The comparison at a glance
| QR menu | Printed menu | |
|---|---|---|
| When a price changes | Edit it in minutes | Reprint |
| Photos | A photo for any dish you like | More pages, more printing cost |
| Arabic and English | The guest picks the language | The page gets crowded |
| Older guests | Some find it awkward | Familiar and comfortable |
| No signal or battery | Won’t open | Always works |
| Wear and hygiene | Only the card gets replaced | Gets stained and torn |
| A dish that’s run out | Remove it at once | Stays on the page |
When is paper better?
- A short, fixed menu that barely changes from year to year.
- Most of your guests are older, or it’s a family place where people like to hold the menu and talk it over.
- Weak signal in the venue, such as some basement restaurants, and no guest Wi-Fi.
- The menu is part of the experience, with its own design and special paper.
When is QR better?
- Prices change, or you have seasonal dishes and rotating drinks.
- A big menu that needs photos so guests understand what they’re ordering.
- Visitors from abroad, or guests who prefer to read in English.
- A café whose menu changes with every season.
Using both
Most places don’t need to choose:
- A code on every table, on a clear card that says “Scan for the menu” and shows the Wi-Fi name.
- A few laminated printed copies at the counter or with the waiters.
- Waiters offer the printed menu to older guests without waiting to be asked.
- The same content in both. When a price changes, update it online straight away, and on paper at the next print run.
What ruins a QR menu?
- A PDF that guests have to pinch and zoom to read.
- A slow page that takes ages to open.
- A scratched or tiny code, or one in a dark spot.
- A code from a free generator that stops working after a while or shows ads before the menu.
- No Wi-Fi, when the menu needs the internet.
A quick decision
Answer yes or no:
- Do my prices or dishes change more than once a year?
- Do I want photos of the dishes?
- Do I want the menu in Arabic and English?
- Do I have guest Wi-Fi, or good signal?
Three or more yeses: a QR menu is worth it, with a small printed stack for those who need it.
A menu that opens from a code and changes without reprinting
Sahtein is an online menu for restaurants and cafés: guests scan the code on the table and the menu opens on their phone, with photos, in Arabic and English, with no app. When a price or a dish changes, we update it for you and the same code keeps working, and you get print-ready table tents, stickers and a poster.
Questions
Do guests need an app to open a QR menu?
No. They scan the code with the phone camera and the menu opens in the browser like any web page.
What if a guest has no internet?
Print the Wi-Fi name and password on the same card as the code, and keep a printed copy at the counter.
Does a QR menu replace the waiter?
No. It saves the guest and the waiter from explaining dishes and prices, but welcoming, ordering and service are still people's work.
Can I change a price the same day?
With an online menu, yes. With Sahtein, we update the menu for you and the same QR code keeps working.
