One printed code, a menu that changes weekly
The code on the table points at your menu page, not at the menu itself. Change the page, and every table in the room is current — no reprint, no new stickers, no staff carrying a clipboard.
Your menu code
PNG is exported at 1024×1024. Print at 2 cm minimum for a sticker or business card, 4 cm for a flyer, 8 cm for a wall sign.
How big should you print it?
The code on this page points at a menu link
Menu link code
Encoded on this page. Scan it and you land on a URL — which is the point: the page behind it can change without touching the printed code.
Why the code should point at a page, not a PDF
Both scan. The difference is what happens next. A PDF link means editing, re-uploading, and hoping every table has the new file cached. A web page link means editing one thing — a seasonal dish, a price, an allergen note — and every table in the room sees it.
The code is the printer's job and lasts years. The page is the kitchen's job and changes weekly. Keeping them separate is what makes a printed menu code worth printing.
How to set it up in an afternoon
Get the menu onto a URL
A simple page on your own site works. It needs to load fast on a phone with poor signal and be readable in a dim dining room.
Generate the code above
Type the menu URL, download the PNG at 1024 px. The same code works for every table — you only need the file once.
Print one per table
4 cm square on a table tent, or A5 on a small stand. Keep a clear margin around the code — a table tent with a logo right against the modules stops it scanning.
Keep a paper menu for the ask
A printed menu is still the right answer for "what do you recommend" and for guests without a phone. The code is an addition, not a replacement.
Sizing that holds up in a dining room
Restaurants are a harder scanning environment than most: low light, a phone held at an angle across a table, sometimes a table surface with texture. Budget 4 cm rather than 2 cm, print on matte stock, and place the code flat on the table or on a tent angled toward the seat rather than vertical on a wall.
If your table is large and the tent is far from where a guest sits, go to 6 cm or A5. A code that is too big costs nothing; a code that is too small costs a server walking over.
If your menu URL might change — a domain switch, a move to another platform — a static code cannot follow it. A short link service can, but that puts a third party in the path between your table and your menu. Weigh that against reprinting, which is usually the cheaper answer for a restaurant.
Other places this same code works
The same table tent code can point at anything you want a customer to reach from their seat: the allergens page, the wine list, the reviews page, the booking form. One piece of card stock per table, and you choose what it does.
Restaurant menu code questions
Can I use a PDF link instead of a web page?
Yes. It scans fine. You just have to re-upload the file and hope customers get the new version rather than a cached copy.
Do I need one code per menu section?
Not unless you want it. A single code to a page with anchors works better for a dining room — one scan, everything on the same screen.
What size works on a table tent?
4 cm square minimum, larger if the tent sits at the far end of a large table. Restaurants are dim and the phone is held at an angle — both push you bigger than a sticker would.
Should the code be on the menu itself?
It can be, at 3 cm or more, but a laminated menu reflecting overhead light is the classic failure. Test the printed piece in the actual room before a run.
Can I track how many customers scanned the menu?
Your web server can count visits to the menu page. We cannot count scans — the code points straight at your URL with no redirect in the path. That is a feature of static codes, and the same limitation as any dynamic code service you do not use.