Edit dishes

A complete reference for the dish editor, every field, and how dish data reaches the AI waiter.

The dish editor is where a menu becomes usable, both for the customer reading it and for the AI waiter answering questions about it. This article covers categories, every field on a dish, and how that data is used.

The tamr menu editor on the Dishes tab: category rail on the left, the dish form in the middle, and a live phone preview on the right123
The Dishes tab, in three columns.

Open any menu and select the Dishes tab. The layout has three columns:

  1. Categories on the left, your menu's sections in order.
  2. The dish form in the middle, for the dish you are editing.
  3. A live phone preview on the right, showing exactly what customers see.
Editing is limited to admins

Creating and editing menus requires an organization admin role. Other roles can view published menus but cannot edit them.

Work with categories

Categories are your menu sections, such as Starters or Mains. Add, rename, reorder, and delete them from the category rail.

A single dish can appear in more than one category. On each dish, the Menu sections card controls its placements:

  1. 1
    Add the dish to a section

    Select Add to another section and choose a category. The dish now appears in both.

  2. 2
    Set the primary section

    Mark one placement as Primary. This is the dish's home section, shown with a house icon, and where it sorts first.

  3. 3
    Remove a placement

    Remove the dish from any non-primary section at any time. To remove the primary section, make another section primary first.

Edit a dish, field by field

Only the name is required. Every other field is optional, but the more complete a dish is, the more accurately the AI waiter can answer questions about it.

Namerequired
The dish name customers see.
Pricenumber
Shown in the menu's currency and stored to the cent.
Tonight's Picktoggle
Marks the dish as a chef's pick. Feeds the Chef's picks section and the waiter.
Descriptionshort text
The one-line blurb on the dish card.
The longer storylong text
Extended detail shown on the dish sheet.
Waiter's noteprivate
Guidance for the AI waiter. Never shown to customers.
Prep timeminutes
Minutes to prepare.
Caloriesnumber
Per serving.
Portiontext
Free text, for example "serves 2".
Protein / Carbs / Fatgrams
Macros per serving, in grams.
Photoimage
PNG, JPEG, or WebP.
The waiter's note is your most useful field

Customers never see it, but the AI waiter folds it into answers at the right moment. Use it for house knowledge and flags:

The muhammara has walnuts, flag for nut allergies. Pairs with the Syrah.

Everything saves as you type

There is no save button. Changes are written automatically about half a second after you stop typing, and a small indicator moves from Saving to Saved. If a save fails, tamr shows a notice so you can retry.

Set allergens and dietary tags

Allergens and dietary tags are chosen from fixed lists, so they stay consistent and the AI waiter can filter on them reliably. Customers can also filter the menu by them.

Dietary tags

VeganVegetarianGluten-freeHalalKosherSpicyHigh-proteinKetoDairy-freeNut-free

Allergens

GlutenDairyEggNutsSesameSoyFishShellfishPeanutMustard
Allergens are safety data, not decoration

Mark allergens accurately on every dish. When a customer flags an allergy in chat, the AI waiter uses this data to keep them safe and always hands the question to your staff to confirm. Incomplete allergen data is the most common cause of a waiter that cannot answer an allergy question.

Mark a dish unavailable

To take a dish off the floor for the night, turn on Temporarily unavailable. It is hidden from customers and the AI waiter until you switch it back. Nothing is deleted, so the dish and all its data remain intact.

Delete a dish

Deleting is permanent and removes the dish photo along with it. tamr asks you to confirm with the dish name in the prompt before anything is removed.

Deleting cannot be undone

If you only want to hide a dish temporarily, use Temporarily unavailable instead of deleting it.

FAQ

Why isn't a dish showing up for customers?

Check three things: the dish is not marked Temporarily unavailable, the menu is published (not draft), and your latest edits have saved. Customers only see published menus.

Can one dish appear in two categories?

Yes. Use the Menu sections card on the dish to add it to another category, and mark one placement as primary.

Do I have to fill in calories and macros?

No. Every field except the name is optional. Nutrition fields only appear to customers and the waiter when you set them.

Does the waiter's note show to customers?

Never. It is private guidance for the AI waiter only.

Related

Import a menu

Bring a menu in from a PDF, photos, a link, or your POS.

Design and branding

Set the template, colors, fonts, languages, and currency.

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Last reviewed July 15, 2026