QR code ordering for restaurants: a practical guide
How table QR ordering works, where it helps, and how to use your own QR menu instead of paying marketplace commissions.
QR code ordering lets a customer scan a code at the table, open your menu on their phone, and order — sometimes pay — without waiting for a server. Done well, it speeds up service and lifts spend. Done badly, it's a clunky PDF nobody uses.
How it works
Each table gets a QR code linked to your live menu. The customer scans, browses, and places an order that flows straight into your POS and kitchen — no re-keying, no shouting across the floor. The best systems keep the QR order in the same queue as the rest of your service.
Where QR ordering helps most
- Busy cafés where the counter queue is the bottleneck.
- Large tables that want to add rounds without flagging a server each time.
- Any venue short on floor staff at peak.
Use your own QR menu, not a marketplace's
A marketplace QR menu often comes with a commission and puts the platform between you and your customer. Your own branded QR menu keeps the order — and the customer relationship — yours. Prices and sold-out items update instantly, and there's no per-order cut.
One menu, everywhere
With Bhookly, the same menu powers your POS, your QR ordering and your branded app, so a single change updates everywhere and an 86'd item disappears from every channel at once. Customers order direct, and you keep the margin.