First add your products and choose a menu style. Then scan your signature dishes in 3D. Drinks and other products can use a photo or just text. Below are the steps and scanning tips.
Walk around the plate with your phone for about a minute. The 3D model shows exactly your dish: the portion, the colours, the plate.
Upload a photo of the dish or describe it in a few words. In 1–3 minutes you have a 3D preview.
Name, logo and colour. The colour is picked from your logo automatically; you can change it any time. Choose one of three styles: Studio, Restaurant or Light. You get a menu address like menu3d.ai/m/your-name.
Categories, name, price, description, ingredients, the 14 EU allergens and tags (vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, spicy). Each product can be text only, with a photo or in 3D — start with what you have.
In the dashboard tap “Scan a dish”, scan the QR code with your phone and follow the guide: three slow rounds around the plate — at plate level, diagonally and from above. The app keeps only sharp frames.
Once the frames are sent, the 3D model is usually ready in a few minutes. The table and background are cut away automatically, and the dish appears in your 3D library and in the menu.
Rotate it in the dashboard, choose the angle used as the menu picture and, for real size in AR, enter the plate diameter in centimetres.
One QR code for the whole menu, or one per table (with table ordering, if you turn it on). Download them as PNG/SVG or print an A4 sheet with every table. You can also embed the menu on your own website with one line of code.
They scan the code, browse the dishes, rotate them in 3D and tap “See it on your table” to view them in augmented reality, without an app. In the 3D viewer they move from one dish to the next with a swipe.
AI is useful when you want to start quickly, or when a dish is seasonal or not at hand. In the dashboard choose “AI from a photo” (a clear photo with the whole dish, from slightly above, on a plain background) or “AI from text” (describe what is on the plate; the AI first creates an image, then the 3D model).
Any recent iPhone or Android phone with a good camera. No LiDAR needed. Scanning runs in the browser, so there is nothing to install.
Scanning takes about a minute and 3D processing usually a few minutes. With AI, a preview is ready in 1–3 minutes.
No. The menu opens in the browser. On iPhone, “See it on your table” uses AR Quick Look in Safari; on Android, Scene Viewer, on ARCore-compatible phones.
Yes. Scan the dish from the menu and, once the new model is ready, it replaces the old one. The dish link and QR code stay the same.
If no 3D model can be built, the scan is refunded automatically. Most problems come from poor light, glossy surfaces or moving too fast.
If you enter the plate diameter, the dish appears on the guest’s table at its real size; otherwise the guest can scale it up or down.
A practical guide to 3D scanning dishes with a phone: light, surface, the three rounds around the plate, common mistakes, and what to do with soups, glass or glossy sauces.
Read → 5 October 2026 · 5 min readA practical comparison of photos, phone 3D scanning and 3D models created with AI from a photo or text: fidelity, time, cost and when to use each.
Read → 5 October 2026 · 6 min readHow to make a QR menu that actually gets used: which code to choose (menu or table), how big to print it, where to put it, how to test it and how to add table ordering.
Read →The first 3D dish costs €1 and includes 30 days of Menu3D.