# QR codes for bars and pubs

> Bar QR codes face the worst lighting conditions of any hospitality setting — dim, coloured and often moving. Print bigger than you would for a restaurant, use maximum contrast, and never use a coloured or styled code.

Source: https://useqr.app/qr-codes-for/bars · Last reviewed 2026-08-21 · UseQR is free forever, MIT licensed, no signup.

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## Dim and coloured light is the constraint

A bar is lit at a fraction of restaurant levels, often with coloured or moving light. A phone
camera in low light uses a longer exposure, which means motion blur, and coloured light
distorts the luminance difference a decoder relies on.

Consequences:

- **Pure black on pure white.** No brand colours, no gradients, no styled modules. This is
  the one setting where a plain code is genuinely required.
- **Bigger**: 4–5 cm on a table card rather than the 3 cm a restaurant would use.
- **Matt**, always. Gloss plus a moving spotlight is unreadable.
- **Vertical** on a tent card, never flat on a wet bar top.

## Placement

| Code | Where |
|---|---|
| Drinks menu | Table tent, and at the bar rail |
| WiFi | Bar back, at eye level |
| Table service ordering | Table tent, with the table number in the URL |
| Feedback | Exit |

## Table service ordering

The strongest bar use: `example.com/order?table=7`. It removes the queue, which is the
single biggest complaint in a busy bar. The QR code is the cheapest part; the ordering
platform is the work.

## Age verification

If you link to anything requiring age verification, do it on the linked page, not by
assuming the scanner is of age. A code is not a gate.

## Wet surfaces

Bar-top codes get wet. Laminate, or use a standing tent card. A soaked paper code is unusable
within one shift.

## Try it

- https://useqr.app/menu
- https://useqr.app/wifi
- https://useqr.app/google-review
- https://useqr.app/feedback