Few restaurants in the world change their prices as often as restaurants in Lebanon. Supplier prices move, the dollar and the lira move, and every change means a menu that is out of date. That single fact is why QR menus spread so quickly here. But a QR code on the table is not automatically better than a good printed menu. Here is an honest comparison.
Where QR menus win
- Prices change in seconds. Update the menu online and every table shows the new price immediately — nothing to reprint, no stickers over old prices.
- Arabic and English, properly. A digital menu can switch language, so each guest reads it comfortably.
- Photos sell. Guests order more confidently when they can see the dish, and photos are free online but expensive in print.
- Sold out? Hide it. Remove an item for the evening instead of disappointing someone after they order.
- Ordering and payment. A full QR menu can take the order and send it to the kitchen — fewer mistakes, faster tables.
Where printed menus still win
- Some guests, often older ones, simply prefer paper — and some phones are out of battery or data.
- A beautiful printed menu is part of the brand and the atmosphere, especially in fine dining.
- No connection problems: paper never shows a loading screen.
The answer most restaurants reach: both
The setup that works best for most restaurants we work with is simple: a QR code on every table for the full, always-up-to-date menu with photos, and a few printed menus for guests who ask, plus one at the counter. Because the printed menu is now the back-up, you reprint it less often.
You can design a clean bilingual printed menu yourself in minutes with our free menu maker, and make the table cards with our QR table stand maker.
Five tips for a QR menu guests actually use
- Make the QR code big enough — at least 3 cm wide — and put a short instruction next to it: “Scan for the menu”.
- The menu must open in a second or two on mobile data. Keep photos light.
- Show prices clearly, in the currency you charge.
- Use a code you can point somewhere else later, so the printed cards never need replacing.
- Keep the QR card clean and in good condition — a scratched code that does not scan is worse than no code.
Before you change your prices, check that each dish still earns what it should. Our free food cost calculator works out the cost per plate from your ingredients and suggests a price for your target margin, in dollars and lira.
Getting a QR menu
Restbits, our restaurant platform, gives you a QR menu with photos, prices you update yourself, Arabic and English, and online ordering with zero commission — and you can see live menus from restaurants already using it on that page.