A free digital menu for UK restaurants, cafés and pubs

A digital menu is your menu on the guest's own phone. They scan a QR code on the table or tap a link, and your menu opens in the browser. There's no app to download and no screen to buy. With Menuthere you can build a digital menu free, change prices in seconds, mark dishes sold out, and take orders with 0% commission.

Create your free digital menuBook a demo (opens in a new tab)

What is a digital menu?

"Digital menu" means three different things in the UK. Most of the confusion in search comes from mixing them up.

Menuthere does the first one: a digital menu on the guest's phone. We don't sell screens, boards or kiosks.

If you're weighing up screens behind the counter, read our guide to digital menu boards vs QR menus. It compares the costs and when each one makes sense. Many venues use both: a board for the queue and a QR menu for the tables.

Why UK venues are moving to a digital restaurant menu

Change prices without reprinting

Supplier prices go up. The VAT rate on a dish can change between eat-in and takeaway. With a printed menu, every change means a reprint. With a digital menu, you edit the price and it's live on every table at once.

Worked example (use your own printer's quote):

The £3 per menu is an example figure, not a quote. Plug in your own numbers. Most owners still keep a few printed menus for guests who prefer paper.

Mark dishes sold out in real time

When the kitchen runs out of the Sunday roast, switch it off. It disappears from the menu straight away. No more "sorry, we're out of that" after the guest has decided.

Allergen information one tap away

The Food Standards Agency's best-practice guidance (February 2025) says allergen information should be available in writing and backed up by a conversation. For menus online, it suggests the information should be on the main menu or "one click away". A digital menu makes that easy. On Menuthere, you tag the 14 allergens, calories and halal on each dish, and guests see them when they open it, in every menu layout. More on this in the UK rules section below.

Photos, translations and less guesswork

Guests see what the dish looks like. On Lite and above, your menu can be translated automatically into 13 languages, including Spanish, Arabic, Chinese and Japanese, which helps in tourist areas and university towns.

Orders, not just a menu

A paper menu stops at reading. A Menuthere digital menu can also take the order, for dine-in, collection or delivery. That's where it pays for itself.

What you get with a Menuthere digital menu

• Import your current menu. Upload a photo or PDF of it. AI reads the dishes and prices, and you check them before saving. You can also import from GloriaFood.
• Unlimited items and photos. Sizes (regular, large), add-ons and required choices, each with its own price.
• Sold-out switch for a dish, a size or a whole category.
• Dishes shown at set times, such as breakfast until 11:30. See menu management.
• QR codes on the Free plan. Print them on a table QR card or a sticker.
• Own domain, all themes and brand colours, and a multi-language menu on Lite and above.
• Ordering built in: dine-in table ordering, collection and delivery from one menu.
• Table ordering with bill joining. Repeat orders from the same table join one open bill. See table ordering system.
• Order alerts in the dashboard, on your phone through the partner app (it rings until accepted) and on a kitchen printer. Unlimited staff logins.
• Payments through your own Stripe account on Lite and above. On Free: cash, pay at the counter, payment links or bank details. Menuthere takes 0% commission. Stripe charges its own fee.
• Allergens and nutrition on every dish (every plan, including Free). Tag any of the 14 UK allergens, the calories (kcal) and a halal mark. Guests see them when they open a dish, and the menu list shows "kcal · N allergens". Keep a full allergen matrix too: it can load your dish allergens from Menuthere.

Digital menu vs PDF menu vs printed menu

A PDF behind a QR code is technically a digital menu. But it's a poor one. It's hard to read on a phone, and it can't take orders.

UK rules your digital menu still has to follow

Going digital doesn't change the law. It just makes it easier to keep up.

1. Prices include VAT. Show the price the guest actually pays. Hot takeaway food is standard-rated (20%). Most cold takeaway food is zero-rated. Eat-in food is standard-rated. Our VAT on takeaway food guide explains the rates.
2. The 14 allergens. You must tell guests if any of the 14 regulated allergens are in a dish. The FSA recommends written information plus a conversation. Add a short signpost line at the top of the menu. Keep a printed allergen matrix as a back-up: the FSA guidance says digital information needs an alternative for guests who can't use it, and a fallback if the tech fails.
3. Distance selling. For collection and delivery orders, allergen information must be available before the order is placed and again when the food is handed over. A sticker or a printed note in the bag works.
4. Calories (England, 250+ staff). Businesses with 250 or more employees must show kcal per portion and the statement "Adults need around 2000 kcal a day". This applies to online menus too. Smaller venues can do it voluntarily. On Menuthere, enter the kcal on each dish: it shows on the menu list and when a guest opens the dish. Add the "2000 kcal a day" statement to your menu yourself.
5. Service charge. If you add a discretionary service charge, say so clearly on the menu. A compulsory charge should be built into your prices. See the wording examples in our menu templates guide.
6. No card surcharges. Adding a fee for paying by consumer card has been banned in the UK since January 2018.

How to create a digital menu in 5 steps

1. Sign up free at menuthere.com/en/get-started. The Free plan needs no card.
2. Import your menu. Upload a photo or PDF of your current menu. Check the dishes and prices the AI reads.
3. Add the details. Photos, sizes, add-ons, and tag each dish's allergens and calories. Add your allergen signpost line.
4. Print your QR codes. Download them and put them on tables, the bar, the counter and takeaway bags.
5. Turn on ordering when ready. Start with a view-only menu if you like. Then switch on table orders, collection or delivery.

A basic menu can be live in a few minutes. Photos, allergen tags and checking every price take longer, so set aside an afternoon.

Digital menu app or software: do guests need to download anything?

No. Guests scan the QR code and the menu opens in their phone's browser. No app, no login. That matters: many guests won't download an app for one meal.

You and your staff use the Menuthere dashboard and the partner app for order alerts. That's the "digital menu software" side.

How to choose the best digital menu ordering app for your venue

Ask these questions of any provider, including us:

• Is there a commission per order? Menuthere: 0% on every plan.
• Can guests order and pay, or only read? Reading only is a missed sale.
• Does it need an app download? It shouldn't.
• Can you change prices and sold-out items yourself, instantly?
• Can you show allergen information per dish? Menuthere: yes, on every plan.
• Whose payment account is it? With Menuthere, the money goes to your own Stripe account.
• What happens if you leave? Menuthere keeps your data on downgrade. You can cancel anytime.

What does a digital menu cost?

Plans are billed in US dollars; your bank converts it. Yearly billing gets 2 months free. See all plans.

Want your own app in the App Store and Google Play as well, under your name? That's the Branded App plan (US$99 a month). See the Branded App page.

A digital menu for your kind of venue

• Cafés: breakfast menu until 11:30, then lunch. Guests order at the table and you skip the queue at the till.
• Pubs: food and drinks on one QR code per table. Rounds join the same tab with bill joining. See order and pay at the table.
• Restaurants: photos and translations for tourists. Specials switched on and off by the kitchen.
• Takeaways: the same menu works as your online ordering system for collection and delivery, without paying app commission.
• Hotels: add each room as a "table" (for example with the name prefix "Room"), so room-service orders arrive with the room number.

Your menu, on every phone, today. Want a walk-through first?

Create your free digital menuBook a demo (opens in a new tab)

Still using paper? Start with one of our free menu templates or the printable menu maker. Then put the same menu online.