How to Create a QR Code for Your Restaurant Menu

8 min read  ·  QR Code Guides

A QR code menu is now standard in most hospitality venues. Done well, it reduces printing costs, lets you update prices or dishes without reprinting, and gives customers a smooth experience from the moment they sit down. Done poorly, it creates friction, especially on small screens or in dim lighting. This guide covers everything you need to get it right.

What format should your menu be in?

Before you generate a QR code, you need to decide where it points. You have three practical options.

The most common is a PDF menu. You upload a PDF to Google Drive, Dropbox or any web host, copy the shareable link, and use that as the QR code destination. This is simple and costs nothing, but PDFs can be frustrating on mobile — users often have to pinch and zoom to read small text.

A better option for most restaurants is a dedicated web page or website. This could be a page on your existing site, a free listing on a platform like Square Online, or a simple one-page site built for the purpose. A webpage is easier to read on a phone, loads faster and lets you make changes instantly without touching the QR code.

The third option is a menu management platform such as Menufy, Bopple or QR Menu Master. These are designed specifically for this purpose and often include ordering functionality, but they come with monthly fees and the QR codes typically stop working if you cancel.

For most small and independent venues, a clean webpage beats a PDF every time. If your website already has a menu page, that is your starting point.

How to generate the QR code

Once you have your menu URL, generating the code is straightforward. You want a static QR code, not a dynamic one. A static code encodes the URL directly in the image and never expires. A dynamic code routes through a third-party redirect, which can stop working if the service changes its terms or you stop paying.

1. Copy the full URL of your menu page, including https://
2. Paste it into the URL field on DoMyQR.com
3. Set the error correction level to Q or H — restaurant codes get greasy fingers, dim lighting and the occasional spill on the table card
4. Customise the colours if you want to match your brand
5. Add your logo to the centre if you use error correction H
6. Download as PNG for table cards and print menus, or SVG if your designer will be placing it in a print layout

Where to place your QR code

The placement matters as much as the code itself. Customers need to see it the moment they sit down, without having to ask for it.

Table tents and table cards are the standard solution. A folded card sitting on each table with a clean call to action — "Scan to view our menu" — works reliably. Make the QR code at least 3 cm × 3 cm (roughly 1.2 inches) on the printed material, larger if the venue is dim.

Some venues print directly onto the table surface or use a laminated placemat with the code embedded. This reduces clutter, though it makes updating harder if you need to reprint.

For cafes with counter ordering, a stand or printed poster near the register or ordering point works well. For venues with outdoor seating, weather-resistant laminated cards or acrylic stands hold up better than standard paper.

Always include a short URL below the QR code as a fallback. Some older phones struggle with QR scanning, and giving customers an alternative avoids a dead end.

Print size and quality

The most common mistake with printed QR codes is making them too small. The minimum reliable size for a table card or counter card is 3 cm × 3 cm. Anything smaller becomes difficult to scan in average restaurant lighting, especially if there is a logo overlay reducing the effective scanning area.

For posters or window displays, aim for at least 8–10 cm. For a full A4 or A3 poster, bigger is always better — QR codes do not lose quality at large sizes if you use an SVG file.

Download SVG from DoMyQR.com if your printer or designer is handling the layout. SVG is a vector format that scales to any size without becoming pixelated. PNG works fine for most table card uses since the file exports at 600 × 600 pixels, which is plenty for small print sizes.

Testing before you go live

Print a test copy and scan it with at least two different phones before you roll out to every table. Test in the actual lighting conditions of your venue — not your office. A code that scans perfectly on your phone at a bright desk can be borderline under amber restaurant lighting.

Also test the experience on the other side of the scan. Open the menu URL on a mobile browser and check that it is readable without zooming, loads within a second or two and does not require a login to view. If the menu page asks customers to create an account, most will not bother.

Keeping it current

One of the main advantages of a QR code menu over a printed one is the ability to update it without reprinting the code. This only works, however, if the URL stays the same when you update the menu. If your menu lives at yourrestaurant.com/menu, you can update the page behind that URL as often as you like and the QR code keeps working. If you upload a new PDF with a different filename each time, you will need to regenerate the code.

Set a reminder to check the QR code every time you change the menu. It takes ten seconds to scan and confirm it still points to the right place, and it saves you from a week of customers hitting a broken link.

QR code scanning behaviour may vary across devices and operating systems. Always test printed codes before deployment.