Restaurant Menu QR Codes

QR code menus that restaurants adopted during the pandemic were supposed to be temporary, but 3 years later they persist, and the design implications are worth examining. Better implementations link to a mobile-optimized page with clear categories, readable fonts, and photos of key dishes. While The worst link to a PDF of the paper menu that requires pinching and scrolling on a phone screen. Placement of the QR code itself is rarely considered from a design standpoint, usually a sticker on the table or a card propped in a holder. Functionally the restaurant saves on printing costs while the diner loses the tactile experience of holding a menu and scanning it as a single document. Restaurants that have committed to the digital format fully, updating prices and seasonal items in real time, have made the most of the transition. What is that the atmosphere of a meal changes when everyone at the table is looking at their phones during the ordering phase.