Bar and Coffee Shop Menu with a QR Code: Layout and Pricing Tips

A bar menu with a QR code is a drinks menu that opens on the guest's phone when they scan a code on the table or the counter. Done well, it helps people choose faster, makes upgrades easy to say yes to and lets them order the next round without waving at anyone.

This guide covers what is different about drinks: how to organize sections, how to price sizes and add-ons, how to run happy hour and how to check that each drink makes you money. It works the same for a cocktail bar, a pub or a coffee shop.

What you'll get

• A section order for bar and coffee shop menus that guides guests to your best drinks.
• A simple way to price sizes and add-ons so upgrades add up.
• A worked pour cost example in dollars you can redo with your own numbers.
• How to run happy hour and sold-out drinks on a QR menu.
• Where to put the QR code so guests actually scan it.

What makes a bar or coffee shop menu different?

Drinks are ordered more often and faster than food, and most of them come with a choice. Size, milk, an extra shot, a premium spirit: each of those is a small decision and a chance to earn a bit more.

A good bar or cafe menu makes those choices visible, with a price on each one. Guests should never need to ask "how much is it with oat milk?".

How should you organize the sections?

Lead with what you want to sell, then follow the way people order. A simple order that works for most places:

A few habits help your best drinks sell more:

• Put the drinks you're proudest of first, with a photo. The top of the first section is the first thing guests see.
• Keep sections short. Five to eight drinks per section is easy to scan on a phone.
• Give non-alcoholic drinks real names and the same care as cocktails, so drivers and non-drinkers order something better than water.
• Write one line of description that says how it tastes, like "smoky, bitter, orange peel".

How do you price sizes and add-ons?

Show sizes and extras as options on the drink, each with its own "+ price". In Acuolina these options are called Modifiers: you can make one required, like size, or optional, like extras.

Add pairings in the description too. A line like "Great with our loaded fries" under a beer gives guests an easy second item.

Worked example: is your margarita making money?

The number to watch is pour cost: what goes into one drink divided by its menu price. Here is an example with made-up prices. Use your own supplier prices.

At a menu price of $12, the pour cost is 2.60 ÷ 12 × 100 = about 22%. You keep about $9.40 to cover staff, rent and everything else.

Now the upgrade. A premium tequila at $45 a bottle costs $2.70 for the same pour, $1.20 more than the house one. If the menu says "Premium tequila +$3", every upgrade earns you $1.80 extra for no extra work.

Coffee works the same way. With made-up prices, a latte made with 18 g of beans from a $16 pound bag ($0.63), 8 oz of milk from a $4 gallon ($0.25) and a cup and lid ($0.20) costs $1.08. At $5, that's a cost of about 22%. Oat milk at $5 for 64 oz costs $0.38 more per latte, so "+$0.75" covers it with room to spare.

Pick a target cost for your place and check every drink against it. Drinks well above the target need a new price or a smaller pour.

How do you run happy hour and sold-out drinks?

Make happy hour its own section at the top of the menu, with the hours in its name, like "Happy hour 5 to 7 pm". Put the discounted drinks in it at their happy hour price.

When happy hour ends, hide the section. Hidden items stay saved in your menu but disappear from the public menu, so next day you just show it again. Do the same when a keg runs out or you're out of a syrup: hide the drink, and guests see the change the next time they open the menu.

Set your opening hours too. Outside them, guests can still read the menu, but orders only come in while you're open.

Can guests order a second round from the table?

Yes, and this is where a QR menu earns its keep in a busy bar. Guests scan the code, add drinks and send the order to your WhatsApp or by text message. Every dine-in order comes with the table number, and it shows up in your dashboard too.

When they want another round, they send a new order from the same menu, without waiting to catch someone's eye. For the full setup, read our guide to QR code table ordering.

Where should you put the QR code?

Put it where guests stand or sit, at eye level, with a short line like "Scan to see the menu and order".

• Tables: on your dashboard, Print table stand gives you a tent card that shows the code on both sides.
• Bar counter and window: the same tool prints round or square stickers, four per sheet, to stick on the counter, the window or a menu board.
• Coffee to go: put a code by the register so people in line can choose before they reach the front.

Use one code for everything. The code opens your menu page, so changing a price never means reprinting.

What mistakes should you avoid?

• A drinks list without prices on the extras. Guests skip upgrades they can't price.
• Thirty cocktails. A long list slows the bar and hides your best drinks.
• Forgetting the non-drinkers. A short non-alcoholic section keeps the whole table ordering.
• Prices that don't match. Keep the same prices on the QR menu, on Google and on Instagram.
• A QR code that opens a PDF. Guests have to pinch and zoom. Link it to a real menu page instead.

Next step

• Taking orders at the table? Read QR code table ordering.
• Making the code itself? See the QR code menu guide.
• Starting from scratch? Read our digital menu for restaurants guide.

Ready? Create your free Acuolina menu and print the QR code for your tables and counter. More guides are in QR menus.