QR codes for restaurants
The 4-QR setup most restaurants converge on
After serving thousands of restaurants, the same QR layout keeps appearing on table tents:
- Menu QR — points at the digital menu (one per service period if menus differ)
- WiFi QR — auto-joins guests to the guest network
- Tipping / payment QR — Square, Stripe, or your POS provider's tipping link
- Feedback QR — a 5-star rating form, ideally a hosted vCard or feedback landing page
Why dynamic QR codes for menus is non-negotiable
Static QRs encode the URL into the matrix forever. Static menu QRs mean reprinting table tents every time you 86 a dish, change a price, or update the wine list. That's $200-500 in printing every month for an average café.
Dynamic QRs encode a short link you control. Update the menu URL in the QRshop dashboard; the printed QR redirects to the new menu instantly. One print run, year-round flexibility.
Sizing for table tents and signage
Restaurant QRs are scanned at known distances, so you can size optimally:
- Table tent (scanned at 30-50cm): 4cm × 4cm minimum
- Wall-mounted by the bar (scanned at 1-2m): 8cm × 8cm minimum
- Hostess-stand sign (scanned at 1m): 6cm × 6cm minimum
- Outdoor menu boards (scanned at 2m+): 15cm × 15cm minimum
Three analytics that matter for restaurants
Most QR analytics are noise. Three signals are worth tracking:
- Hourly heatmap — when do guests look at the menu? Peak times tell you when to staff up the kitchen.
- Repeat-scan rate — high repeat scans during a meal means the menu is hard to navigate; consider redesign.
- Geo origin — > 20% of scans from outside your city signals tourist traffic; worth a multi-language menu (QRshop's hosted landing pages support 8 locales).
Pricing math for a typical café
A 5-QR pack from QRshop costs $36.99 for 5 years — that's $7.40/year for the entire QR system (menu, drinks, specials, WiFi, feedback). Subscription Maker tier ($12/mo or $99/year) makes sense if you have 10+ QRs across multiple locations.
Frequently asked
Should every table have its own QR, or share one menu QR?
Share one menu QR per service period — it's the same digital menu either way. Per-table QRs only make sense if you're running table-service ordering where the order needs to be tied to a table number; in that case use unique URLs per table.
What if my Wi-Fi is bad — won't customers struggle to load the menu?
Pair the menu QR with a WiFi QR on the same table tent. Customers scan WiFi first (auto-joins guest network), then the menu. Two scans, both painless.
Can I make the menu QR open in the customer's preferred language?
Yes — QRshop hosted landing pages support 8 languages, with auto-detection from the visitor's Accept-Language header. Diners from France get the French menu; from Japan, the Japanese.