How to make a QR code menu for your restaurant
A QR code menu is two things: a menu that lives at a web address, and a printed code that opens that address. Guests point their phone camera at the code and the menu opens in the browser. No app, no download.
Getting it right takes about an hour the first time. Here is the order to do it in.
1. Decide where the menu lives
The code is only as good as the link behind it. You have three common choices:
| Option | Good | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| A PDF of your printed menu | Fast if you already have the file | Hard to read on a phone. Uploading a new version often changes the link and breaks printed codes. |
| A page on your own website | Your brand, your domain | Someone has to update the page every time a price changes. |
| A menu builder (like QRMenuBoard) | Built for phones, edit from anywhere, link never changes | Pick one that doesn’t force an app or a sign-up on guests. |
Whichever you pick, the test is the same: can you change a price in under a minute without reprinting anything?
2. Type the menu for a phone, not for paper
A phone screen is narrow and guests are reading it with one hand. Keep each dish to a name, a price and one short line of description. Split long menus into sections (Breakfast, Tacos, Drinks) so guests can jump straight to what they want. See our menu design tips for phones for more.
3. Make the code
Paste your menu link into a QR generator and download the code. Our free QR code menu generator works for any link and adds no watermark. If you build the menu in QRMenuBoard, the code and printable table cards are made for you.
Use a static code that points straight at your link. Some “dynamic QR” services route the scan through their own address and stop working if you stop paying them.
4. Print it big enough
- Table cards: about 5 cm (2 inches) wide is comfortable to scan from a seat.
- Never smaller than about 2 cm (an inch).
- Window or wall signs read from a few steps back: go bigger, roughly 1 cm of code for every 10 cm of scanning distance.
- Dark code on a light background. Leave a clear white border around it.
- Matte paper or card. Glossy lamination can glare under ceiling lights.
5. Test before you put it out
Scan every printed card with an iPhone and an Android phone, in the actual light of your dining room. Check that the menu opens, the prices are right, and nothing asks guests to log in.
6. Keep a few paper menus
Some guests don’t have a phone on them, or would rather not use it. A handful of printed menus at the counter keeps everyone happy.
QRMenuBoard turns your menu into a fast phone page with printable QR table cards, allergen tags and one-tap sold-out. Free for up to 30 dishes.