How to make a QR code menu for your restaurant
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Build a digital menu with sections, prices, photos and tags, or upload a PDF or photos, and put it on a QR code. Change prices any time without reprinting.
A QR code menu lets guests open your menu on their own phone: no app, no reprinting when a price changes. On QR Crab you can build the menu right in the editor, or use the PDF or photos of the menu you already have. All three give you a code you can print once and keep updating.
Make your QR code menu
- Choose Menu. In the dashboard, click New QR code and choose Menu under Pages, files & forms.
- Pick the menu type. Under How do you want to add your menu?, tap Build it here, Upload a PDF or Upload photos.
- Add the header. Enter the Restaurant name. Optionally add a Note (opening hours, address, “Ask about today's specials”) and a Cover image.
- Add your dishes (or your file). For a digital menu, pick the Currency. Start from a template (Café, Restaurant, Bar or Food truck) or click Add section (e.g. Starters), then Add item for each dish with its name and price. For a PDF or photos, upload them instead.
- Check the menu page. While you build a digital menu, the preview shows the menu page as it will look on a phone. Nothing goes live until you create or save the code.
- Style it and add a frame. The Menu frame (marked Suggested) adds “SCAN FOR MENU” to the code. Add your colors and logo if you like.
- Create and print. Click Create QR code, then Download, and print it for your tables, window or counter. Scan the printed code once to check it.
Menu codes are always trackable: the menu lives on QR Crab, so you can edit it any time and see every scan. They count toward your plan's trackable codes (Free: 3) and need a confirmed email address. In the guided editor (Try the new editor (beta)), the menu is built in the Content step.
Three ways to add your menu
| Menu type | Best for | What guests see |
|---|---|---|
| Build it here | Most restaurants and cafés. Easy to read on a phone and quick to update. | Your dishes in sections, with a search box, section shortcuts, photos and tags. |
| Upload a PDF | A designed menu you already have as a PDF. | The PDF on the page, plus an Open menu (PDF) button. |
| Upload photos | Chalkboards or printed menus you can photograph. | Your photos (up to 20) one after the other; tapping one opens it full screen. |
Every menu page shows your restaurant name, the note and the cover image at the top, and opens in the guest's phone language (English or Spanish) for the page's own buttons and labels.
Building a digital menu
Start from a template, or paste your list
A new, empty menu offers Start from a template: Café, Restaurant, Bar or Food truck. A template fills in typical sections and dishes without prices, so you rename, delete and price what you need. Later, the Templates button can replace the whole menu with a template (it asks first, because your current sections and dishes are removed).
Already have your menu typed somewhere? In a section, click Paste a list and paste one dish per line, like Espresso — 3.00, or Croissant — Butter, flaky — 3.50 to include a description. Before anything is added, it tells you how many dishes are ready and points out lines it can't use.
Sections and dishes
Click Add section and name it, for example “Breakfast” or “Drinks”. In each section, click Add item and type the dish name and price. Drag the handle (⠿) to reorder sections and dishes, or use the ↑ and ↓ buttons; Duplicate item copies a dish right below itself. Collapse all shows the whole menu at a glance. A menu can have up to 20 sections with up to 60 dishes each.
Prices and currency
Pick your Currency: $, €, £, MX$, R$, COP$, or No currency symbol. Type just the number and the symbol is added for you; prices tidy themselves, so 4.5 becomes 4.50. You can also type text, like “2 for $5”, and it's shown as written. Prices can be up to 12 characters.
Details: description, sizes, tags, sold out and photo
Click Details on a dish (or its photo square) to add more:
- Description: ingredients, portion size, allergens (up to 300 characters).
- Price note: a few words shown with the price, like “market price” or “per person” (up to 40 characters).
- Sizes & options: up to 6, each with a name and its own price, like Small / Large or “+ oat milk”. Click Add a size or option.
- Section: move the dish to another section (shown when the menu has more than one).
- Tags: Vegetarian, Vegan, Gluten-free, Spicy, New and Popular. Each shows as a small colored label.
- Sold out: the dish stays on the menu, greyed out with a “Sold out” badge. Switch it off again when it's back.
- Photo: a picture of the dish, shown next to it. Guests can tap it to see it bigger.
See it as guests will
Next to the QR preview, switch between QR code and Menu page to see a live phone preview of your menu. On a phone, tap Preview. The preview updates as you type, but guests only see your changes after you click Create QR code or Save changes.
Photos and file sizes
Cover images, dish photos and menu photos can be JPEG, PNG, WebP or GIF. Each file can be up to 5 MB on Free, 25 MB on Premium and 100 MB on Pro. Phone photos are usually fine; very large images just take longer to load for guests.
Keeping your menu up to date
Because the code is trackable, the printed code always opens the latest saved version. Update prices, add a seasonal dish or mark something Sold out during service, then click Save changes. To swap a PDF, open the code and use Replace on the file.
On the Free plan the menu page shows a small “Made with QR Crab” badge; Premium and Pro remove it. No ads are ever shown to your guests. For placement and design ideas, see QR code menu ideas for restaurants and cafés.
Common questions
Can I change prices after the QR codes are printed?
Yes. A menu code is always trackable, so the printed code opens whatever menu is saved. Open the code, go to Edit & design, make your changes and click Save changes. Guests see the update on their next scan.
Do guests need an app?
No. The phone camera opens the menu in the browser. Guests need a mobile connection or your Wi-Fi to load it.
Where do I put allergens?
There's no separate allergen field. Write allergens and key ingredients in each dish's Description (up to 300 characters), and use the tags for Vegetarian, Vegan, Gluten-free and Spicy dishes.
Can my menu be in English and Spanish?
The buttons and labels on the menu page (search, “Sold out”, tags) follow each guest's phone language, English or Spanish. Your dishes are shown exactly as you type them, so for a bilingual menu, write both languages in the names or descriptions, or make a second menu code.
How big can a PDF menu be?
One PDF per menu, up to 5 MB on Free, 25 MB on Premium and 100 MB on Pro. A smaller file loads faster on phones, so export it at screen quality rather than print quality.
Can I see how many people scan my menu?
Yes. Open the code's Stats tab for scans per day. Premium and Pro add countries, cities, devices and recent scans.