Restaurant Menus

I’m not exactly what you would call a technophile. It took me years to stop printing my airline boarding passes, much to my wife’s chagrin.

But I am willing to acknowledge when technology makes life a little more convenient, even at the expense of long-established routines.

And so just as I’ve (finally) accepted mobile boarding passes, I have come to embrace QR codes for restaurant menus.

I know this might be an unpopular opinion. There are some who see those ugly little squares not just as a minor annoyance but as a threat to the Restaurant Experience.

I won’t dismiss these feelings as simply complaints from, well, customers of a certain generation. Because, again, I get it; I understand the appeal of holding a menu in my hands. (I particularly enjoy quietly judging a restaurant’s choice of typography.)

This is what we expect from dining out. It is a ritual. A comforting formality.

The same could be said of printed boarding passes. For whatever reason, I felt more comfortable with a piece of paper in my hands guaranteeing that I can board my flight. It was simply part of my airport routine — until I tried the mobile version. And now I’ll never go back.

For those who are skeptical of QR code menus, answer this question: What actual advantages do physical menus have over mobile versions?

Physical menus are often bulky and take up space on the table. They must be replaced when changed or overused.

Waiters must run around handing them out, collecting them, and then handing them out again if customers want to see dessert options.

Online menus, by contrast, are easy to access and update. They give restaurants more flexibility to experiment with food options.

I once went to a restaurant that let customers take a personality quiz on their phones to determine what cocktail best suited them.

Was it necessary or based in any sort of science? Absolutely not. But it was fun!…..

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/06/15/restaurant-qr-code-menus-good/