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Restaurants of all shapes and sizes are looking for ways to offer their guests a safe dining experience. Paper menus and touch-based payment terminals, in the current climate, are not seen as hygienic or best practices for your restaurant. A popular contactless technology as an alternative is QR codes for restaurant (short for Quick Response codes). QR codes are by no means ground-breaking or new technology but have been around for a long time, work effectively across nearly all smart devices and gained momentum in the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Basically, a QR code works in the same way as a barcode in the grocery store, but you use your smartphone to scan the code. When your smartphone scans the code, it translates the information into a link that contains a tiny piece of code which usually leads to a website or a PDF. This easy-to-use technology opens up many opportunities for restaurants and other businesses looking to digitise the experience and offer a QR code menu for dine-in or take out food menus.

What is a QR code menu?

In a post-covid world with less or no coronavirus circulating physical menus  will still decrease in use. Using QR codes where guests order from a digital menu is still the future due to contactless menus being easy and safe to use. You have probably seen these in some restaurants following the re-opening of the  pandemic. Some have QR codes positioned on the tables that you use and act as pointers to the restaurant menu. There are many great ways you can do this, so QR code menu are not only for fast food restaurants they can also be suitable for fine dining restaurant industry establishments.

Another advantage of using digital menus is that you can change your menu whenever you want and the changes are made immediately. Digital menus will probably become the new normal and a good starting point for restaurants to begin their digital journey. If you have not researched this option, it’s advisable to investigate further before instructing more costly print menus.

QR code payment: what is QR code payment and how does it work?

In addition to digital menus for restaurants, you can also offer online ordering and payment via QR codes for restaurants. This is the next step and we know from experience that your customers would appreciate being able to order and pay online in real-time. This makes it even easier and safer for credit card payments via pos systems.

Online orders can be used to complement the current processes in your restaurant or in the entire restaurant. We have several customers who use digital ordering and payment at their outdoor cafes and in the bar alongside online menus. Some of our customers were worried that customers would not like this new ordering system and paying for menu items, but it has been very well received and the use of QR codes and contactless payments has been an enjoyable experience.

How does QR codes for restaurant work?

Restaurant owners also have the ability to mix online services with their physical services to get the best of both worlds. For example, your guest can look at your digital menu on their phone and order from a waiter and then pay by scanning a QR code on the receipt often using the phone camera. There are many different ways you can customize your service with QR codes and new technology and most parts of the process are also touchless which is the way transactions are rapidly heading.

Easy to use

An important driving force behind the popularity of QR codes is the fact that they are so simple. Most smartphones have a QR code reader built into the phone camera or other smart device. You simply open the camera and hold it in front of the QR code so that the code is clear and you are connected directly to your digital destination.

Open up for new sources of revenue

To create new sources of income, restaurants can also market and sell products via QR code menus. You use them in the same way as for digital menus, but instead, you show products you have for sale that your guests can buy.

By simply adding a QR code to your existing hard copy menu you can then add an order and pay button to your menu which makes it easy for the guest to order and pay for food and drinks using their smartphone. This is another example of how you can make the ordering process quick and efficient for your customers.

There is no doubt about it QR codes are here to stay. Restaurants should, of course, always have a couple of paper copies of menus to hand in case they are needed, but the future is digital and more sustainable.