QR code menu for restaurants and cafés in Saudi Arabia
Updated October 19, 2026
A Saudi QR code menu has to do more than list dishes. Prices must be in riyals with 15% VAT included, and SFDA rules for restaurant and café menus cover calories, caffeine, salt and allergens, on electronic menus as well as paper ones. Menuthere lets you add Arabic names, calories, caffeine and sodium to every dish, prints SFDA-style labels with a free tool, and takes orders from the table at 0% commission. One honest limit: Stripe doesn't open accounts in Saudi Arabia, so guests pay at the counter or on your card machine, not online.
In short
- Arabic first: type an Arabic name for each dish on any plan. On Lite, guests can switch the whole menu into Arabic.
- VAT included: ZATCA says prices announced to the public must include VAT. Mark dishes tax inclusive and checkout shows "VAT (included)".
- SFDA menu details: add calories, caffeine and sodium per dish, then print Arabic and English labels with the free SFDA calorie label maker.
- Payment at the counter: Menuthere has no online card checkout in Saudi Arabia and doesn't connect mada or STC Pay. Guests order by QR and pay your cashier.
- E-invoices: Menuthere doesn't issue ZATCA (FATOORA) e-invoices. Keep issuing them from your compliant POS.
What SFDA expects on a Saudi menu
SFDA's requirements for menus of restaurants and cafés took effect on 1 July 2025. They apply to paper menus, electronic menus and online ordering platforms, which includes a QR menu.
| SFDA item | What it means | How to do it with Menuthere |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | Calories for each item | Type Calories on each dish (every plan). Guests see them when they open the dish. |
| Allergens | Allergens labeled on the menu | Tag any of 14 allergens on each dish (every plan). |
| Caffeine | Caffeine in milligrams per 100 ml or per cup, plus a statement that adults should not exceed 400 mg a day | Type Caffeine on each drink. Add the 400 mg statement in your menu header or category description. |
| Salt | A salt icon on items with more than 5 g of salt (2,000 mg of sodium) | Type Sodium on each dish. The label maker turns the salt icon on above 2,000 mg. |
| Time to burn calories | An activity icon with the time needed to burn the item's calories | Not a Menuthere menu field. Add it with the label maker, which takes your own figure. |
The label maker can load the calories, sodium, caffeine and allergens you've already typed into Menuthere and gives you a printable sheet in Arabic and English. Check the current rules on SFDA's site before you print. See allergens and nutrition.
Arabic on the menu, the bill and the kitchen ticket
- Arabic dish names (every plan): add your Arabic name as the dish's second name. When a guest chooses Arabic, your name becomes the main one, spelled exactly as you typed it. See dish names in a second language.
- Arabic menu language (Lite): turn on the language button and set Arabic as the language the menu opens in. Guests can still switch to English, Hindi, Bengali, Malayalam and others. See menu in several languages.
- Arabic labels on bills and kitchen tickets (every plan): Order, Date, Subtotal, TOTAL and other labels print in Arabic. See print labels in Arabic.
VAT at 15%, included in the price
ZATCA's guidance says prices announced to the public must include VAT, and the Ministry of Commerce asks shops to display prices with VAT included. In Menuthere:
- Under
Settings → Payments & tax, switch on Charge tax on orders, enter 15% and your VAT number. - Switch on Call it VAT instead of GST, so checkout and bills say VAT.
- Mark each dish Tax Inclusive. SAR 18 on the menu stays SAR 18 at checkout, with a VAT (included) row for information.
See tax-inclusive prices.
E-invoicing: ZATCA's FATOORA rollout began on 4 December 2021 and its integration phase runs in waves from 1 January 2023. Menuthere's bills, including its bilingual Simplified Tax Invoice layout, are not ZATCA e-invoices. Use your ZATCA-compliant POS for the invoice, and Menuthere for the menu and the order.
Worked example: a Riyadh coffee order
Two guests order two lattes at SAR 18 each and one almond croissant at SAR 14. The lattes carry the caffeine line on the menu, here "150 mg per cup" as an example figure from your own recipe.
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Menu total, VAT included | SAR 50.00 |
| VAT inside the price (15/115) | SAR 6.52 |
| Guest pays at the counter (mada card or cash) | SAR 50.00 |
| Menuthere commission | SAR 0.00 |
Card-machine fees are set by your bank or acquirer, not by Menuthere. On the Free plan you get 50 QR orders a month. A busy café will need Lite (US$17 a month) for unlimited orders.
How guests pay without Stripe
Stripe's supported countries don't include Saudi Arabia. Menuthere supports Stripe outside India, so there is no online card checkout for Saudi stores today. QR ordering still works:
- Order at the table, pay at the counter. The order rings in your partner app and prints in the kitchen. The guest pays on your card machine or in cash, and you mark it paid.
- Your own payment link. Send a link from your bank or gateway for larger orders, such as catering.
- Tell us your gateway. Menuthere's request form lists HyperPay, Moyasar, Tap Payments, PayTabs and Checkout.com, among others. Requests decide which gateway is built next. See no Stripe in your country.
More detail: is Stripe available in Saudi Arabia?
Your QR on every Jahez, HungerStation and Keeta bag
A QR sticker in each delivery bag sends regulars to your own menu for pickup next time. On a SAR 80 delivery order, the commission is roughly:
| App | Commission on SAR 80 |
|---|---|
| HungerStation, about 15–25% | SAR 12–20 |
| Jahez, 17–18% (reported) | SAR 13.60–14.40 |
| Keeta, about 12–20% (entry rates) | SAR 9.60–16 |
| Your own Menuthere link | SAR 0 |
Rates are from our pages on HungerStation, Jahez and Keeta in Saudi Arabia. For your own delivery and pickup site, see the online ordering system for Saudi Arabia.
Set up your Saudi QR menu
- Sign up at /get-started and find your restaurant on Google.
- Import your menu from a photo or PDF and set the currency to SAR.
- Add Arabic names, calories, caffeine and sodium to each dish.
- Set VAT to 15%, call it VAT and mark dishes tax inclusive.
- Print SFDA labels with the label maker.
- Add your tables, download the codes and switch on Arabic bill labels.
Also opening in the UAE, where Stripe does work? See the QR code menu for the UAE. Plans are billed in US dollars: Free US$0, Lite US$17, Pro US$39 a month. See pricing.
FAQs
Does a QR menu in Saudi Arabia need calories?
SFDA's menu rules cover calories, allergens, caffeine, salt and the time to burn calories, and they apply to electronic menus and online ordering as well as paper menus. Add the figures to each dish in Menuthere.
Can my QR menu open in Arabic?
Yes. On Lite, set Arabic as the language your menu opens in. On any plan, add your own Arabic name to each dish so it reads exactly as you wrote it.
Must menu prices in Saudi Arabia include VAT?
Yes. ZATCA says prices announced to the public must include VAT, which is 15%. Mark your dishes tax inclusive in Menuthere.
Can guests pay online by mada from the QR menu?
No. Stripe doesn't open accounts in Saudi Arabia, and Menuthere doesn't connect mada or STC Pay. Guests order by QR and pay at the counter on your card machine.
Does Menuthere issue ZATCA e-invoices?
No. Keep issuing FATOORA e-invoices from your ZATCA-compliant POS. Menuthere handles the menu, the order and the kitchen ticket.
Is the QR code menu free in Saudi Arabia?
Yes. The Free plan includes the digital menu, table QR codes and up to 50 orders a month. Lite at US$17 a month adds unlimited orders and the Arabic language button.
Sources (7)
- SFDA, menu requirements for restaurants and cafés from 1 July 2025 (caffeine, salt icon, calorie-burn time; electronic menus and online platforms): sfda.gov.sa/en/news/17639 (accessed 19 Oct 2026)
- SFDA news, policies requiring restaurants to display calories and label allergens: sfda.gov.sa/en/news/18736 (accessed 19 Oct 2026)
- ZATCA, Guideline on professional services under VAT (15% rate; prices announced to the public must include VAT): zatca.gov.sa/en/HelpCenter/guidelines/Documents/Guideline-on-Professional-Services-under-VAT-Provisions.pdf (accessed 19 Oct 2026)
- Ministry of Commerce, Customer guide (price labels with VAT included): mc.gov.sa/en/guides/Documents/CustomerGuide.pdf (accessed 19 Oct 2026)
- ZATCA, E-invoicing roll-out phases (4 December 2021; waves from 1 January 2023): zatca.gov.sa/en/E-Invoicing/Introduction/Pages/Roll-out-phases.aspx (accessed 19 Oct 2026)
- Stripe global availability (Saudi Arabia not listed): stripe.com/global (accessed 19 Oct 2026)
- Menuthere commission pages: menuthere.com/en/delivery-app-commission/hungerstation-saudi-arabia, /jahez-saudi-arabia, /keeta-saudi-arabia (accessed 19 Oct 2026)