What is a QR code menu?

A QR code menu is a digital menu accessed by scanning a QR code with a smartphone or tablet, providing a quick and simple way for customers to check out your food and drink menu with one simple click. All they need to do is scan the code with their smartphone and they will be directed to a website page or PDF that hosts your digital menu.

Customers can order from the menu with a staff member, or directly through the link, depending on the restaurant menu and QR Code type. You can also include a QR Code payment so they can pay for their food and leave a tip. This saves your customers and your staff time and streamlines ordering for your restaurant or cafe.

Keep QR Code campaigns responsive and relevant.

Broken links, outdated information, mistakes, and typos destroy customer confidence. Dynamic QR Codes let you edit and update content as and when you need to.

How to create a QR Code for restaurant menus: Three simple steps

Creating a QR Code for your restaurant has never been more straightforward. Let's take a look at the steps involved:

2

Add your Details

Add your Details: To create your QR Code, you’ll need a URL or any digital destination you want your QR code to send users to. Each QR Code type requires different information, but you can fill in the fields simply and quickly with QR Code Fusion.

Step 2
3

Customize your Design

Customize your Design: Customize your design by selecting a frame, choosing a color and adding your company logo. This helps to make your QR Code your own and more likely to be scanned.

Step 3

Our QR codes for business can be produced in any color, not just black and white. Before you click ‘Create QR Code’, consider the context (and your company branding), and work from there. Double-check that your URL links to the relevant PDF or landing page menu before downloading.

6 reasons to have QR codes on your restaurant menus

QR code menus have abundant benefits and can upgrade your POS system to help you eclipse other restaurants in your area.

Keeping your food on one platform can take your business to the next level simply and quickly. Let's explore some of the key benefits of QR codes for restaurants

Reduce printing costs

Choosing a digital or PDF menu with a Dynamic QR Code is a cost-effective option compared to printing multiple physical menus.

This allows for easy and real-time updates without the need for frequent reprints, providing a more budget-friendly and environmentally conscious solution.

More positive reviews

Having your customers view your menu digitally means they're more likely to leave your restaurant a positive review.

If you integrate social media or Google My Business with your digital menu, too, customers are already in the right place to leave a positive review, and it's still fresh in their minds to do so.

No hardware to buy

By utilizing a menu QR code, you eliminate the need to invest in costly kiosks, front desks, or tablets for order processing. A menu QR code lets customers scan and access your menu easily.

This streamlined approach not only saves money but also simplifies the ordering process for both customers and businesses.

Faster orders, and more of them

Online ordering with a QR Code menu is quicker than flagging down a staff member and perusing a printed menu.

And since pretty much everyone in the country owns a smart phone with basic functionalities (a camera phone is all you need), they'll be able to scan and access your menu in no time at all.

Boost your marketing campaigns

As well as improving order processing, you can also take your marketing campaigns to the next level with a QR code menu.

Utilizing everything from order value to foods ordered, collect customer data to use in your marketing efforts. When done effectively, this can drive more traffic to your website and generate more interest in your restaurant.

Simple customization

Update your menu whenever you need with an upgraded QR Code Fusion account. If you have a new addition to the menu or need to remove something, you can make changes and your existing QR Code will automatically update.

Make use of our customisation design tools so your QR code stands out or matches with your business branding.

Easily create Dynamic QR codes for your business

Get instant access to our custom branding, editing and evaluation features today!

Examples of QR Code menus available

Menu on table and phone

Paper menus

Paper menus offer a cost-effective solution for implementing your QR Code menu, providing customers with immediate access to your food options.

These menus can be easily affixed to tables, ensuring accessibility and convenience for customers.

QR Codes for restaurant menus

Table tents, tops and inserts

Placed on tables, customers can easily spot the QR Code, allowing them to scan it as soon as they sit down without needing assistance from staff.

This approach enhances the seamless and self-service nature of the QR Code menu experience.


Particularly window QR Code menus, are perfect for reserved customers who may hesitate to enter. These menus provide a helpful preview of your food offerings before customers even walk through the door, making it easier for them to decide.

Check this guide for Poster QR Codes

Flyers serve as a powerful advertising tool for your restaurant, and by incorporating a menu QR code, customers can effortlessly access your menu or promotional content instantly. This is achieved by scanning the QR code using their smartphones, providing a seamless and convenient way to explore your offerings.

With a dynamic QR code you can make updates to the menu or content without requiring reprinting of physical flyers. Changes can be made digitally, ensuring the information is always current.

Check this guide on QR code flyers

Do you have a delivery service as part of your offering? Add a QR Code menu in the form of a sticker to really stick in customers' minds.

You can also add stickers anywhere in your restaurant, which could be on condiments or other tabletop items.

Make the most of a small amount of space with a QR Code menu on a business card. A novel idea that's sure to last long in the memory of clients and customers, this is a unique way to spread the word about your restaurant and food.

QR Code menu industry examples

How to use a Menu QR code

Let's explore how you could use your generated Menu QR code:

URL QR Code

URL QR Code

A URL QR Code allows you to easily share various online content like campaign landing pages, business websites, videos, contact forms and payment pages. When scanned, it instantly opens the linked URL in the device's web browser, eliminating the need for manual typing.

Read more
PDF QR Code

PDF QR Code

Linking users directly to a PDF document, a PDF QR Code can be used to share information, guidance, brochures or forms with customers. Making it easy to access documents on-the-go, increase engagement and optimizes the use of marketing collateral.

Read more

Social QR Code

Promote your wider social network by linking users to all of your social media accounts in one scan. The result? More followers, better customer retention, and the chance to keep customers informed and up to date regarding your products or services.

Read more

Examples of QR code menus across different industries

Here are a few examples of how QR code on menus can be applied to everyday business operations.

QR Codes for hotels

Hotels

Hotels can benefit from QR Code menus at their reception desks and inside their hotel bars. This is great for waiting guests who may be staying with you as well as visitors who’ve simply popped in for a drink.

QR Codes for restaurants

Restaurants

Restaurants and QR Code menus go hand in hand and can speed up ordering times, reduce pressure on staff, and show off your menu creatively to a tech-savvy audience. You can also include QR Code Payment options on your menu and additional information about each dish.

QR Codes for cafes

Cafes

Cafes should seriously consider QR Code menu technology as a way to streamline their ordering systems. Adding QR Code Menus as stickers is also a cost-effective way of showcasing your menu if it regularly changes, which is the case for lots of cafes.

QR Codes for bars

Bars

Bars can use QR Code menus to show off drink promotions, food, and more with ease. Perfect for the demographic of a bar, QR Code menus help you simplify payments and ordering so you can serve more customers with less pressure.

How to display QR codes in your restaurant - best practice tips.

Contactless ordering and QR Code technology have revolutionised the hospitality industry. Follow our best practice tips to see how you can make the most of QR codes on your menus:



Consider QR Code positioning

The best way to display your QR Code on your menus is to make it as clear as possible. A lot of the time, restaurants will showcase their codes in a QR Code holder and nothing else, so customers can't miss it.

Young man smiling

Include a call to action

A call to action provides context around your QR Code. For a menu, this can be something as simple as “Drinks Menu” or “Food Menu”. You can also add QR Code payments to your menus, which can include a message that says something along the lines of “Pay here”.

Include a CTA

Customize your code carefully

When designing your QR code, make sure nothing overlaps it, i.e. your company logo. Also, choose a color that contrasts your background color enough to be picked up by a scanner, but is still vibrant enough to be noticed.

Oh, and don’t forget to match it with your branding colors, if possible.

Customize your code carefully

Run tests before you create your code

Make sure your QR Code links to the correct menus, payment services, and that everything is in order with the links themselves. This saves you time and money, particularly if you’ve printed your QR Code onto numerous table tents, stickers, and menus.

Testing also helps you make sure your code is scannable by every device.

Run tests before you create your code

FAQs for QR Code menus

When you choose QR Code Fusion, the cost is free to create a QR Code menu.

We offer free business memberships that allow you to create your contactless menu in minutes, with a quick and easy design process.

PDFs are generally the best for digital versions of your menu, but a high-quality PNG format is also acceptable a lot of the time.

The golden rule for working on your new menu is that quality should be at the top of the agenda. So, make sure the digital version of your menu isn't pixelated or a tiny file, and you should be fine.

If you add new food items to your menu, you don't have to create a new QR Code if you have an upgraded account with QR Code Fusion. In this case, just re-upload your new menu to the same QR code as before, and it will update without changing.

Doing so means you don't need to commit to a new paper menu order every time you make a change. This helps keep costs down for your restaurant.

Viewing a QR menu is incredibly simple. Just scan the QR Code with your iPhone camera or Google Lens if on Android. Once you've scanned it, the menu will appear.

Getting a menu onto a QR Code is straightforward. Sign up for a trial business account with QR Code Fusion, which gives you access to our QR code generator. From here, you'll be able to create a QR Code and link a digital version of your menu to it.

Join the QR Code revolution

By granting the ability to use the same QR Code across multiple physical menus, we empower you to keep up with the constantly evolving restaurant industry.

We also help your customers and restaurant staff streamline the ordering process, so you can reap the rewards of a smooth-sailing operation. Bring your business into the future with a bang, with menu QR codes that help elevate your restaurant, build your first QR code menu today.