A menu that is easy to read and easy to update.

QR menu or printed menu? The rules of a legible menu

Menu design is the work of presenting a cafe or restaurant's products, prices and standout dishes in a layout that guests can read easily and decide from quickly. Today most businesses use a QR menu that opens on the phone together with a printed menu on the table. Sova Ajans designs both formats in the same brand language, putting legibility first.

QR menu and printed menu: which one, and when?

Both formats have strengths and weaknesses; for most businesses the right answer is not to pick one but to balance the two.

• QR menu: It lets you reflect price and product changes quickly without reprinting. Adding multilingual content is easy. However, not every guest likes reading a menu on a phone; a weak mobile connection or low battery can affect the experience negatively.
• Printed menu: It is held in the hand right at the table and conveys the brand's quality as part of the service experience. However, it needs reprinting when prices change and it wears out.
• Mixed use: A simple printed menu or table card on the table, and a QR menu for detailed and up-to-date content. For many businesses this is the most balanced approach.

We decide together which format will take priority by looking at your guest profile, the number of products and how often you update prices.

For the printed menu too, there is no single right format. A folding menu, a single-page menu, a tabletop stand, a menu on a wooden board or a wall board behind the counter suit different types of business. In a restaurant with table service, a folding or multi-page menu is suitable, while in a coffee shop where orders are taken at the counter, a wall board readable from a distance is far more functional. In printed menus, laminated paper or wipeable surfaces may be preferred because of frequent contact and cleaning.

How is legibility achieved in a menu?

A menu is read in a dim setting, in a short time and often while chatting. That is why legibility comes before aesthetics:

1. Sufficient type size: Product names should be easy to read; descriptions can be smaller but should not strain the eye.
2. Strong contrast: Thin light-colored text on a dark background, or text written over a photo, gets lost in dim light.
3. Simple typeface: Decorative fonts should be limited to headings, and a clear typeface used for the product list.
4. Clear categories: The guest looks for the category first, then the product. Headings should be prominent and groups logical.
5. Short descriptions: Instead of describing each product in long sentences, it is enough to give the main ingredient and the difference in a few words.
6. Neatly aligned prices: Prices should be written aligned and consistently; dotted lines or scattered positions tire the eye.

In a QR menu, the small size of the screen is kept in mind: quick switching between categories, areas that are easy to tap with a finger, light images that load on a slow connection too, and a layout that does not require horizontal scrolling are important.

How does menu structure affect sales?

What stands where on the menu determines what the guest notices. Highlighting your signature products, high-margin products or new products with a box, icon or image draws attention. However, emphasizing everything means emphasizing nothing; the highlighted areas need to be kept limited. Very long menus make deciding harder and can lengthen service time. For this reason we recommend simplifying the product list together with you before starting the design. The size of these effects varies from business to business; menu design alone does not guarantee an increase in sales.

The menu is also a working tool for the service team. Having product names match the names used in the kitchen and at the till, writing menu combinations clearly and showing extra ingredient options clearly reduce order mistakes and the time spent explaining at the table. We recommend getting your service team's opinion during the design stage.

Multilingual menus let guests order comfortably in tourist areas or hotels. Since several languages on a printed menu can crowd the page, moving the languages to separate pages or to a language selection in the QR menu often gives a more legible result. We recommend that the business checks the accuracy of the translations.

Using the QR code correctly

• Point the code to a fixed web address instead of a PDF link that may change; let the content be updated at that address.
• On the table card, include a short instruction next to the code and, if needed, Wi-Fi details.
• Print the code at a sufficient size, with high contrast and with space around it.
• Before printing, test it with phones of different brands and in different lighting conditions.
• Keep at least one printed menu available for guests who do not want to use the QR menu.

On-site and online work

For businesses in Sakarya and the surrounding area, seeing the premises, lighting conditions, table layout and where the menu will sit on site directly affects the design. Type size and contrast choices differ between a dim restaurant and a cafe that gets daylight. With businesses across Turkey we run the process online, working from photos of the premises and the product list, and deliver print files and digital menu content online.

Common mistakes

• Approving the menu at a large size on screen and never trying it at actual size and in the venue's lighting.
• Correcting the printed menu by hand when prices change; this weakens the perception of the brand.
• Offering the QR menu only as a PDF file left on the table; guests have to zoom and scroll on the phone.
• Not keeping allergen and ingredient information up to date. The accuracy of this information is the business's responsibility.
• Using stock images that show products differently from what they are.
• Having different prices or product names on the printed menu, the QR menu and the wall board. When a change is made, all points need to be updated at the same time.