Germans are not enthusiastic: Restaurant trend prevails

More and more restaurants are using digital menus that can be opened via QR code on a smartphone. However, many Germans still prefer printed menus.

Do you know this? You enter a restaurant hungry, look for a free seat and want to browse the menu straight away – but you can’t find it anywhere. After a quick search on and under the tables, a waiter comes to you and points out the QR code that is stuck in the middle of the table. If you scan the sticker with your smartphone camera, you can access the digital menu with just one click.

Menu on the smartphone: Germans prefer printed menu

Digitalization is advancing in many areas of life and is also leaving its mark on the restaurant industry. In some bars and cafés, for example, you can only pay by credit card. In addition, in some urban restaurants, similar to the museum during the Corona period, you have to book a slot for your visit online in advance. But one digital trend in particular seems to be gaining ground recently: QR code menus.

In a recent survey by POS and payment platform Lightspeed More than 7,500 restaurant visitors in Germany, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Canada, the USA and Great Britain were surveyed about their passions in gastronomy. The evaluations showed that the majority of Germans – more precisely 86 percent of the German respondents – still preferred printed menus.

Almost one in three Germans (35 percent) would even insist on receiving a printed menu if only QR codes were available. In France, the figure is 27 percent and in the USA, 37 percent. In upscale restaurants, the preference for printed menus would be even higher, according to the survey. Here, 90 percent of guests prefer the tactile version.

QR code menus: unwanted but still well used

Although the majority of German printed menus seem to be convincing, around 16 percent of those surveyed find QR code menus more convenient. In addition, 24 percent think they are household items. On the other hand, 31 percent of Germans do not like virtual menus, according to the survey. A full 6 percent of Germans surveyed even said they would leave the restaurant if there were only digital menus.