What is a QR menu and how do you set it up in your restaurant?

A QR menu means the guest points their phone camera at the code on the table and opens the menu in the browser. No app download is needed.

Why a QR menu?

• You don't have to reprint the menu when a price or product changes.
• The guest can look at the menu without waiting for a waiter.
• Calling the waiter and asking for the bill takes one tap.
• If you like, the order is placed straight from the phone.

Setup steps

1. Prepare your menu: categories, products, portions and prices.
2. Choose the QR menu settings: placing orders, calling the waiter and asking for the bill are switched on and off separately.
3. If you allow ordering, decide whether an order is accepted automatically or on approval.
4. Print the table codes and place them on the tables.
5. Place a test order and check the flow on the kitchen side.

Things to watch

For the codes to open on a guest's phone, the menu has to be published at a public domain name; an address that works only on the business's own computer won't open on a guest's phone. Check the address before you print the codes.

Print the table codes on a readable, non-reflective surface, and make the code large enough for a camera to read comfortably.

A QR menu doesn't replace the waiter; it lightens the waiter's load. In busy hours the order and call flow becomes more orderly.