QR Digital Menus in Greece: Allergens, Prices, Languages, and What a PDF Menu Gets Wrong

A good QR menu in Greece is a fast web page, not a PDF. It opens in the phone’s browser without an app, shows current prices including VAT, marks the 14 EU allergens on every dish, opens in the guest’s language, and lets you change prices or mark a dish sold out from your own phone without reprinting the code. What it should not do is replace the price list that Greek market rules expect at the entrance and before ordering, which we recommend keeping on paper, or act as your ordering or tax system.

Since 2020, QR codes have become normal on tables from Thessaloniki to the islands. Many of them still open a photographed or exported PDF: tiny text, Greek only, prices from last season, and no allergen information at all. A guest from Munich with a nut allergy, sitting at a beach bar in Paralia on a weak 4G signal, gets very little from that.

This guide is about the menu inside the venue, the one people open at the table. If you are planning the wider website for a restaurant or taverna, our restaurant website guide covers bookings, Google Business Profile and photography. Here we focus on allergens, price-list rules, languages, printing the code, accessibility and privacy.

What a QR menu is, and what it is not

A QR menu is a way to show your menu on the guest’s phone. Scan the code, read the menu, call the waiter. That is the whole job, and it is a useful one: the menu is always current, readable in several languages and costs nothing to reprint.

It is not an ordering system, a payment system or a fiscal device. In Greece, food-service order slips have their own rules. AADE decision A.1126/2024 sets the content of the “ΔΕΛΤΙΟ ΠΑΡΑΓΓΕΛΙΑΣ ΕΣΤΙΑΣΗΣ” document type, which is issued electronically, for example through a certified e-invoicing provider, and carries its own QR code. That code has nothing to do with the one on your table card. If you later want guests to order from their phones, that order has to flow into your till, POS or provider and the fiscal process behind it. Talk to your accountant and your POS supplier before adding it; do not bolt it onto a menu page.

Greek price-list rules still apply to a digital menu

Price lists in Greek food service are governed by the market rules known as Κανόνες ΔΙΕΠΠΥ, ministerial decision 91354/2017 (Government Gazette Β΄ 2983), as amended. The consolidated text is on the General Secretariat of Commerce website. Articles 69 to 74 cover restaurants, fast-food outlets, tavernas, cafés, entertainment venues and similar businesses, with some specific rules for traditional kafeneia and hotels. In plain terms:

• Enough price lists for all items, written in Greek; other languages are optional extras.
• Before ordering: every customer must be given the price list before they order.
• At the entrance: restaurants must post a price list in a visible place at the entrance. Traditional kafeneia post it inside; hotels at the entrance to the dining room.
• People with disabilities: the business must make sure the price list information reaches them too.
• Final prices: à la carte items are listed with prices including VAT.
• Portion or kilo: dishes are sold per portion or by weight, and items sold by weight are marked “με το κιλό”. For fish, the weight in raw form and the final price must be known before the guest eats, with weighing in their presence.
• Mandatory words: “Κατεψυγμένο” for frozen products, “Προμαγειρευμένο” or “Προτηγανισμένο” where they apply, and the type of oil used and how. Packaged drinks show the product and its volume in ml.
• No κουβέρ: no charge for tableware, cutlery or napkins, and nothing, bread included, may be served and charged without the customer’s prior consent. A minimum spend must be stated visibly on the price list.

Inspectors do check this. In October 2026, the regional development directorate in Argolida fined a grill house in Argos €1,500, €500 for each of three items listed without the “κατεψυγμένο” indication (Anagnostis). The same rule applies on a phone screen. On the frozen indication specifically, the text allows it per item or per group of items, provided the customer can clearly tell which items it covers. A lone asterisk with a footnote at the bottom of a long scrolling page is risky; putting the word next to the dish is safer.

Can a QR code replace the printed price list?

We could not find a clear official answer. Articles 70 and 71, as published on the ministry’s site, speak of price lists that are posted at the entrance and made available to every customer before ordering. The only mention of an online setting is in Article 72(3), on takeaway orders, where the price list can be shown in the physical or online space where the order is placed. Nothing in these articles says that a QR code can stand in for the price list for guests eating in, and we found no ministry guidance that settles the point. Not every guest has a phone with battery and data, and the rules oblige you to reach people with disabilities as well.

Our practical advice: keep a printed, up-to-date price list at the entrance and enough printed copies for customers who ask, and use the QR menu as the convenient extra that most people will choose. When prices change, update both on the same day. A digital menu that you manage centrally makes that easier, because the printout can come from the same data.

Allergens: what EU and Greek rules expect

Under Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011, allergen information is mandatory even for food that is not prepacked, which covers everything a café or restaurant serves. Article 44 makes the allergen particulars of Article 9(1)(c) compulsory for non-prepacked food, and lets each member state decide how that information is provided. Annex II lists the 14 allergens, summarised by EFSA:

• Cereals containing gluten (wheat, rye, barley, oats), crustaceans, eggs, fish, peanuts, soybeans, milk.
• Tree nuts (such as almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, pistachios), celery, mustard, sesame seeds.
• Sulphur dioxide and sulphites above 10 mg/kg or 10 mg/litre, lupin, molluscs.

In Greece, the detail is set by joint ministerial decision 1412/31883/2019 on allergen information for non-prepacked food, which covers restaurants and cafés. The information must be in Greek, other languages may be added, and it must be readable and available before the food is sold or served. Each allergen is named as in Annex II after the word “contains” (“περιέχει”), and the same applies where an allergen may be present through cross-contact. Symbols are allowed only alongside the allergen names, not instead of them. The decision lists ways to give the information, including the price lists, signs per type of food, and printed or electronic material available to the customer. Oral information is allowed only if three conditions are all met: a visible sign inside points customers to the information or to the staff, the information is also available in printed or electronic form on the premises, and it is given before the sale by suitably trained staff or an electronic means. In a July 2025 statement, EFET repeated that businesses selling unpackaged food must be able to inform customers through the menu, signs or even orally.

So a QR menu is not the only lawful way to give allergen information, but it is one of the best, because it can show the right allergens per dish, in the guest’s own language, at the moment they choose. Some practical rules:

• Name the allergens on each dish, for example “Contains: milk, nuts”. Icons help guests scan the page, but use them next to the names, not instead of them.
• Keep the allergen data with the recipe, not in the translation. When the kitchen swaps the pesto for one with cashews, one change should update every language.
• Say plainly where cross-contact is possible, for example a shared fryer, since the Greek rules cover that too, and invite guests with allergies to speak to staff.
• Keep the in-person route working: a sign inside, and staff on every shift who can answer questions.

Why a PDF QR menu falls short

The quickest QR menu is a PDF of the printed one. It is also the weakest. A PDF is laid out for an A4 page, so on a phone guests pinch, zoom and scroll sideways. The browser’s built-in translation usually does not work on it, so the German or Serbian guest is stuck with Greek or with your one English page. Screen readers struggle with most exported PDFs. And every price change means a new file, and on some free QR services, a new code.

That last row is why the printed price list stays. The other rows are why the QR should open a web page.

Languages for Greek tourist areas

The menu is where language problems cost money: the wrong dish, a returned plate, a guest who orders only a beer because they cannot work out the rest. A web menu can open automatically in the language the phone is set to, with a visible switch for guests who prefer another. Greek must always be there, because the price list has to be in Greek.

• Choose languages from your actual guests, not a list of flags. On the Pieria coast that often means English, German, Serbian, Bulgarian or Romanian; on Crete or Corfu the mix is different.
• Have translations checked by a person who knows food. Machine translation turns “μπουγιουρντί” into nonsense.
• Keep Greek dish names and add a short explanation: “Bougiourdi: baked feta with tomato and chilli”.
• Keep prices, sizes and allergens in one place so that no language version can show a different price.

Prices, sizes, sold-out dishes and photos

Most of the value of a digital menu comes from small details that a PDF cannot handle.

• Prices per size: single and double espresso, 330 ml and 500 ml draught, half and full portion, each with its own price on the same line.
• By the kilo: fish and meat by weight show the per-kilo price and “με το κιλό”, and staff still weigh in front of the guest.
• Sold out: mark a dish as sold out rather than deleting it, so regulars see it exists and nobody orders it. Hide it completely if it is off for the season.
• Photos, sparingly: a few signature dishes help; a photo on every line slows the page on weak data and makes the menu longer to scroll. Use your own photos, compressed.
• Opening hours, Wi-Fi, call and directions at the top. Guests scan the code for the Wi-Fi password as often as for the menu.

Printing and placing the QR code

A QR code that does not scan in evening light is worse than no code. Most failures are printing problems, not software ones.

• Point the code at an address you control, ideally your own domain or a permanent link from your menu provider, so you never have to reprint. Some free QR generators route scans through their own servers and can stop working when a trial ends.
• Leave a clear margin. The QR specification from its inventor, Denso Wave, requires a quiet zone four modules wide on every side, so do not crop it tight or print a pattern behind it.
• Dark on light, high contrast. Black on white or cream is safest; avoid inverted, light-on-dark codes and metallic inks.
• Big enough for the distance. Test the printed card from the guest’s seat with an older phone, in low light, before ordering a hundred of them.
• Matte lamination or a sturdy stand, so the code survives wet glasses and does not reflect the sun on a terrace.
• Print a short address under the code, such as yourcafe.gr/menu, for phones that will not scan, and a line saying “Printed menu available on request”.
• One per table, and one at the entrance next to the posted price list, so people can browse before sitting down.

Accessibility is part of the menu

The Greek price-list rules already require you to make the information available to people with disabilities, and a well-built web menu helps. Use real text rather than images of text, so it can be enlarged and read aloud. Aim for the WCAG contrast minimum of 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text; pale grey prices on a beige background fail. Let guests zoom, make buttons large enough for a thumb, and give allergen icons text labels so a screen reader announces “contains milk”, not “image”.

Whether the European Accessibility Act applies to your menu depends on what it does and the size of your business; our EAA guide for Greek websites explains the scope. Either way, an accessible menu is also easier for everyone reading in a hurry on a sunny terrace.

Privacy, and the analytics that matter

A menu does not need to know who your guests are. It should open without an account, a phone number or an email address, and it should not load advertising or social-media trackers. Under EU rules, storing or reading information on a visitor’s device, which covers cookies and similar techniques, needs consent unless it is strictly necessary for the service they asked for. The EDPB’s Guidelines 2/2023 explain how far that rule reaches; in Greece it is set out in Article 4(5) of Law 3471/2006, as replaced by Article 170 of Law 4070/2012. A cookie banner on a menu is a sign that something on the page is collecting more than it needs.

You can still learn a lot from simple, aggregate counts that do not identify anyone. The numbers worth watching are:

• Menu opens by day and hour, to compare with your sales and staffing.
• Language split, to decide which translations deserve more care next season.
• Most viewed sections and dishes, compared with what actually sells.
• How often items go sold out, which is usually a purchasing or prep problem.

Combined with till data, this is the start of a useful small-business KPI dashboard. Ask your provider exactly what is collected and where it is stored, and keep any analytics within what your privacy notice says.

QR menu setup checklist

1. The QR opens a web page, not a PDF, and loads quickly on mobile data.
2. The code points to a permanent address you control, with a short URL printed underneath.
3. Every dish shows its price including VAT, with sizes or “με το κιλό” where relevant.
4. “Κατεψυγμένο”, “Προμαγειρευμένο” or “Προτηγανισμένο” appear next to the items they apply to, and the oil type is stated.
5. The 14 allergens are named per dish (“Contains: …”) in every language, with any icons next to the names, and possible cross-contact is stated.
6. Greek is always available; other languages are human-checked and share one set of prices and allergens.
7. Sold-out and seasonal items can be changed from a phone during service.
8. A printed, current price list is posted at the entrance, and printed copies are available for customers.
9. A sign inside invites guests with allergies to ask staff, and someone on every shift can answer.
10. Text contrast, zoom and screen-reader labels have been checked.
11. No advertising or tracking cookies; any analytics are aggregate and covered by your privacy notice.
12. The printed card has been test-scanned from the seat, at night, with an older phone.

How Orya One can help

We are a software house in Paralia Katerinis, and we built Orya One Menu for exactly this job. Each venue gets one QR code that is printed once and never changes, with ready table cards to print from the dashboard. You change prices and dishes from your phone, mark items sold out with one tap, and every table sees the latest menu straight away. Guests read it in Greek, English and up to eight languages, with the menu opening in their phone’s language, and the 14 EU allergens are marked on every dish. Opening hours, Wi-Fi, calling and directions sit at the top, and it opens on any phone without an app. There is a live demo menu on the project page.

If you also need a website, a booking system or a link to your back office, see what we do for restaurants and cafés. Quotes are fixed and in writing, and you work directly with the people building it. If you already have a site or a QR menu and want an honest view of it, ask for our free website check: a written report on speed, phones, Google and accessibility. Or simply tell us about your venue.