Turn a menu photo or PDF into a digital menu
Updated October 20, 2026
Take a photo of your printed menu, or upload its PDF, and Menuthere reads the dish names, prices, sizes and sections into a digital menu you can edit. You check the list and fix anything misread, then you get a link and a QR code guests open on any phone. It's included on every plan, including Free, and the first version takes about two minutes.
In short
- What's read: dish names, prices, sizes with their own prices, sections, and a short description for each dish.
- What isn't: dish photos, add-ons such as toppings or milks, and allergens. You add those yourself.
- No translation. A Spanish menu stays Spanish; names keep the spelling on the page.
- Files: photos (including iPhone HEIC) or a PDF, several at once, up to 50 MB each.
- Check every price before you share the link. Glare, folds and handwriting cause most misreads.
What gets read, and what you add yourself
| From your photo or PDF | Read for you? | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Dish names | Yes, as printed, accents included | Check spelling of house names |
| Prices | Yes | Check every one against your menu |
| Sizes (Half/Full, 12 oz/16 oz, 2 pc/6 pc) | Yes, as sizes of one dish, each with its own price | Check that two different dishes weren't joined as sizes |
| Sections (Starters, Mains, Drinks) | Yes, worded as printed | Reorder them by dragging |
| Descriptions | Yes. Where the menu has none, a short one of up to 10 words is written in your menu's language | Rewrite any that don't sound like you |
| Two dishes on one line ("Fresh lime / mint lime") | Yes, as two separate dishes | Nothing |
| Add-ons ("extra cheese +$2", milk choices) | No. They aren't sizes, so they don't come in as sizes | Add an add-on group to the dish |
| Dish photos | No | Upload your own, or press Get all images and check the matches |
| Allergens, calories, halal | No | Tick them on each dish |
| Translation into English | No | Turn on other languages for guests (Lite) if you want a language button |
The reading is done by AI, which is why checking matters. It's good at clean printed menus and weakest where a price sits far from its dish, or where a photo is blurred, folded or shot at an angle.
Three places to upload your menu
| Where | What you get | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Free digital menu creator | A page-turning digital menu with a link, a QR code, a printable table card and a free dashboard. Holds your first 50 dishes | A reading menu now, ordering later |
| Get started (create your store) | Your ordering store, built from your Google listing and your uploaded menu | Taking orders for pickup, delivery or tables |
| Dashboard: Menu → Add Category → Menu upload | One new section from the pages you upload, ready to check before saving. PDFs read up to 300 pages | Adding a section, or a new seasonal menu, to a store you already run |
Coming from GloriaFood? Menuthere can import your GloriaFood menu directly (the menu only, not photos, customers or orders). See the GloriaFood alternative.
How to photograph a menu so it reads well
- Lay it flat on a table. Don't photograph a menu in a stand or someone's hand.
- Shoot square-on, with the phone parallel to the page, so lines stay straight.
- Use daylight and turn off the flash. Laminated menus glare; tilt the menu away from the window, not the phone.
- One page per photo, filling the frame, edges included.
- Send every page together. You can pick several photos at once.
If Menuthere can't read a photo, it says "Couldn't read your menu. Please try clearer images." When only some pages fail, the rest still come in and you're told which didn't. Retake those in better light.
Already have the menu as a file from Canva or a designer? Upload the PDF itself rather than a photo of a print: the text is sharper. See make your Canva menu orderable.
A PDF behind a QR code, or a live menu?
You can also skip the reading and put a QR code on the PDF itself. The free menu QR code generator makes a code for any link, including a PDF in Google Drive or Dropbox. The difference shows up the first time something changes.
| PDF behind a QR code | Live menu made from the PDF | |
|---|---|---|
| Guests read | The file: pinch and zoom on a phone | A menu made for phones: tap a dish for its description, sizes and allergens |
| A price changes | Edit the file, upload it again, check the link still works | Edit the dish; the next scan shows it |
| An item sells out | Edit the file again | One switch; the dish shows Sold out |
| Ordering | Not possible | Turn on table codes or your store link, from the same dashboard |
| Setup time | A few minutes | About two minutes, plus checking |
More on the three kinds of QR menu in what is a QR menu?
A worked example: a two-page Thai menu
A Thai restaurant has a two-page printed menu: 46 dishes in 6 sections. Curries come in chicken, beef or tofu at different prices, and the drinks page lists Thai iced tea in two sizes.
| Step | Result | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Photograph both pages flat by a window | 2 photos | 2 min |
| Upload to the creator | 46 dishes, 6 sections, all inside the first 50 | About 1 min |
| Check prices | One price misread where it sat next to a chili icon | 6 min |
| Curry proteins | Read as separate dishes (Green curry chicken, Green curry tofu), because a protein isn't a size. The owner keeps them that way, or merges them into one dish with an add-on group | 5–15 min |
| Thai iced tea | Read as one drink with two sizes | Nothing to do |
| Allergens | Peanuts, Fish, Crustaceans and Soy ticked on the dishes guests ask about | 15 min |
Total: about 30–40 minutes for a menu that would take an afternoon to type, at $0.
After the menu is made
- Share it: copy the link, send it on WhatsApp, or download the "Scan to view our menu" card or the plain QR code.
- Take orders: add table QR codes so orders reach the kitchen marked with the table, free up to 50 orders a month with 0% commission. See QR table ordering.
- Print it: the free printable menu maker loads the menu you have on Menuthere and makes a print-ready PDF, so print and phone match.
- Post allergens: the free allergen chart maker uses the allergens you ticked.
- More codes: see 12 QR codes every restaurant should print.
Limits worth knowing
- 50 dishes on a menu made in the creator. The ready page says how many were left out; add them in the free dashboard.
- One section per upload in the dashboard's Add Category. Run it once per section, with that section's pages.
- PDFs are read up to 300 pages in the dashboard.
- Files other than images and PDFs are skipped.
- No dish photos are imported. Get all images matches photos by dish name from Menuthere's image bank and Google; check each one, and use only photos you have the right to use.
About two minutes, no card.
FAQs
How do I turn a picture of my menu into a digital menu?
Photograph each page flat and square-on, upload the photos to Menuthere's free digital menu creator, and check the dishes and prices it reads. You get a digital menu with a link and a QR code in about two minutes.
Can I convert a PDF menu into a QR code menu?
Yes, two ways. Put a QR code on the PDF itself with a free generator, or upload the PDF so its dishes and prices become a live menu with its own QR code. The live menu updates when you edit a dish and can take orders.
Does it read prices and sizes correctly?
Usually, on a clear printed menu. Sizes come in as one dish with a price for each size. Always check every price before sharing, because glare, folds and prices far from their dish cause misreads.
Does it import photos of my dishes?
No. It reads text and prices. Add photos afterwards by uploading your own, or with Get all images, then check every match.
Will my menu be translated into English?
No. Names, sections and descriptions stay in the language your menu is written in. On Lite you can add a language button so guests read the menu in another language.
Is it free?
Yes. Reading a menu from a photo or PDF is included on every plan, including Free. The creator needs no card.
Sources (2)
- Menuthere Docs, "Import your menu from a photo or PDF" (updated 16 Oct 2026): Menu → Add Category → Menu upload; one upload makes one category; PDF read up to 300 pages; non-image files skipped; error "Couldn't read your menu. Please try clearer images."; no dish photos; free on every plan; no translation. menuthere.com/docs/menu/import-your-menu-from-a-photo-or-pdf (accessed 20 Oct 2026)
- Menuthere Docs (accessed 20 Oct 2026): Make a free digital menu in 2 minutes (50 MB each, first 50 dishes); Create your store from your Google listing (upload step); Dish photos and the image library (HEIC accepted; right to use Google images); Fill missing photos with Get all images (image bank, then Google, matched by name); Import your menu from GloriaFood (menu only); Menu in several languages for customers (Lite).