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All four of these apps can read a restaurant menu, and the difference is where each one starts. Ask Lucy and Menu Vista start from translation, Allergy Lens starts from allergens, and eatova (formerly AlignEat) starts from your whole dietary profile. If you want an app that scans a restaurant menu for allergies, here's what each one gives you back.
Four apps, two starting points
Translation comes first for two of them. Ask Lucy is an AI travel companion that helps with menus, signs and labels, so food is one part of what it does. Menu Vista is a menu translator for iPhone, built to turn a foreign menu into something you can read and choose from.
The other two start from you. Allergy Lens is an AI menu and label scanner that looks for the allergens in your profile. We built eatova as an AI-powered decoder that reads each dish against your Dietary ID.
That starting point decides what you get back. A translation-led app is strongest on what a dish is. A profile-led app is strongest on whether it fits you. On a trip abroad you may want both answers at once, which is why we've written separately about apps that translate a menu and flag allergens.
The four side by side
Here's how the four compare, going by what each app lists on its own page in late October.
App | What it reads | Languages | Allergens and diets | What you get back |
|---|---|---|---|---|
eatova | A photo, an uploaded image or a menu link | More than 15 | Allergies, intolerances, faith rules and lifestyle diets in one Dietary ID | Compatible, Ask or Avoid for each dish |
Ask Lucy | Menus, signs and labels | 70+ | Allergen alerts alongside the translation | A translation with cultural context |
Menu Vista | A menu from the camera or a PDF | A wide range of travel languages | Flags dishes that don't match your diet | Ingredient lists, with non-matching dishes faded out |
Allergy Lens | A photo of a menu, a bakery item or a label | Helps with foreign menus | Allergens from your own profile | Green, yellow or red |
One detail is worth a closer look. Yellow in Allergy Lens and Ask in eatova do a similar job: each one tells you the app can't settle the dish on its own, which is more useful than a confident guess.
Where each one is the better choice
Choose Ask Lucy when the menu is only part of the trip. It also reads signs and labels, and its 70+ languages go well beyond our list, so it suits a traveller who wants one app for the whole day.
Choose Menu Vista when you're abroad with a restriction and want help with the bill as well. It converts prices to your currency, which saves a lot of mental arithmetic at the table.
Choose Allergy Lens when packaged food matters as much as restaurants. It reads packaged and bakery labels as well as menus, so it can come with you to the shop.
Choose eatova when your needs go beyond a list of allergens. One profile takes faith rules, intolerances and diets together, with each entry set from general preference to strict avoidance. Up to 10 profiles can be read against one menu, which helps at a table managing several restrictions, and you can browse places nearby that already have a menu in eatova before you choose where to eat.
Choosing for your next meal
Start from what you need at the table. If you only need to understand the menu, a translator will do. If a wrong dish could make you ill, you need an app that says when it isn't sure. Our Ask answer gives you a specific question for the kitchen, such as what kind of flour is in the dough.
No app on this list replaces that conversation, and that includes ours. eatova can't guarantee a meal is safe, so confirm with staff before you order. See how eatova reads a menu, then try it on your next one.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there an app that scans a restaurant menu for food allergies?
Yes. eatova, Allergy Lens and Menu Vista all read a restaurant menu against the allergens you set.
Is a translation app enough if I have an allergy?
Not on its own. Translation shows the words; the kitchen still has to confirm what's in the dish.
