu
+  }
+}
+
 /// A custom menu item.
 #[derive(Debug, Clone)]
 #[non_exhaustive]