How to make a QR code menu for your restaurant or café
A QR code menu lets guests open your menu on their own phone, and lets you change prices or dishes without reprinting. Done well, it is faster for everyone. Done badly, it frustrates guests at the table. These are the decisions that make the difference.
QR codes · Published 2026-10-14 · By Vinayak Chandran
Step 1: decide where the menu lives
The QR code only points somewhere. What guests see depends on that destination, so choose it first.
- A page on your website: the best option. It loads quickly, is easy to read on a phone, can be updated any time, and search engines can find it.
- A PDF menu: the quickest option if you already have a designed menu. Keep the file small, and make sure the text is readable on a phone without zooming in and out constantly.
- An online ordering or delivery platform page: useful if guests can order and pay from it, but you depend on that platform's design and fees.
Step 2: make sure the link will never change
You are about to print the code on every table, so the link inside it must keep working for years. Avoid pointing it at a file that will be replaced with a new link every time the menu changes.
The safest setup is a fixed address you control, such as yourrestaurant.com/menu. When the menu changes, you update that page or the file it shows, and the printed code keeps working. If you do not have a website, use a service that lets you replace the menu while keeping the same link, and check that it will not stop working if you stop paying for it.
Step 3: create and test the code
- Generate a QR code for your menu link, with dark modules on a light background.
- Download it as SVG or PDF for printing, or a large PNG.
- Scan it with an iPhone and an Android phone, in the lighting of your dining room.
- Check that the menu opens and is easy to read on a small screen.
Step 4: print it at the right size and place it well
On a table tent or sticker read from a seat, about 3 to 4 cm wide works well. For a code on a wall or window that people scan from a metre or two away, go much larger: roughly a tenth of the scanning distance.
- Put a short label next to it: Scan for our menu.
- Use matte material. Glossy laminate reflects ceiling lights into the camera.
- Keep it at a comfortable angle, not flat under a glass table top.
- Replace worn or scratched stickers before they stop scanning.
Add Wi‑Fi in the same spot
Guests opening a menu on their phone are often on weak mobile data indoors. A second QR code for your guest Wi‑Fi, placed next to the menu code, makes the menu load faster and is appreciated. Use a guest network, not the one your till or office computers use.
Keep printed menus available
Not every guest has a smartphone, a charged battery or good eyesight for a small screen. Keep a few printed menus for anyone who asks, and train staff to offer them. Guests remember being made to feel awkward far longer than they remember a menu.
Making it with Zonlet
Zonlet's QR code generator creates a static code for your menu link, with an optional logo and a caption such as Scan for our menu. Codes are made in your browser and never expire. Use the Wi‑Fi option for the network code, and the bulk mode if you need a numbered code for each table.
About the author. Vinayak Chandran is the developer behind Zonlet, based in the United Arab Emirates. Vinayak builds and maintains Zonlet's free invoice, QR code, barcode and NFC business card tools for freelancers and small businesses, and writes these guides from what building, testing and supporting those tools has taught.