QR codes for restaurants: menus, Wi-Fi and reviews done right

Few businesses get more everyday value out of a QR code than a restaurant. One small square on the table can replace a stack of printed menus, end the nightly ritual of reading out the Wi-Fi password, and catch a happy customer at exactly the moment they are most likely to leave a review. The catch is that a restaurant code gets scanned in the worst conditions — dim light, a phone held one-handed, a table tent seen from across the table — so the details matter more here than almost anywhere else. Here is how to set up each use properly.

1. The table menu

The classic restaurant code points at the menu, and the first decision is what it points at. A mobile-friendly web page beats a PDF in most cases: it loads faster on a phone, the text resizes properly, and — crucially — you can update the dishes and prices on the page without reprinting a single code. That last point is what makes a static code work so well here: the code itself never changes, because it points at a stable menu address you control, while the menu behind it changes as often as you like.

Print the code at a comfortable size. The absolute minimum for print is about 2 cm wide, but a table code is scanned from across a table, often in warm, dim light, so aim for around 4–5 cm on a table tent, with dark code on white, a clear blank margin around it, and a label underneath: "Scan for the menu". That label matters more than it sounds — customers scan far more often when they know what they will get. Keep at least a few printed menus available too, for customers whose phones are dead, who prefer paper, or who simply do not want to scan.

2. Wi-Fi without the password ceremony

Every restaurant knows the routine: a customer asks for the Wi-Fi, staff spell out a password full of capitals and symbols, and it gets typed wrong twice. A Wi-Fi code on the table tent or at the counter ends it. The guest scans, taps Join, and is online. Build the code from your guest network — never the network your tills or office computers use — following the standard Wi-Fi format explained in our Wi-Fi QR code guide. Test it with a phone that is not already connected to the network, because a phone that already knows the password will look like it worked even when the code is wrong.

3. Reviews while the meal is still fresh

The best moment to ask for a review is when the customer is happy and still sitting at the table, not three days later when the meal is a memory. A code on the bill holder or the receipt that leads straight to your review page catches that moment. Keep the ask short and honest — "Enjoyed your meal? A quick review helps us a lot" — and never offer anything in exchange for a positive review, which most review platforms prohibit. One code, one destination, clearly labelled: a review code that secretly leads to a booking page or a social profile will just annoy the person who scanned it.

4. The details that make restaurant codes work

• One code, one job. Menu, Wi-Fi, and reviews each get their own code with their own label. Combining them into a single landing page sounds tidy, but it adds a tap and a decision to every scan, and many customers will not bother.
• Print for the light you actually have. Candlelit tables, glossy lamination, and curved tent cards all fight the camera. Use matte finishes, flat surfaces, and high-resolution downloads — 512 or 1024 pixels from the generator — so the squares stay sharp at print size.
• Check codes like you check tables. Add a weekly scan of every printed code to a staff routine. Menus move pages, review links change, and a code stuck over by someone else is a real risk in a public space — our safety post explains what to watch for.
• Keep the destination short. Long addresses full of tracking parameters make dense patterns that struggle in dim light. Point at a short, clean page address wherever you can, following the sizing and contrast rules in our best practices guide.

Done this way, a restaurant's QR codes stop feeling like a tech gimmick and start feeling like good service: less paper to reprint, fewer interrupted staff, and reviews that arrive while the food is still being talked about.

Frequently asked questions

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