Use case · Restaurants
QR codes for restaurants
Four codes cover almost everything a restaurant needs: the menu, the Wi-Fi, the review link and the booking page. Here is how to size, place and print each one so they actually get used.
- Free
- No sign-up
- No expiry
- Commercial use
Restaurants use QR codes for menus, Wi-Fi access, review requests and ordering. Print them 35–40 mm on matte table tents with the quiet zone intact, point them at a mobile web page rather than a PDF, and always keep paper menus available as an alternative.
What to put on the table, and where
| Code | Placement | Size | Points at |
|---|---|---|---|
| Menu | Table tent, both faces | 35–40 mm | A mobile menu page |
| Wi-Fi | Same tent, reverse side | 30 mm | Guest network only |
| Review | Receipt and takeaway bag | 25 mm | Google review link |
| Booking | Window and A-board | 80–150 mm | Your booking page |
Resist the urge to add more. A table cluttered with five codes gets none of them scanned; diners cannot tell which is which and stop reading. Label each one in plain words — Menu, Wi-Fi, Tell us how we did — because an unlabelled code is a code nobody scans.
What diners actually need on a phone
The failure mode is universal: a PDF designed for A4, opened on a 6-inch screen, requiring pinch-zoom to read a price. Diners give up and ask the server, and you have added friction rather than removing it.
- A web page, not a PDF. Headings per course, prices as text.
- Sixteen pixel minimum body text. Nobody should zoom to read the specials.
- Under 500 KB. A busy dining room means weak signal and shared bandwidth.
- Allergen and dietary information as readable text, not a legend of tiny icons.
- Prices in the same order as the paper menu, so staff and diners are looking at the same thing.
- A visible updated date so regulars trust it.
The menu QR code generator builds this code for you.
Point the code at a stable URL like yoursite.com/menu and update the page behind it. The printed code never needs to change, which is the whole trick — it gives you the flexibility of a dynamic code with none of the subscription.
Materials that survive a service
- Matte, never gloss. Restaurant downlights reflect off gloss lamination straight into the camera. This single choice fixes most table-code failures.
- Wipeable. Laminated card or vinyl. A code with a thumbprint of olive oil across it still scans; one that has been scrubbed to a haze does not.
- Quiet zone intact. Four modules of clear space on all four sides. Designers crop this constantly.
- Both faces of the tent. Diners on the far side will not turn it round; they will ask a server.
- Reprint stock. Table tents get spilled on. Order 20% spare with the first run.
Keeping the code from costing you goodwill
QR menus generated real resentment during their forced rollout, and some of it stuck. The complaints are legitimate: low battery, poor eyesight, bad signal, and the feeling of being handed a task instead of a menu.
- Keep printed menus and offer them without being asked. Menu's on the code, or I can bring you a paper one costs nothing and defuses the entire objection.
- Never require an app download. The web page is the whole point.
- Do not gate the menu behind an email address or a sign-in. Diners will leave.
- Do not require the code for ordering unless you also take orders at the table. Some customers will not or cannot use it.
Frequently asked
What size should a QR code be on a restaurant table?
Should a QR menu link to a PDF or a web page?
Do I have to pay monthly for a QR menu?
Can I use one code for the menu and the Wi-Fi?
Last reviewed 24 August 2026 · Checked by the QR Code Builder team