How to Make a QR Code Menu for Your Restaurant

A QR code menu has two parts: a page with your menu on it, and a printed code that opens that page. The code is the easy part. The decision that matters is what the code points to, because that decides whether you can change the menu later without reprinting.

Step 1: Decide what the code will open

You have three common options:

• A PDF of your printed menu. It's the fastest if you already have one, but it's small on a phone and you have to replace the file for every change.
• A menu page on your website. It works well if someone can edit your site quickly, including on a busy Friday.
• A digital menu tool. You get a page built for phones that anyone on the team can edit, usually with templates and a code that stays the same.

If your prices or dishes change often, pick an option that a person on your team can update in a couple of minutes. A menu that's hard to change ends up wrong.

Step 2: Get your menu ready

Before you open any tool, gather what you already have:

• Your categories in the order guests should read them.
• Each dish with its name, price, and a short description.
• The allergens in each dish, confirmed with the kitchen.
• Photos of your best sellers, if you have good ones. Skip the rest for now.

Don't wait for perfect photos. A clean menu with no photos beats one that stays unpublished for a month. Here's how to write dishes that read well on a phone.

Step 3: Build the menu page

Enter the dishes and choose a layout. Then open the page on your own phone and read it the way a guest would. Check that the prices are right, the text is big enough, and the page loads over mobile data, not just your Wi-Fi.

Step 4: Make the QR code

If you already have a link, our free QR menu generator turns it into a code without an account. Stick to a dark code on a light background. If you build the menu in Pankarta, the code comes with it and stays the same when you edit the menu.

Step 5: Print a test before you print them all

Print one copy at the real size and put it on a table. Scan it with two different phones, in the actual light of your dining room. Then read the guide to QR code size and printing before you order a full run.

Step 6: Put it where guests will see it

Table tents and stickers are the usual choices, plus one by the door for guests who are still deciding. Add a few words next to the code, such as "Scan for our menu", because not everyone assumes a square code is the menu. Keep some printed menus for guests who prefer them or don't have a phone with them.

Step 7: Link the same menu everywhere

Your guests also look for your menu before they arrive. Use the same link on your website, your social profiles, and your Google Business Profile, so there's only one menu to keep up to date.