Overview

A menu preview is essentially a virtual storefront that displays the menu offerings of a restaurant. It allows customers to browse through the available items. The Menu preview includes photos of the dishes, descriptions, and pricing information.

The menu preview feature can be located in several places in the Menus app in the Otter Dashboard. See the examples below to learn which menu preview views are available.

Visual Tool Only
The Menu Item Preview is a visual tool only. It does not validate channel-specific restrictions, trigger backend calls, or affect publish state.

Places You Can Preview Menu:

• Menu Publish Preview
  
  See how your menu will look once published for a specific location and ordering channel.
   
  
• Edit Item Preview
  
  See how a menu item will look on a mobile direct orders website with the modifiers and pricing rules applied.
  
  
• Preview Menu Button
  
  See how your menu will look on a desktop direct orders website for a specific brand, location, channel, or fulfillment mode.
  
  

Accessing the Menu Preview Button

The Menu Preview feature is available in Menu Manager in the Otter Dashboard for any users with menu edit access. Review the steps below to learn how to access the Menu Preview feature and how to change the fulfillment mode or delivery service to view the most up-to-date menu version.

• Step	Process	Image
  1	Go to the Otter Dashboard. Click on the top left Apps dropdown. Click into the Menus app.
  2	Click into your Brand menu. In the Overview tab, click the Menu Preview button.
  3	Select the Location to preview the menu from.
  4	Select the Service to preview the menu from.
  5	Navigate to the service you would like to preview. Click on the 3 dot button to the right of the service name. Click on the Preview Menu button
  6	A new window will open with the Menu Preview link The Menu Name, Service, and Location Name will appear at the top of the page All menu categories, items, and modifiers should match the most up-to-date menu version for the menu, service, and location selected.

Accessing Create New/Edit Menu Item Preview

When creating a new menu item, the right half of the Create/Edit page will show a Preview panel. You can interact with this panel the same way you would on a direct orders website.

• Step	Process	Image
  1	Go to the Otter Dashboard. Click on the top left Apps dropdown. Click into the Menus app.
  2	Select the Brand menu you want to work on.
  3	Below the menu name, click on the Items tab to load all the menu items. Options to Access Menu Item Preview: Option 1: Select the + Add Item button at the top right. Option 2: Select a Menu Item to Edit the item.
  4	The Menu Item Preview will appear on the right side of the Menu Item page. You can interact with this panel the same way you would on a direct orders website.

Accessing Menu Preview Through Menu Publish Button

The Menu Preview feature is available in Menu Manager in the Otter Dashboard for any users with menu edit access. Review the steps below to learn how to access the Menu Preview feature and how to change the fulfillment mode or delivery service to view the most up-to-date menu version.

• Step	Process	Image
  1	Go to the Otter Dashboard. Click on the top left Apps dropdown. Click into the Menus app.
  2	Select the Brand menu you want to work on.
  3	Click on the Publish button at the top right of the page
  4	Navigate to the service you would like to preview Click on the 3 dot button to the right of the service name Click on the Preview Menu button
  5	A new window will open with the Menu Preview link The Menu Name, Service, and Location Name will appear at the top of the page All menu categories, items, and modifiers should match the most up-to-date menu version for the menu, service, and location selected.

FAQ

Why are there differences between Preview and my Otter menu?

At this time, Preview will not display nested modifiers (modifiers within modifiers) and pricing per fulfillment (different prices for delivery vs. pick-up). We are working on providing support for these features!

Why are there differences between Preview and my customer-facing menu?

Item ordering may differ between the external service and Otter. Services may dynamically adjust the order of menu items based on varying factors. This is done automatically by the service and is not controlled by Otter.

How do I use the Menu Preview feature to resolve publish issues?

When you are using the Menu Preview feature, if there are any anticipated publish issues, the menu preview page will flag those issues at the top right of the screen. Click on the View Issues button to see what issues may prevent publishing. Once the issues are resolved, you will be able to publish your menu without issues.

Example Video Walkthrough:

Still need help? Reach out to our team:

Live Chat		Text/SMS Message
Chat with support by clicking the chat icon in the bottom right corner of the Otter Dashboard.		+1 (888) 681-8837 Send us a text to the number above for assistance over text message.

Updated May 21, 2026 21:29