Should a menu QR code be static or dynamic?

Dynamic. Menus change with seasons, prices and availability, and a static code means reprinting every table tent each time. A dynamic code keeps the same printed square while you repoint it at the new menu.

What size should a menu QR code be printed?

About 3 to 4cm across for a table tent read at 40cm, and nearer 10cm for a window read from a metre away. Err on the larger side, because restaurant lighting is dim and older phone cameras need the help.

Why do guests complain about menu QR codes?

Almost always because the code opens a PDF. On a phone that becomes a document you have to pinch and drag, with text too small to read. A page built for a phone, with real text that reflows, removes the complaint entirely.

Do I still need paper menus?

Yes. Some guests have no smartphone, a dead battery or vision that makes phone menus hard, and in several places an accessible alternative is legally required. A small stack behind the bar covers it.

How often should table codes be replaced?

Check weekly and replace anything scuffed or cloudy. Staff stop noticing wear they see daily, and a laminate that looks fine to the eye can be unreadable to a camera — guests rarely mention it, they just ask for paper.

QR code for a restaurant menu

A menu code puts your menu on the guest phone in one scan. Done properly it saves you reprinting every time a price moves; done badly it is a laminated square that half the table cannot get to work while their food gets cold.

The difference is almost entirely in the details below: which code type, how big, where on the table, and what the menu looks like once it opens.

Use a dynamic code, not a link to a PDF

Two decisions matter more than anything else. First, make it dynamic: your menu will change, seasonally at minimum and probably weekly, and a static code means new table tents every time. A dynamic code keeps the same printed square and lets you repoint it.

Second, do not point it at a PDF. A PDF on a phone opens as a document you pinch and drag around, with text too small to read and no way to reflow it. It is the single most common complaint about menu codes, and it is entirely avoidable with a page built for a phone.

Size and placement on the table

A table tent code is read from about 40cm, which needs roughly 3 to 4cm across. Err larger: the table is dim, the phone is old, and somebody is holding a glass in the other hand. On a window for passers-by, read from a metre or more, go to 10cm.

Put it where a phone can get square to it. A code on the vertical face of a tall menu holder is awkward to photograph from a seat; flat on the table or angled toward the diner works better. And keep it out of the candle zone, because wax and heat ruin a laminate pouch fast.

Laminate, and reprint when it is scuffed

A table code lives in the worst environment a printed code will meet: spills, scrubbing, fingerprints, salt. Laminate it. Error correction recovers a scattering of damaged modules, but a worn corner takes out a finder pattern and the code stops working entirely rather than degrading.

Check them weekly and keep spares. A tent that has gone cloudy still looks fine to staff who see it every day and is unreadable to a camera, and nobody tells you — they just ask for a paper menu.

What the page should do when it opens

Load fast on a bad connection, because a restaurant is full of phones competing for one weak signal. Text, not images of text. Prices as real text so they can be selected and read aloud by a screen reader.

Keep allergen information on the same page rather than behind another tap — it is the thing people most need and most often cannot find. And put a phone number on it, because a guest who cannot make the menu work should be able to do something other than wave.

Always keep paper menus

Some guests have no smartphone, a flat battery, or vision that makes a phone menu genuinely difficult. In several jurisdictions an accessible alternative is a legal requirement, not a courtesy.

A small stack behind the bar costs almost nothing and removes the one scenario where this technology makes a guest feel excluded in a room full of people who are eating.

Common questions

Should a menu QR code be static or dynamic?: Dynamic. Menus change with seasons, prices and availability, and a static code means reprinting every table tent each time. A dynamic code keeps the same printed square while you repoint it at the new menu.
What size should a menu QR code be printed?: About 3 to 4cm across for a table tent read at 40cm, and nearer 10cm for a window read from a metre away. Err on the larger side, because restaurant lighting is dim and older phone cameras need the help.
Why do guests complain about menu QR codes?: Almost always because the code opens a PDF. On a phone that becomes a document you have to pinch and drag, with text too small to read. A page built for a phone, with real text that reflows, removes the complaint entirely.
Do I still need paper menus?: Yes. Some guests have no smartphone, a dead battery or vision that makes phone menus hard, and in several places an accessible alternative is legally required. A small stack behind the bar covers it.
How often should table codes be replaced?: Check weekly and replace anything scuffed or cloudy. Staff stop noticing wear they see daily, and a laminate that looks fine to the eye can be unreadable to a camera — guests rarely mention it, they just ask for paper.