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Managing Your Menu

Learn how to create and manage your restaurant's online menu — add items, set prices, organize sections, add modifiers like sizes and toppings, and keep everything up to date.

How Your Menu Is Organized

Think of your online menu just like a physical paper menu. It has the same structure:

  • Menu — The top level. This is like the whole printed menu. Most restaurants just need one, but you can create up to 5 (for example: a Lunch Menu, a Dinner Menu, and a Catering Menu).
  • Sections — These are the categories inside your menu, like "Appetizers", "Entrees", "Desserts", "Drinks", etc.
  • Items — These are the individual dishes inside each section, like "Caesar Salad" or "Margherita Pizza".
  • Modifiers / Options — These are the choices customers make for each item, like picking a size (Small, Medium, Large), choosing toppings, or removing ingredients.

Here is how it looks:

  • My Restaurant Menu
    • Appetizers
      • Mozzarella Sticks — $8.99
      • Caesar Salad — $10.99
        • Size: Small / Large
        • Dressing: Ranch / Caesar / Vinaigrette
    • Entrees
      • Cheeseburger — $13.99
        • Temperature: Rare / Medium / Well Done
        • Add-ons: Bacon (+$2) / Avocado (+$1.50)
      • Grilled Salmon — $18.99
    • Desserts
      • Chocolate Cake — $7.99

Everything you set up in the dashboard is exactly what your customers see on your ordering website.

Getting to Your Menu

  1. Open a browser and go to dinevate.com
  2. Log in with your restaurant account.
  3. Go to your Merchant Dashboard.
  4. In the sidebar on the left, click "Menus".

You will see your list of menus. If you do not have one yet, you will see a button to create your first menu.

Creating and Editing a Menu

To create a new menu:

  1. On the Menus page, click "Create Menu".
  2. Fill in the details:
    • Name — Give it a clear name like "Main Menu", "Lunch Menu", or "Catering Menu".
    • Description (optional) — A short description if you want.
    • Image (optional) — Upload a cover image for the menu.
  3. Set the visibility:
    • Visible or Hidden — Hidden menus will not show up on your website.
    • Delivery, Pickup, or Both — Choose which order types this menu applies to. For example, you might have a menu that is only available for delivery.
  4. Click Save.

To edit an existing menu, click on it from the Menus list and make your changes.

Tip: You can have up to 5 menus. This is useful if you want separate menus for lunch and dinner, or a special catering menu. Most restaurants do just fine with one menu.

Creating and Editing Sections

Sections are the categories inside your menu — like "Appetizers", "Pasta", "Burgers", "Drinks", etc.

To create a section:

  1. Open a menu by clicking on it.
  2. Click "Create Section".
  3. Fill in the details:
    • Name — The category name (e.g., "Appetizers", "Main Course", "Sides").
    • Description (optional) — A short description.
    • Image (optional) — A cover image for this section.
  4. Set the visibility (same as menus — visible/hidden, delivery/pickup).
  5. Set the availability hours:
    • Same as restaurant hours — This section is available whenever you are open.
    • Custom hours — Set specific hours. For example, a "Breakfast" section available only from 7:00 AM to 11:00 AM.
  6. Click Save.

Reordering Sections

You can change the order of sections by dragging and dropping them. The order you see in the dashboard is the exact order your customers will see on your website. Put your most popular sections at the top.

Creating and Editing Items

Items are the individual dishes inside each section.

To create an item:

  1. Open a section by clicking on it.
  2. Click "Create Dish".
  3. Fill in the details:
    • Name — The dish name (e.g., "Margherita Pizza", "Caesar Salad").
    • Description (optional) — Describe the dish. Customers love knowing what is in it. Keep it short and appetizing.
    • Price — The price of the item. Enter 0 for free items.
    • Image — You have two options:
      • Upload your own photo — Use a real photo of the dish.
      • Generate with AI — Dinevate can create a professional-looking image for you automatically. Just click the AI generate button.
  4. Set the stock status:
    • In Stock — Item is available for ordering.
    • Out of Stock (86'd) — Item is temporarily unavailable. It will show as "sold out" on your website.
  5. Add labels (optional) — Tags that show as badges on the item:
    • Vegetarian — No meat
    • Gluten Free — No gluten
    • Spicy — Has some kick
    • Popular — Customer favorite
    • New — Recently added
    • Special — Limited time or special dish
  6. Special Requests — Toggle on or off. When on, customers can type in custom instructions (like "no onions" or "extra sauce").
  7. Set availability hours — Same as restaurant hours, or set custom hours for this item.
  8. Click Save.

Reordering Items

Just like sections, you can drag and drop items to change their order. Put your best sellers and highest-margin items near the top of each section.

Adding Modifiers and Options

Modifiers let customers customize their order. There are four types:

Required Choice (pick one)

The customer must pick exactly one option. Use this when every order needs a selection.

Examples:

  • Size: Small / Medium / Large
  • Temperature: Rare / Medium / Well Done
  • Bread: White / Wheat / Sourdough

How to set up:

  1. On the item edit page, click "Add Option".
  2. Enter a name (e.g., "Choose Size").
  3. Set the type to "Single".
  4. Add your choices. For each choice, enter:
    • Name (e.g., "Small")
    • Price (e.g., $0.00 for the base, $2.00 for an upgrade). Use $0 if the choice does not change the price.
    • In Stock — Toggle off if a choice is temporarily unavailable.
  5. Click Save.

Multiple Choices (pick several)

The customer can pick more than one option. You set the minimum and maximum number of choices.

Examples:

  • Toppings: Choose up to 5 (Pepperoni, Mushrooms, Onions, Peppers, Olives, etc.)
  • Sides: Pick 2 sides (Fries, Coleslaw, Salad, Rice)
  • Add-ons: Add as many as you want (Extra Cheese +$1, Bacon +$2, Avocado +$1.50)

How to set up:

  1. Click "Add Option" on the item.
  2. Enter a name (e.g., "Choose Toppings").
  3. Set the type to "Multiple".
  4. Set the minimum (e.g., 0 if optional, 1 if they must pick at least one).
  5. Set the maximum (e.g., 5 for "choose up to 5").
  6. Add your choices with names and prices.
  7. Click Save.

Remove Ingredients (deselect)

This lets customers remove default ingredients from a dish. Nothing is added — things are only taken away.

Examples:

  • Remove from burger: No Onions / No Tomato / No Lettuce / No Pickles
  • Remove from salad: No Croutons / No Cheese

How to set up:

  1. Click "Add Option" on the item.
  2. Enter a name (e.g., "Remove Ingredients").
  3. Set the type to "Deselection".
  4. Add the ingredients that can be removed. Price is usually $0.
  5. Click Save.

Nested Options (options within options)

This is for more complex menus where one choice leads to another set of choices.

Example:

  • Choose a Side → Customer picks "Salad" → Then picks a dressing: Ranch / Caesar / Balsamic

How to set up:

  1. Create the parent option (e.g., "Choose a Side") as a Single or Multiple type.
  2. Create the child option (e.g., "Choose Dressing") as a Nested type.
  3. Link them together.

Tip: Nested options are great for complex menus, but keep it simple when you can. Most items only need one or two modifiers.

Reusing Modifiers Across Items

If many items share the same modifier (for example, every sandwich has the same bread choices), you do not need to create it from scratch every time:

  • Find Dish Options — When adding an option to an item, click "Find Dish Options" to search for modifiers you have already created. Select one and it gets added to the item instantly.
  • Add to All Items — You can add a modifier to every item in a section at once. This is perfect for things like "Choose a Size" that apply to everything in a category.

Marking Items as Unavailable (86'd)

When you run out of something during service, you can quickly mark it as unavailable:

From the Merchant Dashboard

  1. Go to Menus > open the section > find the item.
  2. Toggle the stock switch to "Out of Stock".
  3. The item will show as "Sold Out" on your website.
  4. When you restock, toggle it back to "In Stock".

From the Tablet (Order Manager App)

This is even faster during a busy shift:

  1. Tap the gear icon in the top-left corner.
  2. Tap "Menu Manager".
  3. You will see all your menus, sections, and items.
  4. Toggle the stock switch next to any item to mark it as out of stock or back in stock.

You can also toggle individual modifier choices as out of stock (for example, if you ran out of mushrooms, you can mark just that topping as unavailable).

86'd items are temporary. Use this when you run out of something during the day. For items you want to permanently remove from the menu, either delete them or hide them using visibility settings (see below).

Visibility Settings

Every menu, section, and item has visibility controls:

  • Visible — Shows on your website. Customers can see and order it.
  • Hidden — Does not show on your website. Customers cannot see it.

You can also control which order types something is available for:

  • Delivery and Pickup — Available for both.
  • Delivery Only — Only shows up when a customer is ordering for delivery.
  • Pickup Only — Only shows up when a customer is ordering for pickup.

Important: If you hide a menu, everything inside it (all sections and items) is also hidden. If you hide a section, all items in that section are hidden too.

When to use visibility vs. 86'd:

  • 86'd (Out of Stock) — Use when you temporarily run out of something. You plan to bring it back soon. The item still exists on the menu but shows "Sold Out."
  • Hidden (Visibility Off) — Use when you want to completely remove something from the customer's view. They will not know it exists. Good for seasonal items, discontinued dishes, or items you are still setting up.

Section and Item Hours

You can control exactly when a section or item is available for ordering.

Use restaurant hours: The section or item is available during your normal business hours. This is the default.

Use custom hours: Set specific days and times. For example:

  • Breakfast section — Available Monday to Friday, 7:00 AM to 11:00 AM
  • Happy Hour Specials — Available Monday to Friday, 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM
  • Weekend Brunch — Available Saturday and Sunday, 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM
  • Late Night Menu — Available Friday and Saturday, 10:00 PM to 2:00 AM

To set custom hours:

  1. Edit the section or item.
  2. Under availability hours, switch from "Same as restaurant hours" to "Custom hours".
  3. Set the days and times this section or item should be available.
  4. Click Save.

Items that are outside their available hours will not show on your website. They automatically appear and disappear based on the schedule you set.

Item Labels

Labels are small badges that appear next to your items on the ordering website. They help customers quickly find what they are looking for.

Available labels:

  • Vegetarian — For dishes with no meat. Helps vegetarian customers find their options fast.
  • Gluten Free — For dishes without gluten. Important for customers with dietary restrictions.
  • Spicy — For dishes with heat. Lets customers know what to expect.
  • Popular — Mark your best sellers. This draws attention and encourages new customers to try them.
  • New — For recently added dishes. Creates excitement and curiosity.
  • Special — For limited-time offers or chef's specials. Creates urgency.

You can add multiple labels to the same item. For example, a dish can be both "Vegetarian" and "Popular".

Tip: Use the "Popular" label on your top 3-5 items. It helps customers who are ordering from you for the first time decide what to get. It also encourages higher-value orders.

Images

Items with photos get significantly more orders than items without. Here is how to add images:

Upload Your Own Photo

  1. On the item edit page, click the image upload area.
  2. Select a photo from your device.
  3. The image is uploaded and saved automatically.

Tips for good food photos:

  • Use natural lighting (near a window works great).
  • Photograph from above at an angle.
  • Use a clean, simple background.
  • Make sure the dish fills most of the frame.
  • Take the photo before anyone touches the food.

Generate with AI

If you do not have a photo, Dinevate can create a professional-looking image for you:

  1. On the item edit page, click the AI generate button.
  2. Dinevate uses the item's name and description to create a realistic food image.
  3. Review the image. If you like it, save it. If not, you can generate a new one.

You can also generate images in bulk for all items that do not have photos yet. This is great when you are first setting up your menu.

You do not need photos for every item, but we strongly recommend it. Customers are visual — a good photo can increase orders for that item by 30% or more.

Reordering Your Menu

The order you see in your dashboard is the exact order customers see on your website.

To change the order:

  1. Go to the list of menus, sections, or items.
  2. Click and drag any item up or down to its new position.
  3. The new order is saved automatically.

Strategy tips:

  • Put your most popular and highest-profit items at the top of each section.
  • Put your most important sections (like "Most Popular" or "Specials") first.
  • If you have a lot of items, consider creating a "Featured" or "Best Sellers" section at the very top.

Quick Menu Changes from the Tablet

You do not always need to open a computer to make menu changes. The Menu Manager on your Dinevate Order Manager tablet app lets you make quick changes during service:

  1. Tap the gear icon in the top-left corner of the tablet.
  2. Tap "Menu Manager".
  3. You will see your full menu tree — menus, sections, and items.
  4. From here you can:
    • Toggle item visibility — Show or hide items instantly.
    • Toggle stock status — Mark items as in stock or out of stock (86'd).
    • Toggle modifier choices — Mark individual modifier choices as out of stock.

This is perfect for busy shifts when you need to 86 something fast without leaving the kitchen.

Note: For bigger changes like adding new items, changing prices, or editing descriptions, use the full Merchant Dashboard on a computer.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many menus can I have?

You can have up to 5 menus per restaurant. Most restaurants only need one. Multiple menus are useful for things like separate lunch and dinner menus, a catering menu, or a special events menu.

Can I have different menus for delivery and pickup?

Yes. When you create or edit a menu, you can set it to Delivery Only, Pickup Only, or Both. This applies to sections and items too. For example, you might have a soup that is only available for pickup (because it does not travel well for delivery).

How do I temporarily hide an item?

You have two options:

  • 86 it (Out of Stock): Toggle the stock switch off. The item shows as "Sold Out" on your website. Use this when you plan to bring it back soon.
  • Hide it (Visibility Off): Turn off visibility. The item completely disappears from your website. Use this when you do not want customers to know it exists.

Can I copy a modifier to other items?

Yes. When adding a modifier to an item, click "Find Dish Options" to search for modifiers you have already created. You can also use "Add to All Items" to apply a modifier to every item in a section at once.

How do I set up pizza toppings with half and whole options?

When creating a Multiple type modifier for toppings:

  1. In the modifier settings, enable the "Pizza Topping" option.
  2. This adds pizza-specific features like half pizza positioning (left half, right half, whole pizza) for each topping.
  3. Customers can choose different toppings for each half of the pizza.

Can I set different prices for different sizes?

Yes. Create a Single type modifier for size (Small, Medium, Large). You can either:

  • Set a base price on the item and add upcharges for larger sizes (e.g., item is $10, Medium adds $2, Large adds $4).
  • Enable size-dependent pricing on your toppings so that topping prices change based on which size the customer picked.

How do I add a lunch-only section?

  1. Create a section called "Lunch Specials" (or whatever you like).
  2. Edit the section and switch availability hours from "Same as restaurant" to "Custom hours".
  3. Set the hours to your lunch time (e.g., 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM).
  4. Add your lunch items to this section.
  5. The section will automatically appear during lunch hours and disappear outside of them.

Can I change prices in bulk?

Yes. Dinevate has a bulk price update feature that lets you update up to 100 item prices at once. This is great for across-the-board price adjustments.

What is the difference between hiding and 86'ing an item?

  • 86'd (Out of Stock): The item is still on the menu but shows as "Sold Out." Customers can see it exists but cannot order it. Best for temporary situations (ran out of an ingredient today).
  • Hidden (Visibility Off): The item is completely invisible. Customers do not see it at all. Best for permanent changes, seasonal items, or items you are still working on.

Can I let customers add special requests?

Yes. Each item has a "Special Requests" toggle. When turned on, customers see a text box where they can type instructions like "no onions", "extra sauce", or "well done". You can turn this on or off for each item individually.

Do I need to upload photos for every item?

No, but we strongly recommend it. Items with photos get significantly more orders. If you do not have professional photos, use Dinevate's AI image generation to create realistic food images automatically. You can generate images in bulk for all items that do not have photos.