Open the Menu and tap + Category: that's how you create menu categories. Give it a name, save, and the category goes to the end of the list. Then drag it by the ⠿ handle to change its place — the order saves itself and applies to the waiter, the kitchen and the guest.
What a menu category is
Creating menu categories means building the sections that group your items — Starters, Mains, Drinks, Desserts — and then deciding in what order they appear. Each category has a single field, the Name, with up to 64 characters. On the Menu screen they become stacked cards: on one side the ⠿ handle and the name, on the other a + Item and an edit link.
That stack of cards isn't just tidiness for your own eyes. It's the same sequence that shows up in the chips and sections of the public page, in the waiter app menu, and in the label the kitchen shows before the item name. And items without a category aren't left out: loose items sit in an Uncategorized block on your Dashboard and appear grouped as Other for the guest and the waiter.
Why organizing into categories is worth it
- The guest finds what they want without scrolling the whole menu. On the public page each category becomes a chip pinned at the top; tapping the chip slides straight to the section. Without categories, everything lands in one pile called Other.
- The waiter takes orders faster. In the waiter app the menu already comes grouped in your order, with an All chip and one chip per category. Less scrolling in a rush means fewer wrong items on the tab.
- The Kitchen understands at a glance. On the kitchen display, the category name appears before the item name, a bit fainter. You can tell a drink from a grill item without reading the whole line.
- Google reads your menu. On the public page, we generate the restaurant's structured data from your categories: each one becomes a menu section, with its items and prices inside.
- Tidying up doesn't touch a single price. The order changes by dragging and saves instantly. The items' name, price, photo and size stay exactly as they were.
How to create menu categories in 7 steps
Seven steps, from the first section to the final order applied on every screen.
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Open the Menu
On the restaurant Dashboard, go to Menu. At the top of the screen there are three buttons: Import printed menu, + Category and + Item. If your restaurant has nothing set up yet, the middle of the screen says there's no category or item yet and suggests starting with a category.
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Create the first category
Tap + Category. The New category screen has a single field, the Name, with up to 64 characters — there's no order number to fill in and no hidden option. Write something short, like Starters, and tap Save. You're back on the Menu with the new card already on screen. Changed your mind halfway? Cancel brings you back without creating anything.
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Create your other sections
Repeat for every section your menu has: Mains, Sharing plates, Drinks, Desserts. Each category becomes a card on the Menu, with the ⠿ handle next to its name, a + Item and an edit link. Don't worry about the sequence now: a new category always goes to the end of the list, and we sort out the order in step 5.
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Put the items into the categories
There are three ways, and they all lead to the same place. The + Item inside the card opens the editor with that category already chosen. In any item's editor there's the Category field, with the list of your sections. And on the Menu itself you can hold an item by its handle and drag it from one card to another — that saves instantly, with no confirmation. An empty card shows the prompt Drag items here.
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Drag the categories into the right order
Grab the card by the ⠿ handle next to the category name, move it up or down and drop it in place. Done: the order saves itself, there's no save button for this part. When your drag reaches the edge of the screen the page scrolls along, so you can take a category from the end to the start without lifting your finger. Think about how your dining room really works: what guests order first goes on top.
Tip: Within each category, items are listed in alphabetical order. Dragging an item up or down in the same list changes nothing — dragging an item only moves it to another category. -
Check the order on the screens people use
Open your public page: the categories become the chips stuck to the top and the sections of the list, in the same sequence you dragged. Open the waiter app: the same layout, with an All chip in front and one chip per category. An important detail: a category with no active items doesn't appear for the guest — it exists only on your Dashboard until it gets an item.
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Rename or delete without losing items
The card's edit link reopens that same Name field; change it and tap Save. Renaming doesn't change anything about the items. The Delete button, on the other hand, asks for confirmation and removes only the section: the items stay on the menu, drop into the Uncategorized block and appear as Other for the guest and the waiter, until you drag them into a new category.
Frequently asked questions
Who does the order I drag apply to?+
Everyone. On the public page the categories become the chips at the top and the sections of the list, in your order. The waiter app shows the same layout: an All chip and one chip per category, with the menu grouped the same way. And on the kitchen display the category name appears before the item name.
Where's the order field? I only found the Name.+
There's no order field, and that's on purpose. The category screen has only the Name; the position is set by dragging the card by its ⠿ handle on the Menu screen. A new category always starts at the end of the list, and you pull it into the right place afterward.
If I delete a category, do its items disappear too?+
No. Deleting removes only the section: the items stay on the menu, in the Uncategorized block, with their price, photo and everything else intact. For the guest and the waiter they appear grouped as Other until you drag each one into a new category.
Can I choose the order of items within a category?+
No. Within a category, items are listed in alphabetical order, and dragging an item up or down in the same list changes nothing. Dragging an item is for something else: moving it from one category to another, or to the Uncategorized block.
Do I need to create categories before adding items?+
You don't. An item without a category works normally: it sits in the Uncategorized block on your Dashboard and appears as Other for the guest and the waiter. But with ten or fifteen items the list already gets tiring to read, so it's worth creating sections early.
I imported my menu from a photo. Do I have to redo the categories by hand?+
No. Import printed menu already creates the categories it recognizes on the menu and puts each item into its own. Then just check the list and drag the cards into the order you want — and rename anything that came in with an odd name.
Glossary
- Category
- A section of the menu that groups similar items, like Starters or Drinks, and sets the order everyone sees.
- Item
- Each product you sell, with a name, description, photo and price; it's what the waiter adds to the tab.
- Waiter app
- The ordering page each waiter opens through the restaurant's own link, right in the phone's browser.
- Kitchen
- The display where orders show up and move from Preparing to READY.
- Public page
- The page at qmen.us/your-code where guests see your menu, phone numbers, address and opening hours.
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