It’s a familiar scene in many pubs now. After taking a seat, searching for a menu, and waiting a little while, someone finds the small square that is either awkwardly adhered to the table or printed on a coaster. The menu is no longer a menu. It’s a QR code.
Originally created by Denso Wave in the 1990s to track auto parts, the little black and white grid has subtly permeated the pub experience. During the pandemic, it appeared virtually overnight. Scanning a phone appeared like the safest option, touching objects seemed suspicious, and paper menus felt dangerous all of a sudden.
No one voiced many complaints for a while. People were just relieved that bars were once again open. However, since then, something else has occurred. The crisis subsided. The codes did not change. The shift is noticeable in subtle ways on a wet Thursday night in a busy pub in London.
| Category | Information |
|---|---|
| Technology | QR Code (Quick Response Code) |
| Invented By | Denso Wave |
| Year Introduced | 1994 |
| Original Purpose | Tracking automotive parts in manufacturing |
| Pandemic Adoption | Widely adopted by restaurants and pubs during COVID-19 |
| Key Industry | Hospitality & Food Service |
Pints in hand, groups gather around wooden tables, but instead of handing along a menu, many are staring down at luminous screens. One person reads the menu aloud while scanning the code, while another person focuses on the drinks list because the lettering is so small.
Technically, it functions. However, there is a feeling that a small change has occurred. After all, menus were never merely lists of dishes. They were a part of the custom at many taverns. Beer descriptions on thick laminated papers. Behind the bar are chalkboards. The bartender leaned forward to recommend the house ale.
It feels a little weird to watch that exchange vanish and be replaced by a phone screen. Some bar owners claim that technology just makes things easier. They can add a new seasonal cocktail, delete sold out goods, and rapidly alter prices with digital menus without having to reprint anything. Reducing printing expenses is important in a company with narrow profit margins.
Additionally, there are operational advantages. Since the pandemic, there has been a staffing shortage in the hotel industry. Routine jobs require fewer employees when clients use their phones to explore menus and even make payments. The reasoning is obvious from a managerial standpoint. However, the bar is more than just a store. Social space comes first, followed by business.
People congregate at bars rather than placing online drink orders for a reason. The atmosphere is created by the sound of conversation, the clinking of glasses, and small talk with a bartender who remembers your routine. It can feel strangely impersonal when technology pushes itself too far into that area.
This tension has been noticed by several pub proprietors. One well known complaint from a New York cocktail bar owner was that QR menus encourage patrons to keep their phones out while enjoying beverages. The temptation is evident as soon as the phone is placed on the table. Messages are reviewed. Emails are responded to. The moment changes.
It’s difficult to ignore how easily a conversation can break down. Practical frustrations also exist. The slight nervousness of the situation is familiar to everyone who has attempted to order a drink with only 3% charge left. Others have trouble with outdated phones that won’t correctly scan the code or with bad WIFI. The procedure can be considerably more difficult for foreign tourists who do not have mobile data.
It doesn’t exactly make the evening more charming to watch someone continually point their camera at a QR sticker and wait for it to register. However, technology is not going away. Beyond just being convenient, restaurants and bars are finding new uses for digital menus.
During slower hours, some systems enable special pricing or real time menu modifications. Others gather client information, monitoring preferences and ordering patterns in ways that conventional menus could never.
That knowledge is useful from a business standpoint. However, it poses a subtle query regarding the future of hospitality. When a pub knows exactly what its clients drink and when they consume it, the experience becomes slightly more algorithmic.
Perhaps that is unavoidable. Perhaps it’s just the way contemporary services operate. Many businesses are experimenting with a compromise at the same time. For those who desire them, QR codes are placed on the table, but paper menus are still accessible. It’s a little move, but it represents a growing understanding that a good pub is defined by its atmosphere rather than just its convenience.
Eventually, QR codes might become just another instrument in the service process, blending in with the surroundings. In the same way that contactless payment used to seem futuristic, diners may become accustomed to scanning without giving it much thought.
There is a persistent question as one stands in a crowded pub and observes groups leaning over their phones rather than passing along a menu. During the pandemic, technology provided a solution. Whether it also produced a new one is still unknown.
Pubs have always prioritized people over screens. If QR codes continue to be used, owners will face a straightforward but challenging task: maintain convenience without allowing the phone to take over the table.
i) https://sundayapp.com/en-gb/common-barriers-to-adopting-qr-codes-in-restaurants-and-how-to-overcome-them/
ii) https://www.eater.com/22828068/qr-code-menu-trend-pros-cons
iii) https://www.theguardian.com/food/2023/may/23/off-the-menu-why-restaurants-are-ditching-qr-codes
iv) https://foodinstitute.com/focus/qr-codes-reliq-or-revolutionary/