QR code for restaurant menus

Static or dynamic — pick dynamic

Menus change: seasonal items, price updates, an 86'd dish. A static QR code with your menu URL baked in is fine as long as that URL itself never moves — but the moment you switch menu platforms, redesign your site, or change domains, every printed table card, window sticker and takeout bag becomes a dead link with no fix short of reprinting all of it. A dynamic code lets you repoint the same printed code the moment your menu's actual URL changes, with no reprint.

What the code should point to

Point it at a page built for a phone screen held at arm's length in low restaurant lighting: large type, high contrast, no forced zoom, and a URL that loads in under a couple of seconds on restaurant WiFi, which is often mediocre. A PDF menu technically works but scores worse in practice — PDFs are slow to load and awkward to scroll on mobile compared to a plain responsive web page.

Sizing the code for a table card

A code needs to be scannable at the distance a phone is actually held — roughly arm's length, 25–35cm. As a rule of thumb, print the code no smaller than about 2.5cm (1 inch) square, larger if the lighting is dim or the surface isn't flat. Export as SVG rather than PNG for print — it stays sharp at any size instead of getting soft when scaled up for a larger table tent or window decal.

Add your logo, keep it scannable

A restaurant's QR code sitting next to its logo on a table card reads as intentional rather than generic. Add the logo to the center of the code and raise error correction to H so up to ~30% of the pattern can be covered without breaking the scan — GenHub does this automatically the moment you add a logo.

Mistakes that get a menu code ignored

• No label. A code with nothing next to it reads as suspicious. Add "Scan for menu" or similar.
• Laminate glare. Glossy lamination under bright overhead lights can wash out contrast — matte finishes scan more reliably.
• Too small for the surface. A code sized for a business card doesn't work printed on a window from across a sidewalk.
• No fallback. Keep a few printed paper menus behind the counter for guests who don't want to use their phone at the table.

FAQ

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