Make a board from a restaurant menu

Ordering food is one of the most real-life moments there is, and it goes faster when the actual dishes are right there on the board. Snap a photo of a restaurant or cafeteria menu, and SpeakAnyWay reads it, finds the dishes, and lets you check them before it builds a board your communicator can order from.

What you'll need

• A SpeakAnyWay account, signed in
• A clear photo or screenshot of the menu (JPG or PNG, up to 10 MB)
• A few AI credits. Reading the menu costs 5 credits, and each new image you choose costs 3. See AI credits and costs

Check the restaurant menus first

We may already have the menu you need. Open Restaurant menus from the side menu and search for the restaurant. If it's there, tap Add and pick your communicator. It doesn't use a board on your plan.

Tap a menu to try it before you add it. It opens with ordering words like I want and please, plus a picture for each part of the menu. Tap one to see its dishes. Want to change the dishes? Tap Copy to get your own board you can edit.

You'll also get a nudge while making your own: start typing the menu name and, if we have a match, SpeakAnyWay tells you and offers Open it.

Upload your menu

1. Go to New board and pick the Build from a menu tile.
2. Under Step 1 — Name your menu, give it a name you'll recognize later, like Pizza place — Friday or School cafeteria — Tuesday.
3. Under Step 2 — Add the menu image, drag the photo in, paste it from your clipboard, or tap Choose file.
4. Tap Read menu in the bar at the bottom.

SpeakAnyWay reads the photo, finds the dishes, and sorts them into sections. This usually takes under a minute, and then you'll land on the review screen.

Check the dishes

The review screen, Check the dishes we found, is where you fix anything the photo got wrong before a single board exists. You can:

• Rename a dish by editing its name, for example to the word your communicator actually uses for it.
• Remove dishes your communicator would never order.
• Add a dish that was missed.
• Move a dish to a different section, or rename, merge, or remove a whole section.
• Tap View menu to look at your original photo while you check.

Choose how to build it

Under How should we build it?, pick one:

• One board puts every dish on a single board. Good for short menus.
• A set — one page per section gives each section (drinks, sides, desserts) its own page. Good for longer menus.

A set with more than one page also offers Add ordering words to the first page. It's on by default and adds short words like I want, please, thank you, yes, and no. Under Add your own words you can type a few extras, like no ice or extra ketchup.

Then, under Images to make, choose how many dishes get a newly made image. Dishes that already have a matching image get one for free. Anything past your number still goes on the board without a new image, so you can add your own later.

Tap Build. SpeakAnyWay builds the board and takes you to it when it's ready.

What to expect

• Your credits come back if the photo can't be read. If SpeakAnyWay can't find any dishes, you'll see a message saying so and your credits are returned. Try a clearer photo.
• Your menu waits for you. If you leave before building, go to your boards and pick the Menus filter. Anything unfinished shows under Menus waiting for you with a Review button.
• Very long menus get trimmed. A menu holds up to 150 dishes, and one board holds up to 80. The review screen tells you if anything won't fit, so you can remove dishes or switch to a set.
• Small sections share a page. In a set, a section with fewer than 3 dishes goes on a More page. Tap Give it its own page if you'd rather.
• A menu board counts like any other board toward your plan's board limit. See Plans and slot limits.

Common questions

• Can I edit the board after it's built? Yes. It's a regular board, so you can change labels, swap images, and rearrange cells. See Edit a board.
• What if the menu changes? Snap a new photo and make a fresh menu board. It's often quicker than editing a lot of dishes by hand.
• Does it work for school cafeterias? Yes. Any printed or on-screen food menu works, including a cafeteria's weekly menu or a screenshot of a restaurant's website.
• Two dishes have the same name. Will I lose one? In a set, the same name in two different sections (like Small under Drinks and under Fries) stays on both pages. If two end up in the same section or on one board, only one is kept, and the review screen warns you so you can rename one (like Small fries).
• I'm at my board limit. Can I still add a restaurant menu? Yes. Menus from Restaurant menus don't use a board on your plan. Making your own from a photo needs a free board slot.