Bolt Food Photo Size in Cyprus: Image, Menu and Upload Specs

What Bolt Food actually publishes for Cyprus

Bolt Food's merchant documentation does not list pixel dimensions, aspect ratio, file size or accepted formats for Cyprus. Treat any specific number you see quoted for this market as unofficial until you have seen it in your own merchant dashboard.

That does not leave you guessing. Open the upload screen in the Bolt Food merchant dashboard and check three things before you start a shoot: the recommended dimensions shown next to the upload field, the maximum file size, and whether the field is labeled for a cover or hero image versus individual menu items. Screenshot that screen and keep it with your photo files so the next shoot matches.

If the dashboard shows no guidance at all, upload one test image and see how it is displayed in the app preview. The crop you see there tells you more than any third-party spec sheet.

Build one master file that survives any crop

Shoot in landscape orientation with the camera level with the plate, roughly 30 to 45 degrees above it for most dishes, and straight overhead for flat plates like a meze spread. Keep the whole dish, rim included, inside a centered square that you can see in the viewfinder or on the screen. If the square is safe, a square crop, a 4:3 crop or a 16:9 banner crop all work from the same frame.

Leave breathing room: the dish should fill roughly 70 to 80 percent of the square, not touch the edges. Delivery apps display thumbnails small, and a plate cropped at the rim reads as a mistake.

Light it once and keep it consistent. Daylight from one side, a white or neutral wall as background, and no mixed color temperature between window light and ceiling bulbs. Bracket your exposure so the highlights on oil, sauce or glaze are not blown out.

Export a large JPEG, quality around 85 to 90, at least 2000 pixels on the long edge, in sRGB. Keep the original raw or full-resolution file. When the dashboard asks for a smaller file, downscale from the master rather than re-shooting.

• Shoot landscape, dish centered inside a visible square
• Camera 30 to 45 degrees above the plate, overhead for flat plates
• Dish fills 70 to 80 percent of the square, rim fully visible
• One light direction, neutral background, no mixed color temperature
• Export JPEG at quality 85 to 90, sRGB, 2000px or more on the long edge

Matching photos to Greek and Turkish menu listings

Cyprus menus are commonly written in Greek and Turkish, and sometimes both. Whichever language you write the dish name in, the photo has to show exactly that dish. If the Greek listing says "σουβλάκι χοιρινό" the photo should show pork skewers, not a mixed grill platter. A diner comparing the name and the image needs them to agree at a glance.

Keep one photo per dish across both language versions. Do not use a different image for the Greek entry and the Turkish entry of the same item, because a diner switching languages will see two dishes where there is one.

Write the description to match what is visible. If the plate in the photo includes a side of pickles or a lemon wedge, either mention it or remove it before shooting. Small mismatches are what generate complaints about the wrong item arriving.

Cypriot dishes that are hard to photograph

Some local dishes fight the camera, and each needs a different fix.

Halloumi and grilled cheeses: the surface goes from appetizing grill marks to a flat white sheen within a minute of leaving the heat. Shoot within 30 seconds, angle the light to graze the surface so the marks read, and avoid direct flash.

Sheftalia and keftedes: brown cylinders and spheres on a brown plate disappear. Use a light plate, add a green or red garnish that is actually served with the dish, and shoot slightly from the side so the shape reads.

Meze spreads: dozens of small bowls photograph as visual noise. Shoot the spread as one overhead hero for the cover image, then shoot each bowl individually for its own listing. Do not use the group shot for a single dish.

Souvla and large cuts: a whole leg or shoulder looks like a brown mass. Shoot a sliced portion on the plate instead, with the cut face toward the camera.

Loukoumades and syrupy pastries: syrup reflects light into hard white spots. Use a diffused side light, shoot at a slight angle rather than straight down, and photograph within a minute of plating so the syrup is still glossy rather than soaked in.

Allergen information and what a photo may not claim

Under EU Regulation 1169/2011, allergen information for the 14 regulated allergens must be available for food sold without packaging, and for distance selling including delivery apps it must be available before the purchase is concluded. In practice that means the allergen details need to be in your Bolt Food listing or reachable from it before a diner checks out, not sent on request afterward.

A photo never replaces that information. It also should not suggest ingredients the dish does not contain. If a dish is dairy free, do not garnish it with a yogurt drizzle for the shot. If it contains no nuts, keep the chopped walnuts off the plate even though they photograph well. A diner with an allergy reads the image as a claim about the food.

Keep the photo and the listed allergens consistent, and update both when a recipe changes.

Pre-upload checklist for Cyprus menus

Run these checks on the files and the listings before you upload, and again after any menu change.

If you want help with the light and crop rather than the cooking, FoodPhoto takes a real photo of your own dish and improves light, background and crop for menus, delivery apps and social while keeping the food as it is, and delivers each photo as a kit of sizes.

• Confirm the current upload requirements on the Bolt Food merchant dashboard screen
• Check the dish sits fully inside the square with the rim visible
• Verify the photo matches the Greek and Turkish dish names exactly
• Check the plate contains nothing the allergen list contradicts
• Confirm the image is a JPEG in sRGB and opens cleanly at thumbnail size
• Compare the cover image and item images for consistent lighting
• Re-check listings after any recipe or garnish change