QR codes for restaurants: menus, tables, Wi-Fi and reviews

Five jobs a QR code can do in a restaurant

Use one code per job and label each one. A single card with three unlabelled codes makes guests guess, and they usually scan the wrong one.

• Menu: a scan-for-menu code on each table or at the door opens your menu on the guest's phone.
• Ordering and payment: codes that open your ordering system with the table number already filled in.
• Wi-Fi: a code that joins your guest network without anyone reading out a password.
• Reviews: a code on the bill or receipt that opens your Google review form.
• Everything else: allergen information, booking pages, gift vouchers, a newsletter sign-up or your social accounts.

How to create a QR code for your menu

The trick for a menu that changes is to point the code at a link that stays the same: a fixed page on your website, or a Drive file you update with Manage versions. Change the menu and the printed codes keep working. Our menu QR code generator page covers hosting options in more detail.

1. Put the menu online. A page on your website is easiest to read on a phone; a PDF works if that is what you have. Google Drive, Dropbox or your website can host a PDF menu for free.
2. Copy the menu's link. For a Drive PDF, set sharing to Anyone with the link first.
3. Open a menu QR code generator and paste the link.
4. Add a frame and a label such as "Scan for the menu", with your logo and colours.
5. Download as PDF or SVG for print, and PNG for your website and social posts.
6. Print one table card, scan it at the table with an iPhone and an Android phone, then print the rest.

PDF menu or web page?

A PDF menu QR code is quick to set up and looks exactly like your printed menu. On a phone, though, an A4 PDF means pinching and zooming, and large PDFs load slowly on a weak signal. Keep a PDF menu small in file size and consider a narrow, phone-shaped layout.

A menu page on your website reads better on phones, loads faster and can be updated in minutes. It also shows up in Google, which helps people who are deciding where to eat. If you have a website, a menu page is worth the extra hour.

Table cards and per-table codes

For a menu, every table can share the same code. For ordering at the table, each table usually needs its own code so the kitchen knows where to send the food. Ordering systems generate a link for each table; you turn those links into codes.

Doing that one by one for 40 tables is slow. Put the table links in a spreadsheet, with a file name for each (table-01, table-02), and upload it to the bulk QR code generator. You get a ZIP of matching codes in your design, ready for the printer. Print the table number next to each code so staff can tell them apart.

• Table cards: 3 to 5 cm codes, at the height of a seated guest's eyes.
• Wall and window signs: larger, roughly a tenth of the distance people scan from.
• Use matt lamination; glossy plastic reflects overhead lights.
• Place cards where they will not be covered by plates, glasses or the salt.

Guest Wi-Fi and Google review codes

A Wi-Fi QR code holds your network name and password, so guests join by scanning. Use a separate guest network, and reprint the code if you change the password. Put it on the menu card or near the counter rather than in the window.

A Google review code opens your review form directly. It works best on the bill, the receipt or a card by the door, at the end of the meal. Google's rules do not allow offering a discount or a free drink for reviews, so keep the message simple: thank people and ask.

How guests scan a menu QR code

Guests do not need a menu scanner app. On an iPhone or Android phone, open the camera, point it at the code and tap the link. Some Android phones show a Google Lens suggestion instead, or have a Scan QR code tile in Quick Settings.

Travellers can also use Google Lens to translate a printed menu: point Lens at the menu, choose Translate, and the text appears in their language. It is worth knowing if your staff are often asked what a dish is.

If a guest cannot scan, they can type the short link printed under the code, or open an online menu scanner such as NeoReader's QR scanner and use the camera or a photo of the code. Better still, keep a few printed menus. Not everyone has a phone with them, a charged battery or good eyesight for small screens, and a QR menu should never be the only option.

Keep your restaurant codes safe from tampering

Fake QR stickers placed over genuine codes are a known scam, usually pointing at a fake payment page. Check table cards and window signs regularly, use cards that are hard to cover neatly, and teach staff what your real links look like. Codes that open your own domain are easier for guests to trust than codes that open an unfamiliar short link.