Industry guide
QR codes for restaurants
Restaurants get the most value from three QR codes, not one: the menu on a matt table tent, a Google review code on the bill, and a WiFi code at the counter. The menu code is the one most often done badly: glossy, flat on the table, and pointing at a PDF.
The three codes that earn their place
| Code | Where | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Menu | Table tent, vertical, matt | Update prices without reprinting |
| Google review | Bill folder or receipt | The single highest-yield placement in hospitality |
| WiFi | Counter card | Removes the most-asked question of the shift |
A fourth: feedback: belongs next to the review code, clearly labelled, so unhappy customers have a private route.
Get the menu code right
- 3–4 cm of code for a 30–40 cm reading distance.
- Matt laminate. Gloss under downlighting reflects into the camera and no error correction saves it. This is the most common restaurant QR failure by a wide margin.
- Vertical on a tent card, not flat on the table.
- Point at a mobile web page, not a PDF. A 4 MB PDF on a busy restaurant's cellular signal is a customer waiting two minutes to read the starters.
- Use a stable URL,
example.com/menu, updated in place.
Keep printed menus
A QR-only menu excludes anyone without a smartphone, with low vision, or with a flat battery. In several jurisdictions that is a discrimination risk. Offer paper without being asked.
Review codes: the rules matter
Google prohibits review gating (screening customers and only asking happy ones) and incentivised reviews (a discount for a review). Both risk removal of the reviews and penalties on the listing. Ask everyone, at the right moment, offer nothing.
The right moment is the bill: the customer is seated, finished, and stationary. Not the door, not the window.