QR Code Menu: How Restaurants Can Make One for Free

A QR code menu is just a QR code that opens a link - the "menu" itself lives wherever you host it (a PDF, a webpage, a Google Doc), and the code is a shortcut to get there in one scan. No paid menu platform or subscription required to make the code itself.

What you need first

The QR code only points somewhere - you need that destination to exist first:

A PDF of your menu, hosted somewhere with a stable link (your website, Google Drive with link-sharing on, Dropbox).
Or a simple webpage listing your menu - doesn't need to be fancy, just readable on a phone screen.

Either works. A webpage tends to be easier to update (change a price without re-printing anything); a PDF is easier to produce if you don't have a website.

Generating the code

Open QRcode and tap Create.
Choose the URL content type.
Paste the link to your menu.
Tap Generate.

That's the whole process - the resulting code is yours to use however you print or display it.

Getting it onto tables

Table tents or small acrylic stands - the most common approach, one per table.
Printed cards at the host stand or entrance, for guests to scan before being seated.
A window decal for takeout/delivery customers browsing from outside.

Before you print anything

Test the code yourself with a different phone than the one you generated it on, in the actual lighting where it'll be displayed (some restaurant lighting is dim, and low contrast plus low light is the most common reason a printed code fails to scan - see our QR code not scanning guide if you run into that).
Print it big enough - a code that looks fine on screen can be too small once shrunk onto a table tent. Bigger is safer than smaller.
Keep the destination link stable - if you ever change your menu's URL, the printed codes stop working and every physical copy needs replacing. Point the code at a link you don't expect to change, even if the content behind it does.

FAQ

Does the menu update automatically if I change the linked page? Yes, if you're linking to a webpage (or a cloud-hosted PDF you overwrite rather than replace) - the QR code itself never changes, only what it points to, so editing the destination updates the menu everywhere the code is printed, without reprinting anything.

Do I need a paid QR menu service? Not for the code itself - those services mainly sell menu-building/hosting tools, not the QR code generation, which is free with any QR generator including QRcode.