Digital menus for restaurants: what they are and which one you need
A digital menu is a restaurant menu on a screen rather than paper: the guest’s phone after scanning a QR code, a tablet at the table, a screen above the counter, or a delivery app. Each suits a different kind of restaurant. For most sit-down restaurants and cafés in the UAE, a QR code menu is the cheapest place to start.
The four kinds of digital menu
| Kind | Guest sees it on | Suits | You need |
|---|---|---|---|
| QR code menu | Their own phone | Restaurants, cafés, lounges, hotels | Table cards with a QR code |
| Tablet menu | A tablet at the table | Venues that want ordering and upselling at the table | Tablets, charging, an ordering system |
| Digital menu board | Screens above the counter | Quick service, coffee counters, food courts | TV screens and display software |
| Delivery app menu | An aggregator’s app | Delivery and takeaway | An account with each app |
QaiMa makes the first kind: a QR code menu built from the same menu you print. It does not run menu screens or tablets, and it is not a delivery platform.
What a good digital menu does on a phone
The worst digital menu is a PDF of the printed card behind a QR code. The guest pinches and scrolls around an A4 page on a six-inch screen, in two languages at a small size. A menu built for the phone does the opposite:
- One language at a time, with a switch between English and Arabic.
- A section bar that jumps straight to Grills or Desserts.
- Search and dietary filters, so a guest avoiding nuts can hide those dishes.
- Sold-out marks set during service, so nobody orders what the kitchen has run out of.
- Short descriptions. Long ones that work on a printed page become a wall of text on a phone.
- Your brand: the colours and type of the printed menu, not a generic app screen.
Does a digital menu replace the printed one?
Usually not. Some guests will always ask for a paper menu, fine dining guests expect one, and a phone at the table is not the experience every restaurant wants. What a digital menu does replace is reprinting: when the hammour price goes up or a dish comes off, the digital menu changes that evening and the printed menu can wait for the next print run.
The trouble starts when the two are separate. Typed into one system for print and another for the QR code, they drift apart, and the guest sees one price on paper and another on the phone. Keep one source for both.
Digital menus and UAE rules
- VAT-inclusive prices. The Federal Tax Authority requires prices displayed to consumers to include VAT, on a screen as on paper.
- Calories and allergens. Where you show them on the printed menu, show them on the digital one too. See menu design in Dubai for the calorie guidance.
- Arabic. A digital menu can offer Arabic without making the page twice as long, since the guest picks the language.
How to set up a digital menu
- Start from your printed menu. Paste the dishes and prices in; there is no need to type them twice.
- Pick a design. The digital menu takes the colours and type of the template you choose.
- Add Arabic if you serve Arabic-speaking guests, and review the translations.
- Publish and give the menu a readable link.
- Print a QR code for each table, so orders and view numbers show which table they came from.
The details, including WhatsApp ordering and what the view statistics show, are on the QR code menu page.
Digital menu questions
What is a digital menu?
A digital menu is a restaurant menu shown on a screen instead of paper: on the guest's own phone after scanning a QR code, on a tablet at the table, on a TV screen above a counter, or on a delivery app. Unlike a printed menu, it can be changed without reprinting.
What is the cheapest digital menu for a restaurant?
A QR code menu. Guests use their own phones, so there is no hardware to buy, and the table cards cost little to print. QaiMa's QR code menu is free during early access.
Is a digital menu better than a printed menu?
It is better at change: prices, sold-out dishes and new items update at once. A printed menu is better at the table experience, and some guests prefer it. Most restaurants in the UAE keep both, which works well when both come from the same source and never disagree.
Do digital menu prices in the UAE have to include VAT?
Yes. The Federal Tax Authority's rule that prices shown to consumers must include VAT applies to a menu on a screen as much as to paper.
Can a digital menu take orders?
Some can. Tablet and full ordering systems send orders to the kitchen and take payment. QaiMa's QR menu lets guests build an order and send it to your WhatsApp; it does not take payment or connect to a POS.
Publish a digital menu from the menu you already have. Free while we're in early access.