QR code menus for restaurants
Print once, change the menu whenever you like, and keep the table tents.
Make your menu code
Free, no account, and the code never expires. Nothing you type is uploaded.
A menu is the case dynamic QR codes were made for. The card on the table gets laminated, placed and forgotten; the menu behind it changes with the season, the supplier and whatever ran out at lunchtime. Anything that ties those two together — a code that has to be reprinted when the menu changes — has the relationship backwards.
This page covers the practical decisions in the order you meet them: what the code should point at, how big to print it, where to put it on the table, and how to change the menu afterwards without touching a single card.
It also covers the part most guides skip: a QR menu is worse than a paper one for some of your guests, and planning for that is cheaper than discovering it from a review.
Point it at a page, not a PDF
A PDF opens as a document the guest has to pinch and drag on a phone, often after a download prompt. A plain web page reflows to the screen, loads faster on a weak signal, and can be edited from a phone in the kitchen.
If a PDF is all you have, it still works — but it is the single change that most improves how a QR menu feels, and it costs one afternoon.
Where to put the code
On the table, at reading height, where a seated guest can scan without standing up or picking anything up. A table tent works because it presents the code vertically; a sticker flat on the table means holding a phone directly over it, which is awkward in company and worse for anyone with limited mobility.
Add a line of text saying what the code is for. “Scan for menu” converts noticeably better than a bare square, because a guest who does not know what a code does will not scan it to find out.
- One code per table, at reading height
- Vertical presentation: table tent, stand or a card in a holder
- A short line of text saying what it opens
- Matte lamination — gloss reflects the ceiling lights straight into the camera
Size and lamination for restaurant use
Three centimetres is the minimum for a code read at arm's length across a table; four is comfortable and worth the space. Leave the blank margin around it clear of decoration.
Laminate matte, not gloss. A restaurant is full of point light sources and a glossy card puts one of them exactly where the lens is looking. This is the most common reason a menu code that worked in the office fails on the floor.
Changing the menu without reprinting
With a dynamic code the printed card holds a short link that never changes. Edit where it points and every table follows within seconds — a seasonal menu, a Sunday variant, a page saying the kitchen is closed tonight.
The history of what it pointed at and when is kept, which matters more than it sounds when a guest complains that a dish they saw is not available: you can see exactly which menu was live at that hour.
Plan for the guests it does not suit
Some guests have no smartphone, a flat battery, no data, or cannot comfortably read a phone screen. A QR-only menu turns each of those into an awkward conversation with a member of staff, and that is what ends up in the review.
Keep a few printed menus behind the bar and offer one before it is asked for. The code saves you reprints and gives you numbers; it does not have to be the only way to read what you serve.
What the scan numbers are good for
Scans per day tell you how many tables actually used it, which is the first thing to know before spending anything on the digital menu. Comparing lunch against dinner or terrace against inside shows where the cards are working.
None of this identifies a guest. Scans are counted with country, device and time; no IP address is stored, and there is no way to link one scan to the next — which is also the answer if a guest asks what you are collecting.
Questions people ask
Do I need a different code for every table?
Not for the menu itself — one code on every table is simpler to print and to replace. Separate codes per table are worth it only if you want per-table ordering or to know which areas get used, and then the tracking is the reason, not the menu.
What happens when I change the menu?
With a dynamic code, nothing on the tables changes. You edit the destination and every card follows within seconds. With a static code the address is fixed in the pattern, so a new address means new cards.
Is a QR menu cheaper than printing?
Usually, once the menu changes more than a couple of times a year — you print the cards once instead of the menu repeatedly. The saving is smaller than it looks if you keep paper menus for guests who need them, which you should.
Will it work if the restaurant has poor signal?
The scan itself is fine, but the page has to load over the guest's data. If your signal is weak, keep the menu page light — text and small images rather than a heavy PDF or a page full of photographs.
Can guests order through it?
The code opens whatever page you point it at, so if you have an ordering system it can go straight there. The code is the doorway; what is behind it is your choice, and it can change without touching the printed cards.
Related generators
Need to change it after printing?
That is a dynamic code — and ours keeps redirecting even if you cancel.