diff --git a/lib/controller/dynamicMenu/dynamic_menu_controller.dart b/lib/controller/dynamicMenu/dynamic_menu_controller.dart
index e7fb382..4af984c 100644
--- a/lib/controller/dynamicMenu/dynamic_menu_controller.dart
+++ b/lib/controller/dynamicMenu/dynamic_menu_controller.dart
@@ -13,19 +13,29 @@ class DynamicMenuController extends GetxController {
   final RxList<MenuItem> menuItems = <MenuItem>[].obs;
 
   Timer? _autoRefreshTimer;
+
   @override
   void onInit() {
     super.onInit();
+
+    // ✅ Load cached menus immediately (so user doesn’t see empty state)
+    final cachedMenus = LocalStorage.getMenus();
+    if (cachedMenus.isNotEmpty) {
+      menuItems.assignAll(cachedMenus);
+      logSafe("Loaded ${cachedMenus.length} menus from cache at startup");
+    }
+
+    // ✅ Fetch from API in background
     fetchMenu();
 
-    /// Auto refresh every 5 minutes (adjust as needed)
+    // Auto refresh every 15 minutes
     _autoRefreshTimer = Timer.periodic(
       const Duration(minutes: 15),
       (_) => fetchMenu(),
     );
   }
 
-  /// Fetch dynamic menu from API with error and local storage support
+  /// Fetch dynamic menu from API with cache fallback
   Future<void> fetchMenu() async {
     isLoading.value = true;
     hasError.value = false;
@@ -34,45 +44,39 @@ class DynamicMenuController extends GetxController {
     try {
       final responseData = await ApiService.getMenuApi();
       if (responseData != null) {
-        // Directly parse full JSON into MenuResponse
+        // Parse JSON into MenuResponse
         final menuResponse = MenuResponse.fromJson(responseData);
-
         menuItems.assignAll(menuResponse.data);
 
-        // Save menus for offline use
+        // Save for offline use
         await LocalStorage.setMenus(menuItems);
 
-        logSafe("Menu loaded from API with ${menuItems.length} items");
+        logSafe("✅ Menu loaded from API with ${menuItems.length} items");
       } else {
-        // If API fails, load from cache
-        final cachedMenus = LocalStorage.getMenus();
-        if (cachedMenus.isNotEmpty) {
-          menuItems.assignAll(cachedMenus);
-          logSafe("Loaded menus from cache: ${menuItems.length} items");
-        } else {
-          hasError.value = true;
-          errorMessage.value = "Failed to fetch menu";
-          menuItems.clear();
-        }
+        _handleApiFailure("Menu API returned null response");
       }
     } catch (e) {
-      logSafe("Menu fetch exception: $e", level: LogLevel.error);
-
-      // On error, load cached menus
-      final cachedMenus = LocalStorage.getMenus();
-      if (cachedMenus.isNotEmpty) {
-        menuItems.assignAll(cachedMenus);
-        logSafe("Loaded menus from cache after error: ${menuItems.length}");
-      } else {
-        hasError.value = true;
-        errorMessage.value = e.toString();
-        menuItems.clear();
-      }
+      _handleApiFailure("Menu fetch exception: $e");
     } finally {
       isLoading.value = false;
     }
   }
 
+  void _handleApiFailure(String logMessage) {
+    logSafe(logMessage, level: LogLevel.error);
+
+    final cachedMenus = LocalStorage.getMenus();
+    if (cachedMenus.isNotEmpty) {
+      menuItems.assignAll(cachedMenus);
+      errorMessage.value = "⚠️ Using offline menus (latest sync failed)";
+      logSafe("Loaded ${menuItems.length} menus from cache after failure");
+    } else {
+      hasError.value = true;
+      errorMessage.value = "❌ Unable to load menus. Please try again later.";
+      menuItems.clear();
+    }
+  }
+
   bool isMenuAllowed(String menuName) {
     final menu = menuItems.firstWhereOrNull((m) => m.name == menuName);
     return menu?.available ?? false; // default false if not found
@@ -80,7 +84,7 @@ class DynamicMenuController extends GetxController {
 
   @override
   void onClose() {
-    _autoRefreshTimer?.cancel(); // clean up timer
+    _autoRefreshTimer?.cancel();
     super.onClose();
   }
 }