Dish Photo Matcher (No AI Markup): Food Photos to Menu Items

$0.1/1K photos | Match restaurant food and drink photos to your menu items with Gemini vision. Send photo URLs or a Google Maps place URL (place mode needs your Outscraper key for gallery photos) plus your menu; unmatched photos return null. Your own Gemini key. Not affiliated with Google.

Restaurant Dish Photo Matcher

Our matcher takes your menu and a set of restaurant food or drink photos, and uses Gemini vision to say which menu item, if any, each photo shows. You get one record per photo with the exact menu item name, or null when nothing is a clear match. It runs on your own Google AI Studio (Gemini) key. It is ideal for enriching menus with real dish photos, labelling unlabeled Google Maps photos and shortlisting guest uploads for review.

• Don't want to manage keys? Dish Photo Matcher (No API Key): Food Photos to Menu Items includes the AI and photo fetching, at $0.20 per 1,000 photos.
• Need the menu first? AI Restaurant Menu Parser (No AI Markup) + Allergens turns menu photos into dish records this Actor accepts.
• Starting from a Google Maps place? Our Google Maps Menu Scraper extracts the structured menu.
• Browse all our scrapers: https://apify.com/traveleat

Key Benefits

• Your key, your cost: matching runs on your Gemini key, so the AI bill stays under your control (Google bills it separately).
• Low pricing: $0.10 per 1,000 photos, plus a $0.00005 start fee per run.
• Free to try: Start on the prefilled form returns a clearly marked DEMO row at no charge.
• Honest nulls: photos that are not clearly on your menu come back as null, and names not on your menu are filtered out.
• Your menu is the label set: results join straight back onto your own menu items.

How It Works

1. Provide your menu in menuItems: objects with at least a name (originalName, category and description improve matching), or plain strings.
2. Provide the photos: upload JPEG, PNG or WebP files, pass direct photoUrls, or set placeUrl to a Google Maps place and the Actor matches its "Food & drink" guest photos. When photoUrls is set it wins over placeUrl.
3. Add your Gemini key, then run. Photos are matched in batches of 9.

More settings:

• maxPhotos - cap on photos matched, 1 to 100. Default is 9, which is one AI batch.
• geminiModel - model used for matching. Default is gemini-3.1-flash-lite.
• outscraperApiKey - optional, your own Outscraper key; recommended for place mode.
• proxyConfiguration - proxy for opening Google Maps in place mode. Residential is recommended.

The prefilled form (Katz's Delicatessen and a two-item menu, no keys) is a deterministic preview: it returns one DEMO row, scrapes nothing, calls no model and bills nothing. Add your Gemini key and your own menu for a live run.

Limits: Google hides the Maps photo gallery from automated browsers, so place mode is reliable only with your Outscraper key; the browser fallback reaches the cover photo only. AI matching can be wrong, so verify matches before publishing.

AI matching can be wrong. Verify matches before publishing or using them in ordering workflows, and never treat a visual match as evidence of ingredients, allergens or dietary suitability.

Data You'll Receive

• Match: photoUrl (or photoRef for uploaded images), dishName (the exact menu item name, or null) and matched (true or false).
• Place: the Google Maps place URL the photo came from, when you used place mode.
• Record type: MATCH for live results; DEMO for the free preview and DIAGNOSTIC for an explained empty run.

Sample output data

Here is an example row from a live run of the no-key sibling, which uses the same matching code:

{
  "recordType": "MATCH",
  "photoUrl": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a3/Eq_it-na_pizza-margherita_sep2005_sml.jpg",
  "photoRef": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a3/Eq_it-na_pizza-margherita_sep2005_sml.jpg",
  "dishName": "Margherita Pizza",
  "matched": true,
  "place": "https://www.google.com/maps/place/Katz's+Delicatessen,+205+E+Houston+St,+New+York"
}

Dish Photo Matcher API

Results are stored in a dataset that you can export as CSV, JSON or Excel, or read on demand through the Apify API.

Support and Feedback

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• Open an issue on the Actor's Issues tab
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Run evidence

Start with one input and output

An Apify account is required. Use your Apify API token when calling the API; Console runs do not need that token pasted into the input. The unchanged default preview requires no provider key and makes no live AI or source call. A customized live run requires your own Gemini key; Maps/Outscraper collection also requires your own Outscraper key. Those providers bill separately.

Free-tier event rates checked 2026-10-08: actor-start $0.00005; result $0.0001.

Cost: Total = Actor event charges + platform usage if separately billed + any BYO-provider charges. See “Current costs” for your event rates, plan tiers and a calculation. A sample does not promise future billable volume.

This matching input/output pair is a marked DEMO preview, observed in run cdz3hlg9kOJD7djHj (immutable build gw67DOllLQGe4h78U). It demonstrates the output shape and makes no live source or AI-provider call. It does not verify a live parse or synchronization. Keep the preview unchanged; customize it and supply the documented credentials for live work.

Input JSON

{
  "menuItems": [
    {
      "name": "Pastrami on Rye",
      "category": "Sandwiches"
    },
    {
      "name": "Matzo Ball Soup",
      "category": "Soups"
    }
  ],
  "placeUrl": "https://www.google.com/maps/place/Katz's+Delicatessen,+205+E+Houston+St,+New+York",
  "geminiModel": "gemini-3.1-flash-lite",
  "maxPhotos": 9,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true,
    "apifyProxyGroups": [
      "RESIDENTIAL"
    ]
  }
}

Matching output excerpt

Long strings and arrays are shortened for display; this is not a complete dataset fixture.

{
  "recordType": "DEMO",
  "isDemo": true,
  "demoSource": "owned-default-prefill",
  "demoNote": "Deterministic preview only: no live source, photo scrape, or Gemini call occurred, and the row was not billed. Customize the input for live output; BYOK listings also require their provider credentials.",
  "photoUrl": null,
  "photoRef": "demo:owned-default-prefill",
  "dishName": "DEMO SAMPLE — Pastrami on Rye",
  "matched": true,
  "place": "https://www.google.com/maps/place/Katz's+Delicatessen,+205+E+Houston+St,+New+York"
}

Use AI vision to predict which supplied menu item, if any, appears in each restaurant food or drink photo. Unmatched or uncertain photos remain null. This actor joins menus and otherwise unlabeled guest photos:

• Input: your menu (JSON array of items) + uploaded food/drink photos, direct photoUrls, or a Google Maps placeUrl whose "Food & drink" guest photos are scraped automatically.
• Output: one record per photo — {photoUrl, dishName, matched}, with dishName the exact menu item name or null when nothing matches.

Photos are matched in batches of 9 by visual appearance; hallucinated names (not on your menu) are filtered to null automatically. Ported from the production photo-matching pipeline of a dietary-restrictions travel app.

Bring your own Gemini key

Matching runs on your Google AI Studio key (get one free) — you control the AI cost. A Gemini key is required for customized live runs. In place mode, an Outscraper key is recommended for reliable Google Maps photo discovery.

Input example

{
  "placeUrl": "https://www.google.com/maps/place/Katz's+Delicatessen,+205+E+Houston+St,+New+York",
  "menuItems": [
    {"name": "Pastrami on Rye", "category": "Sandwiches"},
    {"name": "Matzo Ball Soup", "category": "Soups"}
  ],
  "geminiApiKey": "AIza…"
}

Notes

• The untouched keyless Console run returns one deterministic match example labelled recordType: "DEMO" / isDemo: true. It scrapes no photos, calls no model and has no Actor event charge. Customize the input and add your Gemini key; an Outscraper key is optional for place-photo lookup.
• menuItems accepts plain strings too: ["Pastrami on Rye", "Matzo Ball Soup"].
• The Console accepts local JPEG, PNG, or WebP uploads in photoUrls; API callers may also provide URLs, base64 data URIs, or raw base64.
• photoUrl remains a real sanitized HTTP(S) URL when one exists; inline images use photoUrl: null plus a non-sensitive photoRef fingerprint.
• Place mode: set the outscraperApiKey input (free tier available) — Google's signed-out "limited view" hides the Maps photo gallery from automated browsers, and Outscraper's API returns the full tagged photo set instead. The browser fallback (with the Apify residential proxy) currently reaches only the place's cover photo.
• Full Google Maps URLs and maps.app.goo.gl short links are accepted; short links are resolved only to trusted Google Maps destinations.
• Chain it: Google Maps Menu Scraper (or AI Menu Parser) extracts the structured menu, then this actor proposes photo-to-dish matches where the model finds one. Coverage is not guaranteed.
• AI photo matching can be wrong. Verify matches before publishing or using them in ordering workflows, and never treat a visual match as evidence of ingredients, allergens, or dietary suitability.

Pricing

Apify event pricing is $0.00005 per successful live run plus $0.0001 per photo matched or confirmed unmatched (from 2026-10-08). A 9-photo live run is $0.00095 in Actor event charges. Your Gemini usage and any Outscraper usage are billed separately by those providers. The untouched deterministic demo and diagnostic-only runs do not incur these Actor event charges.

Support & links

• Questions, bug reports and FAQ: github.com/Exdenta/traveleat-support
• This actor runs the same menu pipeline as Travel Eat — scan a menu, get allergens, ingredients and dietary filters in 36 languages.

Product guides and related tools

• Product overview and public links
• Public setup guide
• Travel Eat menu API guide
• Menu API documentation and support
• Google Maps Menu Scraper — Place to Structured Menu API
• AI Restaurant Menu Parser — Dishes, Prices & Allergens

Current costs

Current Actor event rates, checked 2026-10-08. USD; use the Pricing tab for your plan and later changes.

Event	Free	Bronze	Silver	Gold	Platinum	Diamond
Actor start (actor-start)	$0.00005	$0.00005	$0.00005	$0.00005	$0.00005	$0.00005
Photo matched (result)	$0.0001	$0.0001	$0.0001	$0.0001	$0.0001	$0.0001

For example, 1 × actor-start, 100 × result totals $0.01005 in Actor event charges on Free. This is an arithmetic example, before any waiver; actual charged events depend on the run and selected options. It is not a promise of output or a charge for simply setting an item cap.

Your total is the charged Actor events, plus platform usage only if this Actor’s Pricing tab bills it separately, plus any external provider you use with your own key. Do not add platform usage twice when it is included. Apify credits and plan discounts affect your invoice. Set a run cost limit in Console before starting.

Agent setup skill

Use the maintained SKILL.md to configure the documented inputs, select latest, record the immutable build and distinguish source results from preview or diagnostic rows. Check the current Pricing tab before starting a run.

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Independent tool. We built and run this Actor ourselves. Google does not operate, sponsor or endorse it, and its name is used only to say which service the data is processed with. We are not affiliated with Google.