Extracting a Menu from a Photo

If you already have a printed menu, you don’t have to retype it. Lekro’s AI import reads a photo of it and turns it into categories and items for you — then hands you a review screen before anything touches your live menu. It’s the fastest way to get a long menu off paper and onto your site.

You’ll find it at the top of Menu → Import / Export, the page Lekro calls the Menu Data Center.

Uploading the photo

Drag a photo into the upload area or click to pick one from your device. A clear, straight-on shot of the printed menu works best — good lighting and readable text matter far more than a fancy camera. Once the file is in, click Start AI extraction and Lekro compresses the image, sends it off, and scans it. A full menu takes a few seconds.

One thing to keep in mind: it reads what it can see. A photo where half the prices are in shadow or the text is at an angle will come back with gaps, so it’s worth taking a moment to get a clean shot before uploading.

Reviewing before you apply

Nothing is added straight away. When the scan finishes, you land on a review screen showing every category and item the AI found, with names and prices laid out so you can check them. This is the important step — read it over, fix anything that came through wrong, and drop anything you don’t want.

When the review looks right, apply it and the items are added to your menu in one go. If the photo didn’t give it enough to work with, you can cancel and try again with a better shot; nothing is saved until you apply.

Because this adds to your menu in bulk, it pairs well with a backup taken just beforehand — that way you have a clean point to roll back to if a big import isn’t what you expected. And once the items are in, the usual tools take over: photos, modifiers, and translations.