Menuva FAQ

Menuva is a digital menu platform that makes dining-in simple and accessible for diners, while giving restaurants an easy way to increase visibility, customer satisfaction, and average order value.

What problems does Menuva address

• Discovery: many venues don’t have online menus, or exclude key information (e.g., prices, allergens, customizations), despite many diners researching menus in advance.
• Clarity: physical menus often have small fonts (especially in dim lighting), language barriers, and complexity for dietary needs.
• Confidence: ordering anxiety is rising, especially among younger diners, who may worry about ordering incorrectly, holding up the queue, or mispronouncing dishes.

• Is an account required
  No.
• Are Terms and Privacy Policy required
  Yes. The app requires acceptance of both to proceed:
  • menuva.co.uk/terms
  • menuva.co.uk/privacy

• What devices are supported
  iPhone only, iOS 18 or later.
• Where is Menuva available
  Menuva is downloadable from every iOS App Store region and is intended for use in the United Kingdom.

• Why is Menuva iOS-only
  Menuva is currently an iOS-only pilot and proof of concept. The goal is to validate whether Menuva provides genuine value in a real dining environment before expanding further.
• Will there be a web app or Android app
  A web app may be prioritized after the iOS pilot. Android may follow depending on pilot outcomes and feedback.
• How can I influence what gets built next
  Submit feedback via:
  • menuva.co.uk/feedback
  • the in-app Feedback button (Home screen)

• Is there a guide on how to use Menuva
  Yes:
  • In-app Tutorial button (Home screen, top left)
  • menuva.co.uk/tutorial

• Is location permission required
  No. It is recommended.
• What location is used for
  When “When In Use” location is granted, the app uses on-device location to:
  • show the nearest venue on the Home screen
  • sort venues by distance (Home and Map)
• What happens if location is denied
  
  • the nearest-venue experience is unavailable
  • you can still use the app via venue search and Map view

• Can I use the map without location permission
  Yes. Map view remains available, and defaults to Warwick Campus.
• Where do directions open
  Directions open in Apple Maps.

• Does the app work offline
  Yes, after initial load.
• What gets cached (pilot)
  
  • menus for all 5 pilot venues are cached on first use
  • images load progressively (only when needed) and cache after loading
• How menu updates are checked
  When the app is open:
  • checks when the app becomes active again
  • checks every 10 minutes while active
  If an update is available, it downloads in the background for later use.

• How venues are found
  
  • Home screen: list and search (venue name only)
  • Map view: venue markers with open/closed indicators
• Multi-location venue naming
  Locations are shown as venue variants (e.g., Coffee Lab (Oculus)).
• Opening status
  Venues show open/closed status in the Home and Map experiences.

• Menu structure
  
  • categories are shown at the bottom (horizontal scroll)
  • some categories include subcategories (expanded by default, collapsible)

• Can I search venues
  Yes, by venue name only (Home search).
• Can I search within a menu
  Yes, by dish name only (in-menu search).
• What happens to categories when I search in-menu
  Searching disables category grouping and searches across the full menu.

Dietary preferences supported

Allergens supported (UK 14)

• Allergen “children” breakdowns
  
  • Nuts: almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, pecans, pistachios, walnuts
  • Cereals containing gluten: barley, kamut, oats, rye, spelt, wheat
• Locked allergens from dietary preferences
  Two dietary preferences auto-select and lock related allergens for safety and consistency:
  • Gluten free locks cereals containing gluten
  • Dairy free locks milk

• What “Contains” vs “May contain” means
  
  • Contains (red): explicitly contains the allergen, or is explicitly not suitable for a selected dietary preference
  • May contain (orange/yellow): potential cross-contamination risk, or insufficient data to confirm safety
• Where restricted items appear
  If restrictions are selected, items may be moved into expandable sections at the bottom of each category:
  • May contain your restrictions
  • Contains your restrictions
• Safety default for missing tagging
  If any restrictions are selected and an item lacks sufficient dietary/allergen tagging, it is automatically placed in May contain your restrictions as a precaution.
• Why did a category disappear
  If a category has no suitable items (everything is in “may contain” or “contains”), that category may be hidden.
  Reveal fully filtered categories
  Scroll the category strip all the way to the right, tap the red eye, then select the hidden category to view its items.

• What the basket is
  A mock basket to support in-person ordering. It does not submit orders.
• Basket persistence
  
  • per venue
  • stored on-device
  • persists after closing the app until reset/uninstall
• Editing items
  Item edit view is accessible by:
  • tapping the item name, description, or ingredients
  • tapping the pencil icon after adding an item
• Notes
  Notes are added in the item edit view, and appear in the Order Summary screen.
• Duplicating items
  Duplicates an item with the same customizations and notes.
• Customizations
  
  • single-select and multi-select options exist
  • defaults may be preselected
  • mandatory selections prompt the edit view and must be completed before adding
  • option price deltas are reflected in the edit view and order summary
  • restriction conflicts are visually indicated:
    • orange outline: may contain
    • red outline: contains

Menuva aims to show complete menus, but some items may be missing images, descriptions, ingredients, nutrition values, or complete dietary/allergen tagging.

• What happens when descriptions are missing
  If a description is missing and an ingredient list is available, the ingredient list may be shown instead:
  • truncated in list view
  • fully visible in the item edit view

• Nutrition availability
  Nutrition attributes exist but are not available for all items.
• Nutrition unit for the pilot
  Nutrition values are per serving for the pilot. If future venues provide per 100g values, the app will indicate that accordingly.
• Sorting options
  
  • alphabetical
  • price (low→high, high→low)
  • nutrition (low→high, high→low) for supported attributes, including calories, fat, saturates, carbs, sugars, fibre, protein, and salt
  Items missing the chosen attribute are placed after items with available data.

• Languages supported
  English (UK), and Chinese.
• Translation scope
  Menu item names, descriptions (where available), ingredients, allergens, and sections.
• Translation method
  Hybrid machine + human spot checks. Translations may still contain errors; confirm with venue staff where needed.
• Currency conversion
  
  • menu base currency is GBP
  • 150+ currencies supported; popular currencies pinned in selection
  • tapping a price shows an approximate converted value
  • rounding: up to 2 decimals
  • exchange rates: Fawaz Ahmed exchange-rate API (updated daily; no in-app “last updated” display)

• What it is
  Time Travel previews menus at a chosen date and time, useful for rotating menus and planning ahead.
• Reliability window for pilot information
  Time Travel information is expected to be reliable through the end of Warwick Term 2 2026:
  • Monday, 12 January 2026 to Saturday, 21 March 2026
  Warning
  Beyond this window, information may be out of date. Confirm opening hours and menu availability with venue staff.
• Effect on basket and pricing
  Time Travel affects menu availability and can affect basket validity, pricing, and promotions.

• High-level approach
  Menuva is accountless and data-minimizing.
• Location privacy
  
  • precise location is processed on-device for nearby venue discovery and sorting
  • raw latitude/longitude is not transmitted off-device
  • last known location/city may be cached on-device only
• Analytics
  Menuva uses Firebase Analytics for aggregated usage measurement and product improvement:
  • no accounts, and no custom user ID is set
  • ads features are disabled; no cross-app advertising tracking
  • typed search queries are not logged to analytics
  • no in-app opt-out; deleting the app stops further collection from that device
  Specifics are in the Privacy Policy: menuva.co.uk/privacy.
• Retention
  14 months (current configuration).

• Authoritative source
  In-venue menus and staff guidance are authoritative.

• Reporting incorrect information
  Report issues to support@menuva.co.uk and include as much relevant detail as possible, such as venue, item name, screenshot, what you were doing, device model, iOS version, and whether Time Travel was used.

• How to submit feedback
  
  • in-app Feedback button (Home screen)
  • menuva.co.uk/feedback
• Reporting security issues
  Email support@menuva.co.uk with as much detail as possible.

• What “Reset app” does
  Reset deletes all on-device app data, including basket, preferences, and cached content.
• What uninstalling the app does
  Uninstalling clears on-device data and stops further analytics events from being sent from that device.

• General: hello@menuva.co.uk
• Support: support@menuva.co.uk
• Venue operations: ops@menuva.co.uk
• FAQ: menuva.co.uk/faq