Menuva FAQ

Menuva 常见问题

Effective date: 17 March 2026 · Last updated: 20 April 2026

Frequently asked questions about Menuva. Applies to the Menuva iOS app (pilot) and the Menuva website (menuva.co.uk).

1. What is Menuva

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.

A. 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.

B. What Menuva lets diners do

  • Preview complete menus in advance.
  • Translate menus (English and Chinese for the pilot).
  • Convert prices into a preferred currency (approximate).
  • Filter and label items using dietary preferences and allergens.
  • Customize what information is shown (images, descriptions, nutrition fields).
  • Build a mock basket and show the order summary to staff at checkout.

C. What Menuva lets venues do

  • Maintain a central menu that can be updated without new hardware or major operational change.
  • Provide clearer allergen and dietary information (where available).
  • Improve menu accessibility and readability for a wider range of diners.

2. Quick facts

  • Platform: iPhone (iOS 17+) and menuva.co.uk (web). The website offers menu browsing with reduced functionality compared to the app.
  • Availability: Downloadable from every iOS App Store region, intended for UK use
  • Accounts: None (no sign-in)
  • Ordering: No in-app ordering, payments, or reservations
  • Venues: 26 venues as of Spring Term 2025/2026, and growing. See the app or menuva.co.uk/menus/ for the latest list.
  • Languages: English (UK), Chinese

3. Getting started

Is an account required?

No.

Are Terms and Privacy Policy required?

Yes. The app requires acceptance of both to proceed: menuva.co.uk/terms and menuva.co.uk/privacy.

4. Device and availability

What devices are supported?

The iOS app requires iPhone with iOS 17 or later. The Menuva website (menuva.co.uk) is accessible from any modern browser and provides menu browsing with reduced functionality.

Where is Menuva available?

The iOS app is downloadable from every App Store region. The website is accessible worldwide. Both are intended for use in the United Kingdom.

5. Why iOS only (mobile app)

Why is the mobile app iOS-only?

The Menuva mobile app 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. The Menuva website (menuva.co.uk) also provides menu browsing with reduced functionality.

Will there be an Android app?

Android may follow depending on pilot outcomes and feedback.

How can I influence what gets built next?

Submit feedback via the in-app Feedback button (Home screen) or email hello@menuva.co.uk.

6. Tutorial

Is there a guide on how to use Menuva?

Yes: in-app Tutorial button (Home screen, top left) or menuva.co.uk/tutorial.

7. Location permission

Is location permission required?

No. It is recommended.

What is location used for?

When "When In Use" location is granted, the app uses on-device location to:

  • show the nearest venue on the Home screen, and
  • sort venues by distance (Home and Map).

On the Website, location is used on-device only for the optional "Sort by Distance" toggle on the menus page. Coordinates are never transmitted off-device.

What happens if location is denied?

The nearest-venue experience is unavailable. You can still use the app via venue search and Map view.

8. Maps and directions

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.

9. Offline use, caching, and updates

Does the app work offline?

Yes, after initial load.

What gets cached (pilot)?

  • Menus for all venues are cached on first use.
  • Images load progressively (only when needed) and cache after loading.

How are menu updates 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.

10. Venue discovery and navigation

How are venues 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.

11. Browsing menus

Menu structure?

  • Categories are shown at the bottom (horizontal scroll).
  • Some categories include subcategories (expanded by default, collapsible).

Nutritional info on options?

Options marked with an (i) symbol can be held (long-press) to view nutritional information for that option, including the ingredient statement, allergens, and macronutrient information.

12. Searching

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.

13. Dietary preferences and allergens

A. Dietary preferences supported

  • Dairy free
  • Gluten free
  • No beef
  • No pork
  • Pescatarian
  • Vegan
  • Vegetarian

B. Allergens supported (UK 14)

  • Celery
  • Cereals containing gluten
  • Crustaceans
  • Eggs
  • Fish
  • Lupin
  • Milk
  • Mollusks
  • Mustard
  • Nuts
  • Peanuts
  • Sesame
  • Soya
  • Sulfur dioxide / sulfites

C. Allergen children breakdowns

  • Nuts: almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, pecans, pistachios, walnuts
  • Cereals containing gluten: barley, kamut, oats, rye, spelt, wheat

D. 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.

14. Restricted sections and safety defaults

What does "Contains" vs "May contain" mean?

  • 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 do 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.

How do I 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.

15. Basket, notes, and customizations

What is the basket?

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.

How do I edit items?

Item edit view is accessible by tapping the item name, description, or ingredients, or by 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) and red outline (contains).

16. Content completeness

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.

17. Nutrition and sorting

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 to high, high to low).
  • Nutrition (low to high, high to 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.

18. Language and currency conversion

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).

19. Time Travel

What is Time Travel?

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.

20. Privacy and analytics

High-level approach?

Menuva is accountless and data-minimizing.

Location privacy?

  • Precise location is processed on-device only on both the App and the Website (the Website's optional "Sort by Distance" toggle uses the browser geolocation API locally).
  • Raw latitude/longitude is never transmitted off-device.
  • The App may cache your last known location/city on-device only. The Website stores only an on/off preference for the "Sort by Distance" toggle in browser localStorage; no coordinates are stored.

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).

21. Data accuracy and safety

Authoritative source?

In-venue menus and staff guidance are authoritative.

Allergen and dietary guidance?

Menuva's allergen indicators, dietary labels, warnings, and filters are not guarantees. Menuva should not be the sole basis for determining whether food meets dietary or allergen requirements. Confirmation with the venue is required, especially for severe allergies, intolerances, or coeliac disease.

Reporting incorrect information?

Report issues to hello@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.

22. Feedback, support, and security

How to submit feedback?

Use the in-app Feedback button (Home screen) or email hello@menuva.co.uk.

Reporting security issues?

Email hello@menuva.co.uk with as much detail as possible.

23. Reset and uninstall

What does "Reset app" do?

Reset deletes all on-device app data, including basket, preferences, and cached content.

What does uninstalling the app do?

Uninstalling clears on-device data and stops further analytics events from being sent from that device.

Contact

Email: hello@menuva.co.uk

More: Visit Contact page