Uber Eats Menu Photos for Cafes: Specs, Angles and What to Shoot First
A cafe menu on Uber Eats is mostly drinks, pastries and small plates, and customers scan it fast. The photos that survive that scan are shot straight, lit from a window and cropped so the cup or pastry still reads at thumbnail size. Here is how to apply Uber Eats' published specs and photo tips to a cafe menu, and which items to photograph first.
What Uber Eats actually publishes for menu photos
Uber's developer documentation for menu integrations lists file requirements only: file size under 25 MB, JPG, WEBP or PNG, and width and height each between 320 px and 6000 px. That is the full published pixel guidance. Uber Eats does not publish a required aspect ratio or a recommended pixel size for menu photos, so check the upload screen in Menu Maker for whatever crop it applies to your item.
Uber Eats' own photo tips are about the shot, not the file: indirect natural window light rather than harsh direct sun or fluorescent light, top-down for plates and bowls, about 45 degrees for burgers, sandwiches and other tall items, cut and stack burgers, wraps and burritos so the filling shows, garnish for color but keep it a true representation of the dish, and avoid extreme close-ups that hide ingredients and portion size.
Uploads happen per item in Menu Maker inside Uber Eats Manager. After upload, each photo shows an in-review or rejected status in the Items tab, so plan to shoot a batch, upload it, and check statuses a day or two later rather than the hour before a menu launch.
Which cafe items to photograph first
Start with the items that carry the check and are hardest to judge from text alone. For most cafes that means the signature espresso drinks, the cold brew or iced latte, the matcha or chai, the best-selling pastry, and any breakfast plate or sandwich that makes up a meaningful share of orders. A flat white and a croissant photographed well do more for a cafe menu than a gallery of seasonal specials nobody orders yet.
Then cover the items that generate the most questions or refunds. If customers regularly ask whether the iced latte comes in a large cup, or what the breakfast burrito contains, a clear photo of that item answers the question before it becomes a support message.
Seasonal drinks and rotating pastries can wait until the base menu is done. When you do shoot them, shoot them the same week they go live so the photo matches what the kitchen is actually sending out.
- Espresso drinks: shoot the cup as served, with the crema or latte art visible from about 45 degrees.
- Iced drinks: shoot from about 45 degrees so the layers, ice and milk ratio are visible, and wipe condensation off the glass first.
- Pastries and croissants: shoot from about 45 degrees, or top-down for a filled danish or tart, with the cut side of a cut pastry facing the camera.
- Sandwiches and wraps: cut and stack them so the filling shows, then shoot from about 45 degrees.
- Breakfast plates and bowls: shoot top-down so portion size and every component are visible.
- Cakes and slices: shoot a cut slice from about 45 degrees so the layers read.
Light and setting for a cafe shoot
Uber Eats' tips point to indirect natural window light, which suits a cafe well: a table near a north-facing window on an overcast day gives soft, even light with no harsh shadows. Turn off overhead fluorescents and any warm pendant lamps that would cast a color shift on the milk or the pastry glaze. If the window light is too strong, step one meter back from the glass or hang a white sheet or diffusion panel between the window and the table.
Shoot on a plain surface. A light wood board, a matte ceramic plate or a marble slab works for most cafe items; avoid branded cups, busy tablecloths and cluttered backgrounds that compete with the product. Keep the garnish honest: a few coffee beans or a dusting of cocoa is fine, a mountain of whipped cream that is not in the actual serve is not.
Shoot each item as it is actually served, in the actual cup or glass, with the actual portion. That is what Uber Eats means by a true representation, and it is also what reduces complaints after delivery.
Angles, crops and thumbnail legibility
Uber Eats' angle guidance is simple to apply to a cafe menu: top-down for bowls and plates, about 45 degrees for anything tall, which covers most drinks, sandwiches and stacked pastries. For a latte in a tall glass, a 45-degree angle shows the layers; for a flat white in a wide cup, a slightly higher angle, around 60 degrees, shows the surface and the latte art.
Because Uber Eats does not publish a required aspect ratio, frame loose enough that the item survives a square or near-square crop. Leave a margin of background around the cup or plate, then crop so the item fills roughly 70 to 80 percent of the frame. If you shoot tight, an automatic crop in the upload screen may cut the top of the cup or the edge of the pastry.
Test legibility by shrinking the photo to about 200 px wide on your phone. If you cannot tell a cappuccino from a hot chocolate, or a croissant from a pain au chocolat, the shot is too far away or too busy. Avoid extreme close-ups for the same reason: a macro of foam hides the cup size, and customers ordering a large drink want to see the size.
Review pitfalls and keeping the menu current
A photo can come back with a rejected status in the Items tab. The most common causes are a photo that does not match the item, a stock or heavily manipulated image, visible text or logos, or a file outside the published limits. Keep the original file, name it by item and date, and re-upload a corrected version rather than guessing.
Cafes change menus more often than most restaurants: a seasonal drink list, a rotating pastry case, a new breakfast item. Build a habit of photographing new items in the same session as the weekly pastry order, and retire photos of items you no longer sell. A menu with a photo of a discontinued drink is worse than a menu with no photo for it.
If you also sell on other platforms or in India, note that Uber sold its Uber Eats India business to Zomato in January 2020, so restaurants in India list on Zomato and Swiggy instead. Zomato does not accept AI-generated or altered images, so for that platform shoot and upload your own real photo. FoodPhoto is for the cafe's own channels such as the website menu, Instagram, a QR menu and print, where it takes a real photo of your own dish and improves light, background and crop, keeping the food as it is, and delivers each photo as a kit of sizes. It cannot guarantee approval by any platform.
Checklist before you publish
- Shoot each drink and pastry as it is actually served, in the real cup or glass.
- Set up beside a window with indirect light; turn off fluorescent and pendant lamps.
- Use top-down for bowls and plates, and about 45 degrees for drinks, sandwiches and stacked pastries.
- Cut sandwiches and wraps and stack them so the filling shows.
- Leave background margin around the item so a square crop does not clip the cup.
- Check legibility at about 200 px wide on your phone before uploading.
- Export as JPG, WEBP or PNG under 25 MB, with width and height each between 320 px and 6000 px.
- Upload per item in Menu Maker, then check the in-review or rejected status in the Items tab.
Questions
What size should Uber Eats menu photos be for a cafe?
Uber's developer documentation lists file size under 25 MB, JPG, WEBP or PNG, and width and height each between 320 px and 6000 px. Uber Eats does not publish a required aspect ratio or recommended pixel size for menu photos, so check the upload screen in Menu Maker for the crop it applies to your item.
Should I shoot coffee drinks from above or from the side?
From about 45 degrees for tall drinks such as iced lattes, so the layers and cup size are visible. For a wide cup such as a flat white, a slightly higher angle, around 60 degrees, shows the surface and latte art. Top-down is best for plates and bowls, not for tall glasses.
Why was my cafe menu photo rejected on Uber Eats?
Common reasons are a photo that does not match the item, a stock or heavily manipulated image, visible text or logos, or a file outside the published limits. The status appears in the Items tab after upload; re-shoot or re-export the file and upload a corrected version.
How often should a cafe update its Uber Eats photos?
Whenever an item changes or a seasonal drink or pastry goes live. Photograph new items in the same week they launch, and remove photos of discontinued items so the menu matches what the kitchen sends out.