Menu Translator

The Menu Translator turns a photo of a menu into a menu you can read, and tells you what is actually on the plate. Upload a picture of one page, choose your language, and you get the menu re-set in that language in the same layout, plus a dish guide that explains every dish.

At the table, on your phone

It runs in your phone's browser: there is no app to install and nothing to sign up for.

1. Tap Take a photo. The camera opens: photograph one page of the menu. A menu photo already in your gallery, a screenshot of a delivery app or the PDF menu from the restaurant's website works too.
2. Tap Translate menu. About ten seconds later the dish guide appears, with the whole menu re-set in your language below it.
3. Order by pointing. Tap Show to staff on a dish and its name appears in large type in the original language, so the server can read it off your screen.
4. Keep it for later. Tap Save or share to put the translated menu in your photos, or send it to the people you are eating with.

For travelers: order with confidence

• Real dish names. Dishes that have a well-known name in your language get it (Kung Pao Chicken, Mapo Tofu, Pad Thai); the rest are named plainly by what they are, never translated into something misleading.
• What it is. One sentence on each dish, its main ingredients and how spicy it is.
• Allergens and diet. Common allergens in the usual recipe (peanuts, shellfish, gluten, soy, egg, milk, sesame and more) and which dishes are vegetarian or vegan.

Prices, tips and the bill

Prices are kept exactly as printed, in the local currency; the Currency Converter shows what a dish costs in your own money. Tipping customs differ a lot from country to country: in Japan nobody tips, while in the United States 15 to 20% is expected, and in much of Europe service is often already included in the price or added to the bill.The Tip Calculator works out the amount; when you eat as a group, the Tip Splitter divides the bill and the tip by what each person ordered, and the Trip Cost Splitter settles a whole trip's shared meals at the end.

Still can't decide?

A long menu in an unfamiliar cuisine is hard to choose from even once you can read it. Let the Random Meal Generator settle it. Ordering a bottle? Enter the dish and its main ingredient from the dish guide into the Wine Pairing Suggester. And if you loved a dish, note its main ingredients from the dish guide: back home, the AI Recipe Generator turns them into a recipe to cook it yourself.

For restaurants: a translated menu

Translate your menu, correct any dish name or description in the list next to the picture, and download the result. For a print-ready version, the AI redraw rebuilds the menu in your original design and lettering with your corrected translations.

Tips for a good photo

• Lay the menu flat and hold the phone straight above it, so the lines are not slanted.
• Turn the flash off on glossy or laminated menus: it leaves a white glare over the text. Move toward the light or tilt the menu slightly instead.
• Get close enough that the smallest text is sharp, and tap the screen on the text to focus. In a dim restaurant, rest your elbows on the table to keep the phone still.
• One page per photo: translate a menu with several pages one page at a time.

Other pictures to translate (signs, packages, screenshots)? Use the Image Translator. For plain text, the AI Translator.

Standard result or AI redraw: what is the difference?

Every translation (1 credit) gives you the standard result: your browser erases the original text and sets the translation in its place. The AI redraw is an optional extra that rebuilds the whole picture with an image model. Below is the same example both ways, with the same translations: drag across it to compare.

Frequently asked questions

How do I translate a menu?

Take a photo of one page of the menu, flat and in good light, choose your language and press Translate menu. In about 10 seconds you get the menu in your language, in the same layout, and a dish guide that explains every dish.

Can I use it on my phone at a restaurant?

Yes, that is what it is made for. Open this page in your phone's browser, tap Take a photo, photograph the menu and tap Translate menu. There is no app to install and no account to create, and the photo is not stored. You need mobile data or Wi-Fi while it translates; after that, save the translated menu to your photos and you can look at it offline.

How do I translate a menu to English?

English is the default on this page. Upload the photo and the menu's language is detected automatically, whether it is Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Thai, Vietnamese, Spanish, Italian or anything else.

Why not just use Google Translate's camera?

It translates dish names word for word, so 夫妻肺片 comes out as "Husband and Wife Lung Slices". This tool uses the names English menus actually use and tells you what the dish is (sliced beef and tripe in chili oil), how spicy it is and which common allergens it usually contains.

How accurate is the allergen information?

It is based on the usual recipe of each dish, not on this restaurant's kitchen, so treat it as a first warning, not a guarantee. If you have a food allergy, show the dish to the staff and ask.

Is it free?

Translating one menu page costs 1 credit, and every visitor gets 3 free AI credits a day. The dish guide, editing and downloads are included. The optional AI redraw for restaurants costs 50 paid credits per page. A page packed with text costs 1 credit per 1,500 characters; a typical sign, package, menu page or manga page has far fewer.

Can I translate a PDF menu?

Yes. Many restaurants post their menu as a PDF: choose it instead of a photo, untick any pages you don't need (up to 30 at a time) and translate. Each page costs 1 credit, and you can download the translated menu as one PDF or as a ZIP of images. The pages are turned into pictures in your browser, so the PDF itself is never uploaded.

I own a restaurant. Can I make an English menu with this?

Yes. Translate your menu, correct any line in the list (your dish names, your descriptions), then download the translated image, or use the AI redraw to get the menu in your original design and lettering. Always have a native speaker proofread a menu before you print it.

Can I translate a menu with several pages?

Yes. Select several photos at once (or a PDF), tick the pages you want and translate them in one go: each page is one run, 1 credit, and a bar above the results shows "2 of 3 translated" with a download of everything as one PDF. Your 3 free daily credits cover a three-page menu.

Can it tell me which dishes are vegetarian, halal or nut-free?

Tap what you avoid above the dish guide — meat and fish, animal products, pork, beef, alcohol, peanuts and nuts, shellfish, gluten or dairy — and every dish is graded: fits, contains it (with the ingredient named), or not sure. The grading uses the usual recipe of each dish, so treat it as a first filter and confirm with the staff for a real allergy. Your choices are remembered on this device for the rest of the trip.

Does it convert the prices into my currency?

Yes. The dish guide shows each price in the menu's currency and, next to it, roughly what that is in yours (the default follows the language of this page; change it in "Prices also in"). The rates are approximate and for orientation only; you pay the menu price. The order total is shown in both currencies as well.

How do I order?

Tap "Add to order" on the dishes you want and set the quantity. "Show to staff" opens a full-screen list with each dish in the menu's own language in large type, the quantities and the total, so you can simply point. "Copy order" puts the same list on your clipboard.

Can I look at the translated menu again later, without a connection?

Yes. Every menu you translate is kept on this device (not on our servers) under "Your saved translations" below the form, and reopening one costs no credits. It works without a signal, as long as you open this page from the same browser. The last 12 translations are kept.