What Is a QR Menu? A Guide for Restaurants

Kerim — Fri, 06 Nov 2026 14:43:56 +0000

A QR menu is a restaurant menu that guests open on their own phone by scanning a QR code at the table, counter or door. The code holds a web address; the phone's camera reads it and opens the menu in the browser, with no app to install. Some QR menus only show dishes and prices; others also let guests order, call a waiter or pay from the same page.

How a QR menu works for the guest

The guest points the phone camera at the code printed on the table card, sticker or stand.
The phone shows the address the code contains; one tap opens it in the browser.
The menu loads as a normal web page: sections, dishes, prices and, where the restaurant adds them, photos and allergen information.
Depending on the restaurant, the guest either orders from a server as usual or places the order from the same page.

Two kinds of QR menu

View-only and ordering QR menus

	View-only QR menu	Ordering QR menu
What the guest can do	Read the menu	Read the menu and send an order
How the order reaches the kitchen	A server takes it	It arrives on a screen or printer in the kitchen, with the table number
Codes needed	One code for the whole room is enough	One code per table, so orders carry the right table
Staff change	None	Someone watches incoming orders during service

Many restaurants start with a view-only menu and turn ordering on later. A QR menu can also be a PDF file rather than a web page; the difference, and why it matters on a phone, is covered separately.

Read QR code menu vs PDF menu for the comparison.

What a QR menu does well

Changes are immediate: a new price or a sold-out dish is visible to the next guest without reprinting.
Guests can read it in their own language when the menu offers more than one.
Allergen and dietary information can sit next to each dish, and guests can filter by it.
Photos help guests understand unfamiliar dishes.
A busy room keeps moving: guests can browse while they wait for a server.

Where it falls short

Not every guest has a phone with them, a working camera or a data connection — keep a printed menu available.
Some guests simply prefer paper; a QR menu works best as an option, not a requirement.
A code that is damaged, badly placed or printed too small will not scan in a dim room.
Codes can be tampered with: check table cards and stickers when you reset tables.

What to get right before switching

A menu address that will not change for as long as the codes are printed.
Complete allergen information. In the European Union, allergen information must be made available for non-prepacked food, which includes dishes served in restaurants.
Readable on a small screen without zooming, and quick to load on mobile data.
A short web address printed next to the code for anyone whose camera cannot read it.
Someone responsible for keeping prices and availability current.

For the practical steps, see how to create a QR code menu.

A QR menu with Thmenu

Thmenu gives each table its own QR code. The menu opens in the language of the guest's phone — the interface is available in 31 languages — and guests can filter dishes by allergen and diet. A dish can be marked unavailable during service so it cannot be ordered. Ordering from the table is a separate switch: it starts off for a new restaurant, and the restaurant turns it on in Settings when it is ready.

See how the Thmenu QR menu works.

Sources

Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 on the provision of food information to consumers — Article 44 (non-prepacked food)

Originally published at thmenu.com/en/blog/what-is-a-qr-menu.

DEV Community: Kerim