8 Best QR Menus for Restaurants in 2023
QR menus for restaurants and hotels are increasingly popular in the post-COVID environment. They allow restaurants to easily offer customers one less potentially unclean surface while drastically streamlining the ordering and payment processes. Therefore, it’s hardly surprising that within the first 18 months of the pandemic, the digital menu QR codes witnessed a 750% jump in restaurant adoption.
QR Codes have proven themselves to be key to cashless, hygienic, and hassle-free food ordering experiences. For restaurants looking to finally upgrade to QR menus, here are our top picks:
8 BEST QR CODE MENUS FOR RESTAURANTS 2023
Here is the list of the top 8 QR code menu & ordering solutions for restaurants in no particular order:
Why a QR Code Menu in your restaurant?
- Contactless ordering & payments – A digital menu for restaurants with QR codes enables contactless ordering & payments for dine-ins, pick-ups, and in-house deliveries.
- Less staff required – HospGlobally, the hospitality industry is experiencing a staffing crisis, and the Great Resignation is not doing the industry any favors. High-volume restaurants using a QR menu for dine-in & pick-up orders report being able to manage large dining areas with 50% less staff. This is proving to be a game-changer for large hotels and resorts wanting to take more orders from rooms, poolside, & beachside but do not have enough staff.
- Increased service levels – Digital menus for restaurant QR code ordering allow guests to start ordering as soon as they’re seated. Some apps can even accept payments, further reducing the time spent by servers while still providing quality service.
- Better social media engagement & loyalty – Restaurant QR menus with built-in social media integration & re-marketing can allow the restaurant to take orders directly from Facebook & Instagram while re-marketing dine-in guests with pick-up and in-house delivery orders.
- No additional hardware – QR for menus offers the cheapest entry point for restaurants and hotels going digital, especially over tablet and kiosk options.
- One less thing to clean – QR menus are displayed on the guests’ smartphones, tablets, and other smart devices. No menus to clean anymore.
- No download necessary – Unlike app-based solutions, customers don’t need to download any full menu apps. They only need to scan a code and get the contactless menu immediately.
- Instant menu updates – The restaurants can update the menu in real-time to instantly reflect out-of-stock items and price changes, avoiding menu reprints every time the menu is edited.
- More 5-star reviews – Restaurants with QR menus report an increase in 5-star reviews because guests appreciate the convenience.
- Multiple languages – A contactless menu can often support choosing from multiple languages.
- Ease of use – The QR system is fairly easy to use; you don’t need a dedicated digital menu QR code scanner to use it. Customers can open their camera (on a smartphone, tablet, or Google Lens) to scan a QR code, which automatically fetches the restaurant menu on their device.
- Flexibility – The type and complexity of these restaurant QR code menus range from just a single image (easy setup) to a full-fledged ordering and payment solution (more complex).
Why Might You NOT want a QR Code Menu?
There are always cons with every solution.
- Not everyone has a smart phone.
- Some customers may be resistant to change, especially technology-based change.
There are many QR menu options available. To ensure you find the right one for your venue, here is list of the best contactless menu services on the market.
1. Bonee
Summary
Bonee is one of the most feature-rich and user-friendly systems with a QR code menu for restaurants. Among the nifty features we liked about Bonee was the ability to schedule a pickup window, reserve ahead, and be greeted with the ordered food at your table. It’s brilliant.
However, we encountered some glitches when using the Bonee sample QR menu, which could drive away restaurant customers, especially when ordering online if left unaddressed.
⊕ Pros
- Customizable, quality tools
- Contactless ordering and reservations
- Great for takeaway
⊗ Cons
- Initial setup could be a little more intuitive
Pricing
- Starter – $39/month
- Basic- $59/month
- Advanced- $79/month
- Pro – $99/month
- Premium – $129/month
2. Orderlina
Summary
Orderlina provides a contactless QR menu solution for restaurants and hotels. While their focus is on contactless dine-in solutions, they also offer takeaway, curbside, and delivery options. As an industry veteran, Orderlina has a proven track record as one of the best QR code menus for restaurants.
Their QR menu for contactless ordering includes:
- Menu viewing – Simple image-based menu
- Advanced ordering – Fully interactive menu for takeaway, pickup, dine-in, and curbside ordering
- Customer check-in – Easily allows customers to notify staff upon arrival
Orderlina allows for photos and full descriptions of dishes with support for a wide variety of venues. The platform is flexible and can be used for any venue type, including restaurants, hotels, bars, food trucks, or events.
What’s fascinating is that Orderlina offers a free plan that allows restaurants to try its basic functionalities before upgrading to the more robust features. It is one of the most user-friendly free QR code menus out there.
⊕ Pros
- Free plan available
- Flexible menu options – simple image or fully interactive
- Self onboarding – can be up and running in 10 minutes
⊗ Cons
- Free plan limited to 200 views
Pricing
- Free – $0/month
- Orderlina – $19/month
- Orderlina Pro – $99/month
3. Quick Orders
Summary
Quick Orders provide options for restaurants, hotels, and even large venues such as swimming pools and stadiums. Their website and menu app sometimes failed to load, and we couldn’t get the multi-language feature to work, despite trying on different devices.
⊕ Pros
- Multiple venues
⊗ Cons
- Periodic site failure – likely a temporary problem
Pricing
- Not available, please click below to contact the company
4. Menulingua
Summary
Menulingua is a QR menu contactless ordering and payment system. It has a clean interface with many language options. It also claims to be able to boost Dazhong Dianping (Chinese TripAdvisor) ratings, although we haven’t been able to verify those claims independently.
⊕ Pros
- Many languages
- Chinese concentration
- Simple interface
⊗ Cons
- Minimal feature set
Pricing
- Single plan – $21/month
- Plan has multi-month and yearly options
5. Eatsee
Summary
For restauranteurs who are on a budget and looking for ideas on how to make QR codes for restaurant menus for free, Eatsee is a good option. Eatsee has three membership levels, the lowest being free for restaurants that want to create their own menu.
Additional features, such as professional photos, advertising, and analytics, are available with premium plans. Eatsee requires you to log in using Facebook, which could be an issue for some large venues.
⊕ Pros
- Generous free option
- Interface with filters and ordering
⊗ Cons
- Requires Facebook
Pricing
- Free (ad-supported) – $0/month
- Starter – $30/month
- Standard – $50/month
6. wMenu
Summary
wMenu is geared toward large hotels and resorts that benefit from easy sub-menus, such as bars, rooms, restaurants, pools, nightclubs, and general services. It provides a hotel guide for guests and real-time updates for conferences and events. If that’s needed, it’s pretty great.
wMenu is easily one of the more expensive restaurant QR menus out there. Their decision to not publish their prices and instead offer tailored plans with undisclosed pricing to each client makes it difficult for hotels to get the best pricing out of them.
⊕ Pros
- Powerful hotel guide
⊗ Cons
- Dated interface
Pricing
- Not available, please use the link to contact the company
7. FineDine
Summary
FineDine has an app, but we couldn’t get past the loading screen. From what we saw on the web, it is a gorgeous-looking app with well-designed interfaces for upselling, cross-selling, order customization, and feedback. It’s beautiful, feature-rich, and has a clean QR code menu design. Hopefully, they’ll address the buggy app performance which keeps holding them back.
⊕ Pros
- Amazing design
⊗ Cons
- We had issues with the app (web interface may be different)
Pricing
- Basic – $58/month
- Pro – $88/month
- Advanced – $138/month
8. SproutQR
Summary
SproutQR is a web-based QR menu solution for restaurants and hotels. They charge a monthly fee and provide the ability to upload the menu via an Excel sheet.
⊕ Pros
- Upload the menu via Excel
- Monthly subscription pricing plan
⊗ Cons
- At the time of this writing, ordering and payment features are not yet available
Pricing
Not available on their website
Verdict: The Best Digital Menu QR System Is…
None of these QR menu solutions excel in every category we assessed, but they all have unique benefits and drawbacks. So, the best QR menu for restaurants is one that meets your restaurant’s needs perfectly.
In our opinion, FineDine and Orderlina both offer the perfect combinations of features, pricing, and scalability for restaurants. If you are a hotel, Hotefy or wMenu could be the right fit for your needs.
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