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How to make a QR menu: a step-by-step guide for cafés and restaurants (2026)

Guide6 min readari adisyon Editorial
A guest scanning a table QR card and the menu opening on their phone

Guests now expect a QR menu: they sit down, scan, and see the menu with photos. But not every QR menu is the same. Linking a PDF to a QR code is very different from a live menu managed in the same place as your till.

PDF menu or live menu?

A PDF QR menu compared with a live QR menu

Two approaches.

A PDF is a quick start but goes stale with the first price change. A live menu feeds from the same source as your till; change it once and it applies everywhere.

A QR menu, step by step

  1. Structure the menu: categories, items, prices. Keep descriptions short and appetising.
  2. Add photos: start with best sellers; pick well-lit photos that look good on a phone.
  3. Enter allergens and ingredients: gluten, milk and nuts are what guests ask about most.
  4. Add languages: translations, starting with English if you serve tourists or foreign guests.
  5. Create table codes: a code per table tells you where a scan came from.
  6. Print table cards: put the code on a card that is easy to see and will not get wet.
  7. Test: scan with different phones and check that the menu opens fast.
Checklist for a good QR menu

Before going live.

Common mistakes

  • One QR code on every table: it gets copied and you do not know where scans come from.
  • Heavy, large photos: on mobile data the menu opens slowly and guests give up.
  • Different prices on the till and the QR menu: arguments at the bill.
  • Relying on QR only: keep a printed menu for guests without, or not wanting to use, a phone.

Should guests order from the QR menu?

Some systems let guests order from the QR code. That suits some venues, but it raises questions such as mixed-up orders at the table and writing into your system from outside. In ari adisyon the QR menu deliberately only shows the menu; the waiter or the till takes the order.

In ari adisyon the QR menu comes with the POS: prices and sold-out status update from the till and every table has its own code. See our QR menu page, and our post on cutting printed menu costs.