Restaurant menu data: every item and brand, outlet by outlet
Restaurant menu data is the structured record of what each bar, restaurant and cafe offers, item by item and brand by brand, and AI at Dashmote has read 5M+ menus in 60+ countries, plus 150M+ items on full delivery menus in the UK, Brazil, Germany and the Netherlands. Every menu is tied to an outlet record, so you see where you win and where a competitor is on the menu, outlet by outlet.
The trusted intelligence layer for teams selling to Hospitality & Retail
What is on the menu, outlet by outlet?
A directory says a venue is a bar or a pizzeria. It cannot say what the venue serves. Menu data can. For every outlet with a menu read you get:
- Items: each dish and drink as listed, with its price where the menu shows one.
- Categories: gin, lager, alcohol-free beer, fries or desserts, so you can count who serves what.
- Brands: the products named on the menu, yours and everyone else's.
- Source and date: menu photo, venue website or delivery menu, and when it was read.
The gap is often bigger than teams expect. In our UK study of vape, pouch and tobacco shops on Uber Eats, Just Eat and Deliveroo, half listed no drinks at all, while corner shops almost always list an energy drink (London nicotine shelf, August 2026 data). The same reading works for bars, pubs and restaurants: the outlets where your category should be and is not are the list your reps need. To turn the brand column into a list of venues where a rival is listed and you are not, see on-premise brand tracking.
Everything on the menu, item by item
A menu read is more than a list of dish names. Where the menu shows it, each item carries:
- Mains, sides, desserts and drinks: every item in its menu section, so you can see what a venue is built around.
- Prices: the price of each item, and of each size or variation where they differ.
- Variations and sizes: small, medium and large; a pint or a half; a 330 ml or a 500 ml bottle; by the glass or by the bottle.
- Add-ons and modifiers: extra toppings, sauces, sides and drink upgrades, with their surcharge, which is where many drinks are really sold on delivery menus.
- Meal deals and combos: which items are bundled together and which drink or side comes in the deal.
- Dayparts: breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner and late-night menus, and set or lunch menus where a venue publishes them separately.
- Descriptions: ingredients and preparation as written on the menu, which is where brands, styles and serves are often named.
- Images: whether an item has a photo on delivery menus.
- Dietary and allergen labels: vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free and allergen notes where the menu shows them.
- Availability: on delivery menus, whether an item can be ordered on the day it was read.
Together these answer questions a list of venues cannot: who serves breakfast, who charges extra for a premium mixer, which burger deals include a soft drink and whose.
Where menus come from and what we read
Menus are read from public sources: menu photos, venue websites and food delivery platforms. AI reads each menu photo and turns it into items, and brand detection marks the products, categories and brands named on it. On delivery platforms the items and their prices are read from each storefront's menu listing, the same data brand teams use for food delivery insights.
Every menu keeps its capture date. That matters: a menu photo from years ago says little about the bar today, so analyses can be limited to recent menus. Our London pubs study, for example, counted only the managed pubs with a menu photo dated 2024 to 2026 (about 200).
Menu penetration: the share of outlets that list a category
Menu penetration is the share of outlets with a recent menu that list a given item, category or brand:
menu penetration = outlets listing X / outlets with a recent menu read, in the same market and channel
Both parts must come from the same set of outlets. In our London study, the most-listed beer appeared on 35% of the managed pubs with a recent menu photo, and the most-listed spirit on 32% (London managed pubs, 22 September 2026). A brand on a menu is not the same as sales volume or pouring rights; it tells you where a brand is visible to the guest, which is exactly what a rep needs to plan a visit. For the full definition and worked examples, see the menu penetration glossary entry.
What field reps do with menu data
Menu data changes the visit before it starts, and the research is done before the rep leaves the office:
- Bring the right pitch. Competitor listed means a switch argument; category missing means a reason to add it.
- Bring the right samples. A cocktail list that names a rival gin calls for your gin in that serve.
- Time the visit. A new menu or new delivery listing means the range is being decided now.
- Check your own listings. Venues that list you but are not in your CRM are buying through someone else.
Menu data API and exports
Menu data is part of each outlet record in DashLeads, so it filters, scores and exports with the rest of the data. Full access plans include CSV and API export: menu items and detected brands arrive linked to the outlet they belong to, with the venue's channel, location and score, ready to join to your CRM.
Public restaurant APIs from POS systems and delivery platforms are built for a restaurant managing its own menu. They do not give a brand a view across the market. That cross-market view is what this data is for.
Frequently asked questions
What does restaurant menu data include?
Each outlet with a menu read carries its items, the categories they fall into, the brands named and the date of the read, from menu photos, venue websites and delivery menus. Filter on a category or a brand and a city to get the list.
Where does the menu data come from?
The menu data comes from public sources: menu photos, venue websites and food delivery platforms. Each menu is read into items and brands and keeps its capture date.
Is there a free API for restaurant menus?
Free restaurant menu APIs exist from POS systems and delivery platforms, but they let a restaurant manage its own menu; they do not give a brand a view of which outlets across a market list a product.
How current is the menu data?
Delivery menus refresh monthly; menu photos are read as new ones appear. Every menu carries the date it was captured, so you can limit any count to recent menus.
Can I get menu data for one city only?
Yes: DashLeads is licensed per territory, from lead packs for one area to full access for a whole country.
Related reading
For sales leaders: the business case
Menu data gives commercial teams a distribution measure for the on-trade, where scanner data does not reach.
- Distribution you can count. Track how many outlets list your brand per city and channel, month by month, against your competitors.
- Targets per rep. Turn "category present, brand missing" into a named list per territory.
- Proof after the visit. See whether a new listing shows up on the menu, not only in the order book. See pricing.