Vertical layout

The vertical layout presents one item at a time, full screen, scrolled top to bottom — the format guests already know from social video feeds. It is the most immersive of the five and the most demanding of your photography.

What it looks like

• Each item fills the screen with its image or video.
• The dish name, price and description sit over the image.
• The guest scrolls down to move to the next item.
• The logo and the utility controls stay fixed at the top.
• The category navigation stays reachable while scrolling.

When it works

• The menu is short — a curated list, a signature section, a tasting-style card.
• Every item has a strong photograph, in a consistent style.
• Some items have video, which this layout uses better than any other.
• The restaurant's positioning is visual: the menu is part of the experience.

When it does not

• Any menu over about thirty items. Scrolling one screen per dish becomes work.
• Incomplete photography. A full-screen placeholder is the most visible gap in any layout.
• Menus guests scan rather than browse — wine lists, spirits, breakfast cards.
• Guests who need to compare prices; only one price is on screen at a time.

Photography requirements

This layout is unforgiving:

• one photo per item, no exceptions;
• consistent orientation, ideally portrait or square;
• consistent style, lighting and distance;
• text overlays must remain legible over the image, which means avoiding busy or very light backgrounds.

If two or three dishes have no photo, choose a different layout rather than shipping gaps.

Video

The vertical layout is where an item's video field earns its place. A short loop of a dish being finished is exactly the content this format was designed for.

Keep videos short, silent-friendly and consistent in framing with the photographs around them.

Descriptions

Short. The description shares the screen with the image, and a paragraph pushes the price out of view or covers the dish.

One line for the ingredients, and the long description behind the info control for anything more.

Prices

Only one item's prices are visible at a time, which is the layout's main commercial limitation: a guest cannot compare. If comparison matters on this menu — a bar list, a wine list — this is the wrong layout.

Check it on a phone

• [ ] The dish name is legible over every image, not just the dark ones.
• [ ] The price is visible without scrolling further.
• [ ] Scrolling moves one item at a time, cleanly.
• [ ] The category navigation is reachable while scrolling.
• [ ] Images load fast enough on a phone connection.
• [ ] Videos do not autoplay with sound.
• [ ] The allergen icons remain readable over the images.
• [ ] Reaching the end of a long section does not feel like work.