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Scan a restaurant menu and find your dish

Palytt is a free menu scanner app for iPhone and iPad. Photograph a menu or paste its text, tell Palytt the restaurant, and review the dishes it recognizes from that menu. Your saved, rated or posted dishes can add taste context when they relate to a menu item. You can start from Home or a restaurant's Order Guide. Android is coming.

Download on the App Store Read the FAQ

Android is coming. Get Android updates.

Use the menu in front of you. Palytt does not promise that an online menu, price or dish is current at every restaurant.

See what is on this menu, then choose the dish that sounds right for you.

How does the menu scanner work?

Show it the menu

Open Menu lens from Home or a restaurant's Order Guide. Take a photo, choose one from your library, or paste menu text. Enter the restaurant name if you started from Home.

Check the text

Palytt reads text from the photo on your iPhone. Review what it found and correct it by pasting menu text if a blurry photo or unusual layout was hard to read.

Compare the dishes

Analyze the menu to see the dishes Palytt recognized and compare the available information for each one. Your taste history can add context when it connects to a dish. You can scan another menu when you are done.

What do the results look like?

Menu Lens starts with the dishes it can read from the menu you supplied. It presents those dishes for comparison. Your saves, ratings and posts can make the suggestions more personal when they relate to an item on that menu. A menu photo by itself does not tell Palytt what flavors you like.

The example at right shows an order card made after choosing dishes in the iPhone app. It uses sample restaurant data; actual menu scans depend on the text Palytt can read and the information it has about your taste.

Already browsing a restaurant in Palytt? Open its Order Guide first. When that guide has few diner verdicts or uses an online menu, the menu scan helps you check what is on the table today.

Sample iPhone order card with three dishes chosen at a restaurant
Example order card after choosing dishes. Sample data.

When should you use it?

A new place with a long menu

Scan the printed menu to narrow the choices while you are at the table. It is especially useful when Palytt has not collected many dish posts for that restaurant yet.

A menu that may have changed

A restaurant's online menu may be old. Scanning the current menu gives Palytt today's dish names to consider, but ask the restaurant to confirm availability, prices and ingredients.

What are the limits?

A clear photo of readable text works best. Glare, handwriting, tiny type and complex layouts can cause missed or misread dishes. When shown, Palytt's scores are suggestions, not allergy, nutrition or medical advice. It cannot verify ingredients or make a restaurant's menu and prices live. If a dietary restriction matters, confirm it with the staff before ordering.

Want to understand where the scores come from? Read how taste matching works. For other ways to choose, compare the apps that help you know what to order.

How do other menu scanner apps differ?

Menu scanners are built for different jobs: matching a taste profile, checking allergens and diets, or translating a menu. Palytt is for choosing a dish for your taste from the menu in front of you. Facts come from each app's own US App Store listing, checked October 10, 2026. We make Palytt.

  • Whet

    Best for: Matching a flavor profile to a menu scan

    Set up a flavor profile once, then scan a menu, upload a photo or paste a link. It returns top matches grouped into starters and entrees, each with a match percentage and a one-sentence reason, and you can say how you feel before you scan.

    Listing facts, checked October 10, 2026: free to download, with three free scans and then scan packs of 10, 40 or 100; no ratings yet; last updated May 17, 2026.

    How it differs from Palytt: Closest in purpose, and scan-first. The listing does not describe friends’ dish verdicts, a dish journal or group voting. It says the flavor profile stays on your device and no account is needed.

    Whet on the App Store

  • SilverSpoon AI

    Best for: Mood-based place discovery with a menu scanner

    Pick a mood to find places, follow expert and community guides, see standout dishes drawn from customer feedback, and use a Live Menu Scanner for AI insights on an unfamiliar menu. Group sessions let friends swipe and vote on restaurants.

    Listing facts, checked October 10, 2026: free to download; 28 ratings averaging 5.0; last updated October 5, 2026.

    How it differs from Palytt: Broader. Restaurant discovery, guides and trip planning come first and the menu scanner is one feature. Its listing also describes friends’ activity and Taste Match percentages.

    SilverSpoon AI on the App Store

  • WellMenu

    Best for: Diet goals and allergens

    Scan a menu photo or share a menu link for dish recommendations based on your diet goals, preferences, allergies and lifestyle, with nutrition insights and allergen and dietary-conflict flags.

    Listing facts, checked October 10, 2026: free to download, with a premium subscription that adds unlimited scans; 6 ratings averaging 5.0; last updated July 29, 2026.

    How it differs from Palytt: Nutrition and allergens first. Palytt does not verify ingredients, allergens or calories, so use an app built for that and still confirm with the restaurant.

    WellMenu on the App Store

  • Savor Scan

    Best for: Allergy-aware scanning and unfamiliar menus

    Scan a menu with your camera and its AI estimates each dish’s ingredients, then marks “safe dishes” and “recommended dishes” from your allergies and ingredient preferences. The listing also pitches it for menus in a language you do not read.

    Listing facts, checked October 10, 2026: free to download; no ratings yet; last updated August 27, 2026.

    How it differs from Palytt: Allergy checks are the point, and the listing calls the ingredients an AI estimate, so confirm with staff. Palytt does not check allergens.

    Savor Scan on the App Store

  • MenuTure

    Best for: Reading a menu in another language

    Scan any menu with your camera to identify each dish, see real food photos and hear how the names are pronounced, for menus in any language.

    Listing facts, checked October 10, 2026: free to download; 3 ratings averaging 5.0; last updated June 9, 2026.

    How it differs from Palytt: Translation and dish photos for travelers. The listing does not describe taste matching or personal picks.

    MenuTure on the App Store

Good to know

Can an app scan a restaurant menu and recommend a dish?

Yes. Palytt reads a photo of the menu in front of you, or text you paste, and lists the dishes it recognizes. Your saved, rated or posted dishes can add taste context when they relate to a menu item; the menu photo alone does not establish your preferences. See how taste matching works.

Do I need to take a menu photo?

No. You can paste menu text instead. If a photo is blurry or the layout is hard to read, correct the recognized text before analyzing it.

Does it work when the restaurant has no menu online?

Yes. You can enter the restaurant name and use the printed menu at your table. Palytt needs readable menu text and a connection to analyze it; the restaurant does not need a published online menu.

Can I use the scanner for allergies or nutrition?

No. Palytt does not verify ingredients, allergens, calories, prices or current availability. Check dietary needs and the final order with the restaurant. Apps such as WellMenu and Savor Scan are built to check a menu against diets and allergies; their listings are summarized on this page.

Is the menu scanner available on Android?

Palytt is available for iPhone and iPad today. Android is coming; you can get Android updates on the app page.

Related reading

More Palytt guides

Bring the menu.
Find your dish.

Download on the App Store

Free on iPhone and iPad

Android is coming. Get Android updates.

At the table

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