QR Code for Restaurants

Setting up the codes a restaurant actually needs

1. 1

   Start with what's already online

   A restaurant's own website, an existing PDF menu, an online ordering page or a review link all work as free static codes without building anything new.

2. 2

   Add guest WiFi as its own code

   A separate WiFi code at the table or counter saves staff from reciting a password all shift, and it's free and static since a network's credentials don't need to change often.

3. 3

   Use a dynamic code only where the destination will genuinely change

   A seasonal menu insert or a rotating promotion is a case for a dynamic code, since the link behind the same printed table card can be swapped for a new season without reprinting.

4. 4

   Keep review and feedback codes separate from the menu code

   A code meant to collect reviews should go directly to the review platform's page, not buried as a link on the menu — mixing the two usually means fewer people ever find the review link.

5. 5

   Test every code at the table before printing a full batch

   Scan each one with a personal phone at the distance a guest would actually sit, particularly for a small table-tent card.

The one restaurant use that needs a paid plan

A hosted menu page, one that updates centrally across every printed table card without reprinting, is a Pro feature, because it's a page MakeQR has to host, not a static pattern. A restaurant that already has its menu as a PDF or a page on its own website doesn't need this at all: a free static code pointed at that existing page does the same job for a menu that doesn't change often.

Guest WiFi at the table without asking staff

A code on a table tent, printed alongside the menu, lets guests join a guest network without stopping a server to ask. This works well as a static code since restaurant WiFi passwords tend to change rarely, and there's no reason to pay for a dynamic code just to hold network credentials that can't be dynamic anyway.

Turning satisfied guests into reviews

A code that goes straight to a review platform's page, placed on a receipt or a small counter sign, removes the friction of searching for the business by name on a phone. It works best placed where a guest is already leaving satisfied, rather than buried in the middle of a menu where it competes with the food.

What restaurant codes typically hold

A menu or ordering link, a WiFi network's credentials, a review platform's URL, or a contact card for catering inquiries are the most common payloads — nearly all of them a URL or a WiFi credential set, encoded the same way regardless of which part of the restaurant the code sits in.

https://example.com/menu.pdf

Where restaurant codes get placed and sized

A table tent or receipt code only needs to work at arm's length, so 20mm is enough. A window sticker or sandwich-board sign meant to be read from the sidewalk needs to scale up considerably, following the same ten-times-distance rule as any other posted sign.

Restaurant QR code mistakes

• Printing table tents with a static link to a menu that changes weekly

  A static code pointed at a menu page that gets replaced often means either the old link breaks or the page has to stay at the same address indefinitely. A menu changing weekly is a genuine case for a dynamic code or a hosted menu page.

• Putting the WiFi and the menu on the same code

  A single code can only hold one destination. Combining WiFi credentials and a menu link isn't possible in one code — two separate codes, clearly labeled, work better than trying to force both into one.

• Placing the review code where it's easy to miss

  A review link tucked into a menu's footer gets far fewer scans than one printed on the receipt or a small stand-alone table card, since the moment a guest decides to leave a review has usually already passed by then.

Common restaurant QR code placements

• A table tent linking to an existing online menu or ordering page.
• A receipt footer linking to a review page.
• A window sticker linking to the restaurant's hours and location page.
• A hiring flyer near the register linking to a job application form.