QR menu vs QR ordering: which does your restaurant need?
A QR menu puts your dishes on a guest's phone; QR ordering lets them choose and send a table order to your team. Choose a menu for browsing, or Smart Waiter for ordering, menu questions and requests for help from the table.
What changes after a guest scans the code?
With a read-only PDF or QR menu, guests see your dishes and tell a server what they want. With Smart Waiter, they browse or order by chat, build a cart and review it before sending. Staff receive the table ticket and record its progress.
| At the table | Read-only PDF / QR menu | QR ordering with Smart Waiter |
|---|---|---|
| See dishes | Read the PDF or menu page. | Browse the restaurant's menu in the browser. |
| Ask a menu question | Ask a staff member. | Ask Smart Waiter by chat. |
| Place an order | Tell staff what you want. | Choose from the menu or by chat, then review and confirm the cart. |
| Hand off to the kitchen | Staff handle the handoff outside the read-only menu. | A table ticket appears on staff boards, with first-order staff confirmation. |
| Follow progress | Ask staff. | See Awaiting staff, In kitchen or Served in the order view. |
| Request help or the check | Speak to staff. | Call a waiter or request the check from the phone; staff handle the request. |
| Split the bill | Work it out with staff or separately. | Calculate an even split or each phone's own share. |
Where do staff still step in?
Your team prepares the food, serves it and takes care of the dining room. Staff confirm the first guest order at a table; later orders at that confirmed table can go straight to In kitchen. They can reject an awaiting order or mark an unavailable dish on a kitchen ticket.
Menu questions are answered from your menu. Missing ingredient or allergen information goes to staff; allergy safety must be checked with your team. Guest notes are shown as written, without translation by the staff screen. Keep a person available to clarify a request and help the guest choose.
When is a QR menu enough?
A read-only QR menu is enough when you want guests to see your dishes on their phones and your team takes every order face to face. It fits a dining room where guests enjoy a conversation with the server before choosing. You keep the order-taking routine your team already knows.
Choose QR ordering when you want guests to send reviewed orders and your team to work from table tickets on staff screens. Consider who will confirm new orders, read the kitchen screen and answer waiter calls.
How can you compare the two with your own menu?
At fictional Casa Olivo, table 12 orders Grilled Chicken. With a read-only menu, the guest tells a server. With Smart Waiter, the guest chooses, reviews and confirms; staff follow the ticket through preparation and service.
Then call a waiter, view the running bill and try a split. Splitting calculates each share; payment is handled separately. Smart Waiter uses staff screens, with no POS or printer connection included. Try your own menu with the team who will use those screens.