Tabern

Menu scanner

Import an existing paper or PDF menu with the AI menu scanner.

A screen recording for this guide is coming soon.

Don't type your menu by hand. The scanner reads a photo or PDF of your existing menu, extracts sections, items, prices, and dietary tags, and presents them as a structured draft for you to review and import.

Scan a menu

  1. Open the Menu page from the dashboard sidebar.

  2. Click Scan Menu.

  3. Upload a PDF or photo of your menu — up to 10 MB per file.

  4. Wait for extraction. Images may take longer than PDFs; keep the tab open while it runs.

  5. Review the extracted structure when results appear.

A photo of a printed menu works fine — lay it flat and fill the frame for the best read. The scan reads the menu in several passes: header, full page, and, if needed, cropped regions, then post-processes to pull out prices and dietary tags.

Review the results

The scanner shows what it extracted — menus, sections, items, prices, and tags. When your menu prints its own headings (Entrees, Cocktails, Kids Menu), the scanner uses them as-is: each printed heading becomes a menu with its sections inside. Menus with no printed headings are grouped logically (food, drinks, kids). Before importing you can:

  • Rename a menu — click its name and type a new one.
  • Move a section — use the dropdown next to a section to move it to a different menu.
  • Add a menu — click Add menu and move sections into it to split further.

Anything the scanner was unsure about is flagged:

  • Failed rows — items the scanner couldn't confidently read. Fix the name or price before importing, or remove the row.
  • Wrong prices or tags — compare against your original and correct before import.

After the import

  • Review the imported sections and items — edit names and prices, and remove anything you won't serve.
  • Add photos — see Sections & items.
  • Publish to put the imported menu live.

Tips

  • Combined menus (dinner + drinks + kids in one PDF) are split automatically — check the grouping before importing.
  • The scanner is a head start, not a finish line — always proofread prices before publishing.
  • Bad read? Re-shoot the photo with even lighting and no glare, and scan again.
  • Scanner unavailable? Manual entry still works — see Sections & items.