Why Dubai Restaurants Kept QR Menus When the West Dropped Them, and What a Live Menu Adds

When the pandemic ended, many restaurants in the US and UK dropped QR menus. In Dubai the opposite happened. Fact Magazine reported on 6 September 2023 that Dubai venues were keeping and expanding QR menus. Their reasons are still useful if you are deciding whether to move your restaurant to a digital menu in Dubai.

What Dubai venues said

• The St. Regis Downtown Dubai general manager Vipin Khattar said many guests had grown accustomed to the method and that it also proved to be an environmentally friendly solution.
• Republic Adda Bar F&B head Hossam Belal said guests increasingly advocate sustainability and are more likely to choose green options. The report notes the bar saved around 7.4 kg of paper in 2022.
• The H Dubai said guests appreciate the convenience and ease of access.

The article also lists fewer waiting times for menus, quick updates and transparency on ingredients among the benefits, and notes that venues still help guests who prefer a printed menu.

The catch with a plain QR code

A QR code that opens a PDF solves the printing problem but not the maintenance problem. PDFs are slow to read on a phone, are hard to search, and need re-uploading whenever a price or dish changes. If the PDF is out of date, the QR code simply shows the old menu to more people.

What a live menu changes

• Edit from your phone. A sold-out dish can be hidden at once, a price corrected without reprinting.
• Readable on mobile. Categories, a search and a page per dish are easier than pinching a PDF.
• One link, many places. The same menu opens from a card, a social profile or a message.

Where Smaacaad fits

The Digital Menu Card is an NFC and QR card with your logo on one side and the menu QR on the other. It opens your live menu on dm-only.com, where you can edit a draft, preview it and publish from your phone. The card is AED 29 per piece at the time of writing; check the product page for the current price and for the plan options on dm-only.com.

A short checklist

• Keep a few printed menus for guests who ask.
• Put the card or QR on every table and at the entrance.
• Review the menu weekly: prices, photos, sold-out items.

Questions to ask about any menu platform

• Can I change a price myself, and how fast does it go live?
• What does the guest see if their connection is slow?
• Can I show allergen and dietary details clearly?

Those three answers tell you more than a feature list.

Make the switch gradually

Start with the busiest section, such as dinner or breakfast, and watch which questions guests still ask staff. Fix those in the menu first, then extend to the rest. A phased start lets your team learn the editing steps before every table depends on them.

Source: Fact Magazine, "QR code menus: The makeover that's sticking around in Dubai" (6 September 2023). It is an older article, so use it for the reasons venues gave rather than for current adoption figures.