Menu Scanner Apps That Show Photos of the Dishes
Yes, there are apps that show photos of the dishes on a menu. A menu scanner app reads a photo of the menu and lists the dishes one by one. ChefBear (iPhone) shows a picture for every dish: the menu's own photo when there is one, and an AI reference image when there is not. MenuGuide (iPhone and Android) shows photos it finds on the web.
General translators such as Google Translate and Google Lens translate the text but do not show the dishes.
Menu scanners and what they show
| App | Best for | What it does with a menu | Limits | Price and platforms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ChefBear | Deciding what to order | Turns a menu photo into a dish-by-dish list: translation, a short explanation, a picture of each dish (the menu's own photo, or an AI reference image when there is none), and picks for your taste and party size. | iPhone only for now; Android is on the way. Needs an internet connection. Reference images show the kind of dish, not the restaurant's own plate. It does not place the order. | Free with no scan caps (very heavy use slows down); optional Express subscription. iPhone, also iPad and Apple-silicon Mac. |
| MenuGuide | Android users who want dish photos | Shows a photo for each dish (found on the web), with ingredients, preparation and calories, in 49 languages. It also flags dishes against allergies and diets you set. | The free plan has a limited number of scans a day and shows only the first dishes of a long menu. | Free plan; Premium $4.99 a week, $9.99 a month or $39.99 a year. iPhone, iPad, Android. |
| Google Translate | Free text translation on any phone | Point the camera at the menu and the translated text appears over it; it also translates text in photos. | Translates the words only: no dish explanation, pictures or picks. Which features work, online and offline, varies by language. | Free. iPhone, Android, web. |
| ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini | Asking follow-up questions | Upload a menu photo and ask anything: what a dish is, what goes together, what to skip. | You write the question each time and the answer is chat text, not a menu you can browse. Free plans limit uploads. | Free plans with limits, paid plans above them. iPhone, Android, web. |
Where the pictures come from
No app has a photo of the plate this restaurant will bring you, unless the menu printed one. So each app fills the gap differently, and it helps to know which:
- The menu's own photos. The most accurate. ChefBear keeps them when the menu has them.
- AI reference images. ChefBear generates one from the dish name and description when the menu has no photo. It shows the kind of dish to expect; the real plate will differ.
- Photos found on the web. MenuGuide's approach: a real photo of a dish with that name, taken somewhere else.
- Searching by hand. With a translator, you can copy a dish name into an image search. It works, one dish at a time.
Smaller menu scanner apps
Several newer apps do a similar job. We have not tested them side by side; this is what each one's App Store page says.
| App | What its App Store page says | Price |
|---|---|---|
| MenuVista | "We tell you exactly what is in the dish." | Free download; $6.99 a week or $29.99 a year. |
| Menu, please! | Ordering in Asia, across eight Asian cuisines. | Free download; in-app purchases from $0.99 to $3.99. |
| HelloMenu | Translations with allergen detection, which it calls AI-powered and best-effort; 50+ languages. | Free download; passes from $0.99 to $19.99. |
| MENU-PAAN | "Snap it, read it, order it." A free Lite tier allows three uses a day; saved menus work offline. | Plans from $2.99 to $14.99. |
| AnyMenu | Translates menus in 100+ languages. | Free download; passes from $5.99 (7 days) to $19.99 (1 year). |
How to pick
- iPhone, and you want pictures plus help choosing: ChefBear. It is free with no scan caps, and it recommends dishes for your taste and party size.
- Android: MenuGuide. ChefBear’s Android app isn’t out yet.
- Only the words: Google Translate or Apple Translate. See the menu translator comparison.
- No connection at the table: a translator with a downloaded language. ChefBear needs the internet.
More on how the images are made: menu photo AI and the ChefBear menu scanner.
Questions people ask
Is there an app that shows photos of the dishes on a menu?
Yes. ChefBear on iPhone shows a picture for every dish on a scanned menu, using the menu's own photo or an AI reference image. MenuGuide on iPhone and Android shows dish photos found on the web.
What is a menu scanner app?
An app that reads a photo of a restaurant menu and turns it into a list of dishes you can browse, usually with translation and an explanation of each dish. Some, like ChefBear, add pictures and recommendations.
Are the dish photos real?
It depends on the app. ChefBear uses the menu's own photos when they exist and AI reference images otherwise; those show the kind of dish, not the restaurant's plate. MenuGuide shows web photos of dishes with the same name.
Which app checks a menu for allergens?
ChefBear does not. MenuGuide and HelloMenu say they flag allergens, and HelloMenu describes its detection as best-effort. A menu rarely lists every ingredient, so tell the staff about an allergy whichever app you use.
Is ChefBear free?
Yes. Scanning, translation, dish images and recommendations have no daily, weekly or monthly cap. Only very heavy use slows down until the next month. ChefBear Express is an optional subscription for faster processing.
Is ChefBear on Android?
Not yet; an Android app is on the way. For now ChefBear is an iPhone app that also runs on iPad and Apple-silicon Macs. On Android today, Google Translate and Google Lens cover translation, and MenuGuide adds dish photos.
Try ChefBear
Download ChefBear on the App Store. It is free, and the first menu takes under a minute.
How this was checked: every statement about another app comes from its own App Store or Google Play listing, website or help pages, read on 2026-11-10. Things those pages don't say are left out. Written by the ChefBear team. If an app has changed since then, tell us through support and we'll update this page.