QR Codes for Restaurants — Free Generation, Print Tips, Placement

A restaurant QR code is the single most cost-efficient marketing surface in the food industry. It costs nothing to generate, costs about ₹3 in sticker material to print, sits on every table, and routes diners directly to your menu without an app, an account, or a click anywhere else. Yet most restaurants treat the QR as an afterthought — printed too small, stuck in the wrong place, and replaced every time the menu changes. None of that is necessary.

How a QRSeva QR code works

When you create a restaurant on QRSeva, the platform automatically assigns you a public menu URL — something like qrseva.com/r/your-restaurant-name. The QR code is a visual encoding of that URL. The image is a 2D barcode where the black-and-white pattern encodes the URL's characters, plus error correction data that lets the code be readable even when partially damaged.

When a diner points their phone's camera at the QR, the camera app decodes the pattern, extracts the URL, and offers to open it in the default browser. The diner taps. Your menu loads. Total time from "I want to see the menu" to "I see the menu" is about 4 seconds.

The critical detail: the URL the QR encodes never changes. So once you print the QR, you can change your menu prices, add new dishes, mark items sold out, switch templates, enable a second language — none of it requires reprinting the QR. The QR is permanent; the menu is fluid. This separation is the entire economic argument for QR menus over printed ones.

How to generate your QR code

1. Sign up at qrseva.com and create your restaurant.
2. Pick a URL slug (e.g. "pind-bandra"). This decides your menu URL — choose something short and memorable.
3. Go to "QR Codes" in the dashboard. The platform shows your QR pre-generated.
4. Click "Download PNG" to get a high-resolution image, or "Download SVG" if you want a vector for professional printing.
5. Print the QR at whatever size makes sense for the surface it's going on (sizes covered below).

Minimum and maximum size for scannability

A QR code scans reliably when its printed dimension is at least 1/10th of the distance from the phone to the surface. So for a typical table-tent scan distance of 30cm (a diner holds their phone about a foot away from the QR), the minimum QR size is 3cm × 3cm. For shopfront windows where someone might scan from across the street (2-3 metres), the minimum becomes 25-30cm.

There is effectively no maximum size. A QR code printed on a 2-metre banner works fine — the visual pattern stays the same, just larger. Restaurants that print their QR as a hero image on the wall (a deliberate aesthetic choice) report identical scan rates to those who print it small on a tabletop sticker.

Where to place QR codes for maximum scans

On every table

A table-tent or vinyl sticker on each table is the primary placement. Diners scan within 30 seconds of sitting down. Use a tent (5cm × 7cm minimum) so the QR is visible whether the diner is sitting or standing.

On the takeaway counter

A larger printed QR (A5 size, around 15cm × 21cm) at eye level on the counter captures walk-in takeaway customers before they queue. Print "Scan to see the menu" above the QR so customers who don't know QRs immediately understand the affordance.

On the shopfront window

A QR on your front window — even when the restaurant is closed — lets potential customers browse your menu and decide to come back. This single placement captures the kind of customer who walks past, glances at the door, but doesn't come in because they don't know what you serve. Size: 20-30cm.

In your social media bio

Instead of a QR image (Instagram doesn't scan inline), use the link form: paste your menu URL directly into your Instagram bio, Facebook About section, Google My Business profile and WhatsApp Business profile. Your URL works as a tap-to-open link just like any other website.

On business cards and bills

A small QR (3cm × 3cm) on the back of your business cards and printed on your bills creates a take-home version of your menu. Regulars use these to bookmark you, share you, and send your menu to friends over WhatsApp without typing anything.

On printed delivery packaging

Cloud kitchens and high-volume delivery restaurants print the QR on takeaway boxes and delivery bags. The next time the customer wants to order, they scan from the previous packaging — bypassing aggregator apps and your aggregator commission.

Print specifications for best quality

• Print on matte or semi-gloss vinyl, not full gloss — light reflection from gloss confuses cameras at oblique angles.
• Use UV-resistant ink if the QR will be in direct sunlight (shopfront windows, outdoor signage). Standard print fades in 6-12 months in direct sun.
• Keep at least 4mm of white space around the QR — the "quiet zone" the scanning algorithm needs. Surrounding patterns or images right up to the edge of the QR drops scan rate noticeably.
• Print at 300 DPI or higher. Lower resolution leaves jagged edges that occasionally fail to scan.
• Use black-on-white for highest scan reliability. Coloured QRs work but with slightly lower scan rates on older phones.

Compatibility — which phones can scan it?

iPhones running iOS 11 or later (so every iPhone from 2017 onwards) scan QR codes natively from the camera app. Android phones running Android 8 or later do the same. Combined, this covers 99%+ of phones in service today.

The remaining 1% — typically very old Android phones in tier-3 cities and older feature-phones-with-Internet — can install any free QR scanner from the Play Store, or use Google Lens, which ships built into most Google phones. None of these workarounds require any change on your side.

Tracking how often your QR gets scanned

Every QR scan is also a page load. QRSeva's analytics dashboard shows you scan-by-day, scan-by-hour, and scan-by-location-source. So you can see, for example, that your shopfront QR generates 30 scans a day, your table QRs generate 200, and your social bio gets 5. This visibility lets you double down on the placements that actually work.

Common QR design mistakes to avoid

• Printing the QR too small. If diners need to hold the phone within 5cm of the QR to scan, the QR is too small — they'll give up.
• Placing the QR behind glass. Glass adds glare that confuses cameras. Vinyl directly on the table beats anything behind a window or frame.
• Putting the QR on a curved surface. QRs need to be flat — a QR on a curved bottle, cup, or wraparound packaging scans 50% less reliably.
• Embedding the QR in a busy graphic. The QR needs whitespace. A QR sandwiched between food photos or pattern artwork is a QR that doesn't scan.
• Forgetting to test. Print one, scan it yourself before printing a hundred. Three out of ten restaurants discover the QR is too small only after the entire batch is printed.