Menus: active, drafts, archive

Guests always get exactly one menu

A restaurant can have as many menus as it likes, but a guest sees exactly one — the active menu. Everything else (drafts and the archive) is staff-only: neither the link nor the QR will take a guest there.

The restaurant's first menu becomes active right away. Every menu after that is created as a draft and reaches guests only once you make it active yourself.

The active menu is also the only source of dishes for orders: in the POS you can ring up only what the active menu contains. The staff dish reference shows the same menu.

{info} The menu's name is internal — guests never see it. It's there for you, so you don't mix up “Summer 2026” with “Main menu”.

The menu list

The menu list screen

The screen is called Menu: the active menu's card sits at the top (a green Active menu badge, the number of sections and dishes, the languages, the update date and the guest link with the Copy and Show QR buttons), below it the Drafts section, and lower still the collapsed Archive.

Under each menu its origin is spelled out in plain words: “recognized from photos · 12 June”, “copy of “Main menu”” or “built by hand”.

This is also where you land right after creating a venue — while there is no menu yet, the screen shows both ways to build one. Beyond that it isn't in the main navigation: you reach it from the menu editor or through the command palette (⌘K → Menu list).

{info} If a menu seems to have “disappeared”, expand the Archive section — it's most likely there.

Creating another menu

The Create menu button opens a dialog with a name and a choice of what to fill it with:

  • Recognize from photos — shots of your paper menu; sections and prices are recognized automatically (how it works). The menu appears in the list once recognition finishes.
  • Copy an existing menu — a full copy of another menu (see below).
  • Start from scratch — an empty menu; the editor opens straight away.

When the restaurant already has an active menu, the dialog says so plainly: “The menu is created as a draft — guests won't see it until you make it active”, and the button is called Create draft.

{info} The name is filled in for you — replace it if you want your own. It is required and must be unique. Archived menus count as taken too: while the old “Summer menu” sits in the archive, you can't create a second one with the same name.

What a duplicate copies

The Duplicate action (the “⋯” menu on any menu) creates a full copy: sections, dishes, photos, modifier groups with all their settings, serving sets, ingredients and recipes — and every translation in every language.

The copy is always born as a draft, is named “Name (copy)” and leaves the original menu untouched. Translations don't have to be run again — they're already inside.

Switching to another menu

“⋯” → Make active, then confirm. The dialog shows the switch clearly: what guests see now and what they'll see afterwards.

What happens:

  • the switch is instant — the next guest to scan the QR opens the new menu;
  • the previous active menu becomes an ordinary draft (it isn't deleted): its data and translations are kept;
  • you don't need to reprint the QR codes — a code is tied to the table and the restaurant, not to a particular menu.

{warning} Open orders keep the prices fixed at order time — that's intended. But anything added later comes from the new menu: a dish that isn't in it can't be added to an open bill. If prices change noticeably, close the loose ends before switching.

{info} If the new menu has a different original language, the language a guest sees by default changes too.

Drafts, archive and deletion

A draft is any menu that is neither active nor archived. Edit it as much as you like: guests meanwhile see the active menu.

Archive moves a menu out of the main list into the collapsed section — the contents are kept in full, and you can bring it back with Restore to drafts.

Deleting is available only for a menu that isn't active, and is confirmed by a dialog listing exactly what will disappear (“5 sections, 42 dishes and every translation”).

{warning} Deletion can't be undone and takes photos and translations with it. If the menu might still be useful, archive it instead: it leaves the list but stays where it is. The active menu can be neither deleted nor archived — make another one active first.

A seasonal menu with no downtime

This is the scenario the menu list exists for:

  1. On the active menu, use “⋯” → Duplicate and give the copy a clear name (“Summer menu 2026”).
  2. The copy lands in Drafts. Edit it at your own pace: guests keep seeing the current menu all along.
  3. When it's ready — Make active. The switch is instant, and the codes on the tables stay as they are.
  4. The old menu becomes a draft by itself: keep it until the next season or move it to the archive.

{success} The way back is the same: when the season ends, activate the previous menu (restore it to drafts first if it's archived).