Digital menu: how to get it right

HTML, PDF or just a QR code: three formats compared

“Digital menu” means different things to different people. Some venues upload the printed menu as a PDF to the website. Others stick a QR code on the table that leads to a photo, a PDF or an app. The third format is a menu that sits on the website as ordinary text, divided into sections, with prices and allergens for every dish. The three differ a lot in loading time, readability and upkeep.

A PDF still has its place: as a download for groups choosing a menu for a party, or for guests who want to print the menu. As the only menu, though, it is the weakest solution. Which other content belongs on your website is covered in the guide Restaurant website: the 13 things your guests look for.

Why Google and guests prefer text

Guests do not only search for “restaurant Graz” but for “schnitzel near me”, “vegan breakfast Vienna” or “gluten-free pizza Munich”. For your venue to be a candidate for such searches, Google has to know which dishes you offer. Google can reliably read text on a website, understand it and match it to search queries. With a PDF or a photo of the menu this works less well or not at all. According to its own help pages, Google can even take menu data from your website into your Business Profile.

• Faster: text loads even with a weak signal in the beer garden or on the underground.
• More readable: the font size adapts, nobody has to zoom.
• Easier to find: dishes, ingredients and diets become search terms.
• Easier to share: guests send a link straight to the dessert menu or the lunch menu.
• More accessible: screen readers read the menu aloud, browser translation works.

More on how your menu helps you get found on Google is in the guide to local SEO for hospitality.

Keeping daily specials and the seasonal menu up to date

The biggest advantage of a text menu shows in everyday work: the lunch menu changes daily, the goulash has run out, asparagus season begins, prices go up. With a content management system (CMS) you change that in a minute from your phone. With a PDF it means: open the file, adjust the layout, export, upload, delete the old file. In practice, the old menu then often stays online for months, and guests are annoyed by dishes that no longer exist.

Allergens and prices: digital and printed alike

For allergens, Austria and Germany both apply the EU Food Information Regulation (LMIV), supplemented by national rules: in Austria the Allergeninformationsverordnung (Allergen Information Ordinance), in Germany the Lebensmittelinformations-Durchführungsverordnung (LMIDV, the national implementing ordinance). If you take online orders, the mandatory information under Art. 14 Abs. 2 LMIV must be provided before the order is completed. For the menu in the venue, the permitted formats differ between the two countries; the details are in the guides to allergen labelling for Austria and Germany.

For prices, the rule is: state final prices including VAT and any other surcharges. In Austria this is governed for hospitality by § 6 Preisauszeichnungsgesetz (Price Labelling Act), in Germany by § 13 Preisangabenverordnung (Price Indication Ordinance). Both require that guests can see prices before ordering, and a price list at the entrance, with exceptions for smaller businesses in Austria. More in the guides to price display for Austria and Germany. When you set new prices, the menu price calculator turns food cost, markup and VAT into a clean final price.

Using QR codes on the table properly

QR codes on tables have caught on: guests scan and immediately see the current menu, including daily specials and the wine list. That saves printing costs and wear. But a QR code is only as good as the page behind it. If it leads to a PDF that is barely readable on a phone, nobody is helped. So link directly to the menu on your own website, not to a third-party app that collects data or is shut down at some point.

Structured data: schema.org Menu

Structured data is a machine-readable description of your page in the background. For restaurants there is the type Restaurant with the property hasMenu, which points to a menu of the type Menu. That is divided into MenuSection (for example starters) and MenuItem (the individual dish), each with a name, a description, a price via offers and optionally a diet via suitableForDiet, such as vegan or gluten-free.

In its documentation on local businesses, Google recommends properties for restaurants such as menu (the address of your menu), servesCuisine (the cuisine), priceRange, opening hours and phone number. There is no guarantee of particular displays in the search results, but complete and correct data helps search engines and AI assistants classify your venue correctly. With Meine-Gastro-Website, this data is generated automatically from your menu.

Languages and accessibility

A digital menu can do what a printed one hardly manages: several languages without a thick folder. For tourists an English menu is a matter of course, depending on the region Italian, French or Czech too. Regional specialities such as Backhendl, Germknödel or Maultaschen keep their original names and get a short explanation. Allergens must be just as correct in every language as in the original.

• Font size at least as large as normal body text, no tiny small print.
• Contrast: dark text on a light background or the other way round, no text on busy photos.
• No text in images: dishes and prices as real text so screen readers can read them aloud.
• Clear structure with a heading per section so people can jump around.
• Symbols explained: vegan, spicy or homemade not only as an icon but also as text.

For online orders, the accessibility laws come into play, which have applied to many e-commerce services since June 2025; micro-enterprises providing services are exempt. What that means for your ordering shop is explained for Austria and Germany.

Checklist for your digital menu