How to create a QR menu for each restaurant location
Last updated · By Garnsh
The short answer
To create a QR menu for each restaurant location, give every location its own menu link, generate a QR code from that link, and print it once. The code should open a hosted menu page that reads well on a phone and is published from the same source as your other menus. When the menu changes, you publish the update. The printed code stays the same.
Why one QR code for every location goes wrong
The easiest QR setup is one code that opens one PDF. It works until you open a second location, change a price at one site but not the other, or add a dish that only one kitchen makes. Guests at the second location then scan a code that shows the wrong menu.
The fix is simple in principle: one location, one link, one code. Each code opens the menu for the place where the guest is sitting.
Step one: create a menu link per location
Each location needs a stable web address for its menu. A hosted menu page is a good fit, because it is a public page served for that location and can be updated by publishing without changing the address.
Stable matters. Once a code is printed on table tents, stickers and receipts, you do not want the link behind it to change. Choose the address once and keep it.
Step two: decide what the QR view should show
A QR menu does not have to show everything. A patio might only need drinks and small plates. A late-night window might only need a short list. Focused menu selections let a QR view show the sections that matter for that spot, while staying tied to the same source menu.
Keep the view focused on reading. Clear section names, item names, short descriptions and prices. Avoid heavy images that slow the page on a weak signal.
Think about where each code will live. A code on the bar can open drinks first. A code at the host stand can open the full menu. Each placement can point to a view that suits it, as long as every view is published from the same location menu.
Step three: generate and print the code
Generate the QR code from the location’s menu link. Test it with two or three different phones before printing. Print it large enough to scan from a seated position, with a short label such as “Scan for the menu” and the location name.
A simple tabletop tent works well: the code on one side, the restaurant name and location on the other. Print vendors and design work are outside Garnsh, so use whatever printer and style you already trust.
Step four: be clear about what the QR menu does
Guests now expect some QR codes to open ordering and payment. If your code only shows the menu, say so on the tent and keep the page itself free of buttons that suggest otherwise.
Garnsh QR menus are view-only. Garnsh is not an ordering, cart, checkout or payment experience. If you use a separate ordering tool, keep its codes visually distinct so guests are not confused.
Step five: keep the QR menu in step
The value of a QR menu comes from being current. When the menu changes in Toast, the person responsible previews the update, checks the QR view for each affected location, and publishes. The printed code does not change. The page it opens does.
If a published update turns out to be wrong, rollback returns the QR view to the previous published version. If an upstream service has a problem, the QR page keeps showing the last-known-good menu rather than an error.
A short checklist before you print
Run through this list for every location before sending anything to the printer.
- The code opens that location’s menu, not another one.
- Prices match what the team rings in.
- The page reads clearly on a small phone in daylight.
- The tent says what the code does.
- Someone owns publishing updates for that location.
This guide is general product and operations information. It is not legal, regulatory, accessibility, nutrition, allergen or Toast-account advice.