QR Code for Restaurant Menu: 2026 Setup Guide

A restaurant QR code is a printed code on a table card or tent that opens your menu on the diner's phone. Use a dynamic code, so prices and specials change without reprinting, and give each table its own code so you can see where scans come from.

Should a restaurant use a static or dynamic QR code?

Use dynamic if your menu changes more than once a year. A static code is a QR code whose destination is fixed the day you print. A dynamic code is one that keeps the same printed square while you change where it points.

A restaurant running weekly specials should default to a dynamic QR code. Reprinting laminated table cards on every price change costs more than the code. Our static vs dynamic guide covers the trade-offs.

What should the menu page look like?

A mobile page with real text, not a scanned PDF. PDFs load slowly on restaurant wifi and force diners to pinch and zoom. QRCodeStack's Menu QR type hosts the page for you: you enter categories, items, descriptions and prices, and the diner sees a mobile menu. Edit an item and the printed card stays the same.

• Split the menu into single-column sections by course.
• Use real text for dish names and prices.
• Add photos only for signature dishes.
• Put allergens and dietary tags beside the dish.
• Aim for the page to load in under two seconds on your own wifi.

How big should the code be, and where does it go?

Print at least 2x2 inches so a phone scans from arm's length, and stand it upright on a table tent. Our QR code size guide has the full rules.

• Laminate or seal table cards; spills and grease ruin bare paper.
• Avoid glossy finishes under overhead lights, because glare blocks the camera.
• Test every code in your real dinner lighting, not office lighting.
• Test a batch of ten before ordering the full run.

How do you track scans by table?

Give each table or section its own code. Without that, you cannot tell which cards get used.

Per-table counts show which cards are scanned, and a table with zero scans in a week may have a damaged or hidden card. Each table code counts as one dynamic code, and Starter allows 10 and Pro 50 (see pricing), so a 40-table room needs Pro or per-section codes on Starter. Busiest-times and location views are included during the trial and on Business only. See how to track QR code scans for what the dashboard reports.

What mistakes do restaurants make with QR menus?

• Printing a static code into laminated tents, then reprinting the batch when a price changes.
• Uploading the print PDF as is.
• Placing one code at the entrance only, so seated diners cannot reload the menu.
• Skipping scan tracking.
• Using thin, light-grey designs that fail in dim light. See QR code mistakes to avoid.

If a code will not scan, the usual causes are glare, a damaged or too-small print, or low contrast; if the page will not load, the diner's signal is weak, so a light text page helps. Keep two or three printed menus at the host stand for phones that will not load the page, and teach servers to say "scan to view the menu".