How Restaurants & Bars from New York to Toronto Thrived Using QR Menus

In-door dining was never an option due to COVID19 – they still only operate outdoor, curbside pick up and delivery due to COVID19 restrictions. Leveraging their Instagram & Facebook following they added their menu link to their Instagram bio and Order Food button on Facebook. Guests were able to order in advance, pay and curbside pick up having been sent an SMS when their order was ready. To quote Janine, the owner, “the Orderlina QR Menu was a game-changer for us.” Which such visual products and a large social media following they were able to put their menu in front of a large audience who could order directly from their mobiles.  Guests would either click their menu link to order in advance or scan the QR Code from right outside their store for takeaway or from one of their outside tables.

Located just outside of Toronto, when this family-run establishment appeared on the other side of lockdown, the challenge was how to provide the same level of service to their huge outdoor dining patio. With limited staff, they soon turned to hospitality technology to provide a QR Menu with ordering. Worried about how their guests, many of whom are personal friends, would adopt the new technology, they found they loved it! Being able to start ordering straight away, their guests didn’t have to flag down wait staff.

Owner, Jennifer and her husband found she could focus on guest interactions without the back and forth of bringing menus and taking orders. Guests were doing this themselves. “With 95% adoption of our QR Menu our service levels improved dramatically,” says Jennifer. “With just two wait staff we could manage over 50 tables. Since we’ve introduced QR table ordering we’ve seen an increase in our 5-star reviews via our booking platform as guests appreciated they could order on demand. ”

Miami was devastated by the pandemic. Adnan, the manager of Salt Cafe needed a solution to get up and running fast with a contactless menu. “As many restaurants devastated by COVID pandemic, we were trying to get on our feet. Orderlina staff showed true dedication and commitment and helped us tremendously,” states Adnan. Guests soon felt at ease not having to touch menus and staff could safely social distance while explaining their dishes from a distance.

With such a huge outdoor space, staff saved time as guests had already chosen their preferred items from the QR Menu. In no time Salt Cafe’s web menu was hitting over 5,000 views per month thus providing them with a loyal audience to direct to their Instagram account and later provide offers of delivery and pick up via social media.

Technology is the new staff member for high volume restaurants and bars, doing the heavy lifting of the menu and order management. Staff are left to focus on their food and wine pairing skills. Taking the key points from how restaurants and bars from New York to Toronto thrived with QR Menus lets look at how they can help the Melbourne and Sydney outdoor dining scene post COVID lockdowns.

As Melbourne’s eclectic food scene rises out of lockdown for outdoor dining QR Menus provides a solution for outdoor tables distanced from their hidden alleyways. Table to kitchen distance is essentially reduced as guests are sending their orders from their phones, straight to the kitchen. The chic, high volume restaurants of Sydney can turn over tables faster, allowing more guests to enjoy the spring weather and amazing food. As Victorian regional areas can work together on pedestrian alfresco dining options as QR Menus can provide a food-hall type experience, allowing for shared tablespace where guests can order from their chosen restaurant.

UPDATE: In response to the upcoming easing restrictions of Outdoor Dining in Victoria and New South Wales Australia, Orderlina has developed a QR Sign In. Guests can scan the single Electronic QR Code, provide their details and start their order straight away via the contactless menu.

Click here to find out more about Orderlina or check out our demo and book a free consultation on how to set up a QR Menu for your restaurant. No commissions, never!