Menu QR code for your restaurant or café: a simple guide

Paper menus get sticky, torn and out of date the day you change a price. A menu QR code on each table lets guests open your menu on their own phone in one scan, and you can keep it current without reprinting.

You can make one for free on QR Hub, with no sign-up. This guide shows which kind of code to pick, how to make it, how big to print it and how to test it before the first guest sits down.

Three ways to put your menu behind a QR code

Start with where your menu lives today. That decides the code.

A static code holds the link itself, so it keeps working even if you never log in again. A dynamic code holds a short link that you can point somewhere else later. That matters for menus, because prices and dishes change. Read Do QR codes expire? for the full difference.

Our tip: if you plan to print hundreds of table cards, use a dynamic code. A free account includes 2 dynamic codes, so you can move the code to a new menu link without throwing the cards away.

Step 1: Get your menu link

• Website menu: open the menu page in your browser and copy the address from the top bar.
• PDF or photo: upload it on QR Hub with a free account, or share it from Google Drive or Dropbox and copy the share link. Our guide to a QR code for a PDF, photo or video shows both ways.
• No menu online yet: on the menu QR code page, use the button for our restaurant app. It builds a full digital menu for you, and then gives you its QR code.

Open the link on your phone once. If it asks for a password or a login, guests will hit the same wall.

Step 2: Make the QR code

1. Open the free menu QR code tool.
2. Paste your menu link.
3. Add a frame with a clear call to action, such as "Scan for the menu".
4. Pick colours that match your place, but keep the code dark on a light background.
5. Download SVG for the print shop (it stays sharp at any size) or PNG for a home printer.

Make this QR now

Step 3: Print it at the right size

A table card is read from arm's length, so the code doesn't need to be huge. As a practical rule:

Leave an empty border around the code. The QR standard asks for a margin of four "modules" (the small squares) on each side, as Keyence's QR code basics explain. Don't let the frame, your logo or the table number touch the code.

Glossy laminate can reflect ceiling lights and make scanning harder. A matte finish is safer.

Step 4: Test before you print a full batch

Print one card at the real size on the real material, then check:

1. It scans with an iPhone and an Android phone, from a seated position.
2. The menu opens on mobile data, not only on your Wi-Fi.
3. The menu is easy to read on a small screen. A huge PDF that needs zooming frustrates guests.
4. It still scans in your evening lighting.

If the code fails on an older phone, make the code bigger or simplify the colours before you change anything else.

Where to place menu QR codes

• On every table, in the same spot, so guests don't need to look for it.
• At the entrance or window, so people passing by can check the menu and prices before they walk in.
• At the counter, for takeaway and people waiting in line.
• On takeaway bags and receipts, so guests can order again next time.

Next to the menu code, two more codes help guests: a Wi-Fi QR code so nobody asks for the password, and a Google review QR code for the end of the meal.

Keep a paper menu too

Some guests don't have a phone with them, their battery is low, or they simply prefer paper. Keep a few printed menus ready. In some countries this is also a rule: Turkey's Ministry of Trade says restaurants and cafés may offer price lists by QR code, but must also show the price list on paper when a customer asks (Ministry of Trade, Türkiye). Check the rules where you are, including what your menu must show, such as calories or allergens.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Printing a static code for a menu link that will change. If the link breaks, every card on every table is useless.
• A tiny code in a corner of a busy design. Give it space and a short call to action.
• A menu that only works on a laptop. Most guests will open it on a phone.
• Forgetting the old codes. If you change your menu link, update your dynamic code, or replace the old cards the same day.

Quick checklist

• Menu link opens on a phone without a login
• Dynamic code if the link may change
• Frame with "Scan for the menu"
• At least 3 cm wide with a clear margin
• Tested on iPhone and Android, on mobile data
• A few paper menus kept for guests who ask

That's it: one link, one code, tested once, and your menu is on every table.