Created an inclusive dining experience serving visually impaired customers with dignity.

Restaurant menus are a fundamental part of the dining experience, yet for many diners who are blind or partially sighted, they can be inaccessible without assistance. Good Food Talks set out to change that by creating a digital solution that would empower individuals to explore menus independently, preserving dignity, choice and the shared social experience of eating out.

The core challenge was accessibility at scale. Good Food Talks needed a digital product that could reliably deliver restaurant menus in a way that users could navigate comfortably and independently, accommodating a range of needs including voice-based interaction, high-contrast text, large fonts and dyslexia-friendly display options. Most restaurant menus are not designed with accessibility in mind, and respondents often depended on others to read them aloud. For visually impaired customers this undermined autonomy and inclusion. The project required careful attention to how different accessibility technologies work on mobile devices, and how best to integrate those with restaurant menu data. Achieving full accessibility compliance while keeping the experience intuitive for all users was central to the effort.

We worked with the Good Food Talks team to design and build a mobile application that would serve accessible menus via smartphones. The solution was conceived around existing accessibility capabilities in modern devices, such as VoiceOver on iOS, which can speak onscreen text aloud, and dynamic text scaling for readability. By building on these system features and adding tailored app-level interactions, users could search for a restaurant and hear or see menu items presented in formats suited to their needs.

Technical choices were guided by scalability and maintainability. The app’s frontend was developed using FlutterFlow, which enabled rapid iteration and testing of accessibility-centric interfaces, while Firebase provided a backend platform for managing menu data and user interactions. We also integrated with APIs from national restaurant chains to keep menus up to date as establishments updated their offerings. This ensured the app remained accurate and reliable over time.

Once launched, the Good Food Talks app put accessible menus into the hands of users across the UK. People who previously relied on companions or staff to read menus could now browse and hear menu content directly through their own devices, tailored to their visual preferences or needs. The tool worked alongside built-in accessibility systems like VoiceOver, and offered alternative presentation modes such as high-contrast displays and dyslexia-friendly fonts.

For restaurants and venue partners, the platform helped them meet accessibility expectations and broaden their service to a wider audience. By providing an inclusive dining experience, establishments could better support all customers while complying with accessibility standards. Restaurants ranging from local independents to national chains adopted the service, helping Good Food Talks scale its impact.

Looking ahead, Good Food Talks continues to evolve with ongoing development and refinement of accessibility features. This includes exploring ways to enhance menu discovery, improve offline support, and extend capabilities on both iOS and Android platforms. Continued partnerships with hospitality groups and accessibility advocates will help ensure the platform remains responsive to user needs and technological advances, reinforcing Good Food Talks’ mission to make dining out a fully inclusive experience for everyone.