The GrabFood photo size for a menu item is a square, in a 1:1 ratio. In Singapore1, Thailand2, the Philippines3 and Vietnam4, Grab asks for at least 750x750 pixels. In Malaysia it asks for 500x500 to 700x700 pixels and a file of 100 kb to 200 kb5. The size gets a photo accepted. What sells the dish is what the photo shows: Grab tells restaurants to add photos to their menu items to improve sales conversion, because customers are more likely to choose dishes that are visually appealing, and lets you upload up to four photos for each item6.
This guide covers every market where Grab runs food delivery, with each rule cited for the market whose help centre states it, because the details differ from one country to the next.
What photo size does GrabFood ask for in each market?
Here is what Grab's help centres state for an item photo, the picture of a dish on your menu:
- Singapore: 1:1, at least 750x750, and the file named after the menu item1.
- Thailand: 1:1, at least 750x7502 (the Thai page says the same7), saved as JPG and no larger than 5 MB8. For the Bulk Update template, a 1:1 ratio is optimal9 and each file must be 2 MB at most10.
- The Philippines: 750x750 for list and item photos3.
- Vietnam: 750x750 for a dish photo4.
- Malaysia: 1:1, 500x500 to 700x700 pixels, 100 kb to 200 kb5.
- Indonesia: the help centre gives the size of the list photo, the main photo of your store on the home page and in search, at 1:1 and 500x50011. It does not state an item photo size in the pages we hold, and Grab Indonesia's menu guide asks that every dish carry a clear description and photo12.
Each item takes up to four photos in Thailand6 and in Vietnam13.
What to do: keep one square master photo of each dish, larger than your market's minimum, and export it at the size your market asks for. If Grab refuses an upload, check the ratio and the file weight first.
Why do dish photos matter so much on delivery?
Grab's in-house photographer puts it simply: photos matter even more for food delivery, where customers cannot smell the food or see people queuing for it, and the first impression comes from the photo14. He said it in a Grab story of May 18, 202315. Grab Vietnam's help centre gives the same reason for adding a photo to each dish: customers tend to choose dishes with appealing pictures16.
Research on another delivery app points the same way. A 2025 study of restaurants on Uber Eats found that texture difference and saturation in food photos raised sales17, while excessive brightness contrast lowered them18. Grab's advice draws the line on the other side: use proper lighting, and avoid overexposed, underexposed or overly saturated shots19. Colour that looks like food helps. A photo pushed past what the dish looks like does not.
What should a good dish photo show?
The whole dish, and nothing that competes with it. Grab Philippines asks you to show the full dish in the frame without cropping20, and to avoid close ups and leave ample space around the dish21.
The background should help the food stand out. Grab Singapore recommends textured backgrounds such as wood, ceramic, kitchen linen or marble22. Grab Vietnam prefers a bright white background without much pattern23. Grab Philippines adds that the dish should not blend into the background: use contrasting colours24.
One dish per photo. Grab Vietnam asks you to photograph each dish on its own, never several dishes in one picture25. Grab Malaysia lists what to avoid: close ups, too many dishes, messy backgrounds, body parts, dark photos, collages and blurred shots26. Grab Singapore also rules out hands in the shot and overly artsy presentations27.
Keep text off the dish. Grab Singapore asks that images contain no text, emoticons or watermarks28. Where text is allowed, each market caps it: in Thailand, text or other images may take no more than 30% of the photo area, and grid photos are to be avoided29; in Malaysia, words, labels, logos and graphics may take no more than 25%30; Indonesia sets the same 25% for text, labels or logos31. Grab Thailand gives the reason: customers focus more on food images than on logos32.
Which angle should you use for each dish?
Grab names three angles. The overhead flat lay is a top-down view with the food in the centre of the frame33. The 45 degree shot places the main dish in the foreground with a blurred background for depth34. The straight-on shot, from the side, suits layered items such as burgers, sandwiches or cakes, because it shows the ingredients35.
Grab's photographer gives the rule behind the choice: pick the angle that lets you see the details of the dish36. For a dish served with sauce on the side, such as chicken rice, he photographs the dish before adding the sauce37, so the ingredients stay readable.
Can you take good dish photos with a phone?
Yes. Grab Philippines notes that many sellers on Grab have found plenty of success shooting their products with a simple smartphone38, in a guide of July 6th, 202239. A tripod helps you keep the same orientation across all your photos40, which makes a menu look consistent.
Three habits matter more than the camera:
- Shoot the dish fresh. Plate it well and shoot as soon as it is made, before its components look limp or soggy41.
- Plate it neatly. Keep the plate clean, with no spills on the edges42.
- Use good light. Well lit, neither too dark nor overexposed19.
One caution. Grab's photographer suggests action shots with your hands in the frame, but his tips cover both menus and social media43. Keep the hands tip44 for social media. For your GrabFood menu, follow the help centre: no hands in the shot27.
Should the photo show the dish exactly as you serve it?
Yes. Grab Vietnam asks you to use photos of your own store's dishes45, and Grab Singapore to use only photos you have the legal right to use46. Research on online menus adds the customer's side: photos should come from the restaurant's own food, and the food served should match the photo as closely as possible47.
A photo that promises more than the box delivers sets an expectation the order cannot meet. Shoot the portion you really serve, with the sides that really come with it.
How do you upload photos, and how long does it take?
You add a photo when you create or edit an item in the GrabMerchant app or portal, up to four per item6. To change many dishes at once, the Bulk Update template takes up to four photos per item name48.
Photos are checked before they go live. Grab Thailand says that all menu update requests require internal review and approval by Grab49, and Grab Malaysia that all photo update requests are subject to its internal review50. Plan new photos a few days before you need them, not the evening before a campaign.
How do you know whether a new photo works?
Read the dish's sales before and after. In Thailand, Menu Insights shows each item's units sold, sales and share of sales over up to 90 days51. Grab Vietnam described the same feature and suggested using it to change a dish's picture, description or position52, in a post of 22 July 202053.
Change one dish at a time and note the date. After two or three weeks, compare the units sold with the same number of weeks before. Start with the dishes that sell least: a dish with no photo, or a poor one, has the most to gain.
What should you check on your menu this week?
- Every dish has a photo, square, at your market's size.
- Each photo shows the whole dish, centred, with space around it.
- The background is plain and contrasts with the food.
- One dish per photo: no collage, no grid, no hands.
- No text, logo or watermark beyond what your market allows.
- The photo shows the portion and the sides you really serve.
- Your best sellers have a second or third photo, from another angle.
- You have noted the date of each new photo, to read it later in your item sales.
Kontimo helps people running restaurants on Grab read their menu each month, explained in plain language, so the next photo goes to the dish that needs it most.
