The Complete Guide to Creating a Multilingual QR Menu

The Business Case for Multilingual Menus

A tourist walks into your restaurant, scans the QR code on the table, and sees a menu entirely in a language they do not speak. They squint at unfamiliar words, try to guess what each dish might be, and eventually point at something random or leave altogether. This scenario plays out thousands of times every day in restaurants worldwide, and it is entirely preventable.

Multilingual menus are not a luxury feature for internationally acclaimed fine dining establishments. They are a practical tool for any restaurant that serves guests who speak different languages — which, in most cities, is virtually every restaurant. Tourism accounts for billions of dollars in annual restaurant spending globally, and even in smaller towns, immigrant communities, business travelers, and exchange students represent a meaningful portion of the dining public.

Scan2Order supports 31 languages out of the box, making it one of the most comprehensive multilingual menu platforms available. But having the capability is only half the equation. Knowing how to use it effectively is what separates a genuinely welcoming multilingual experience from a confusing, error-filled mess that does more harm than good.

When to Offer Translations

Not every restaurant needs 31 languages on day one. Adding languages costs time (for review and quality assurance), so you should be strategic about which ones you prioritize. Here is how to decide.

Analyze Your Current Customer Base

Start with data you already have. If you use Scan2Order's analytics, check the browser language settings of your visitors. This tells you exactly which languages your guests' devices are set to, which is a strong proxy for their preferred language. If 15% of your scans come from devices set to Mandarin Chinese, that is a clear signal.

If you do not have analytics data yet, observe your floor. Ask your servers which tables struggle with the menu. Check review sites — guests who had language difficulties often mention it in their reviews.

Consider Your Location

Geography dictates language priorities:

• Tourist districts — prioritize the languages of your top visitor nationalities. For a restaurant in Barcelona, that likely means English, French, German, Italian, and Japanese. For a venue in Bangkok, think English, Mandarin, Japanese, Korean, and Russian.
• Airport and hotel zones — the broadest possible language coverage pays off here because your clientele is maximally diverse.
• Business districts — English is often sufficient as a second language in most international business contexts, but adding Mandarin, Japanese, or Arabic can set you apart for corporate dining.
• Residential neighborhoods — focus on the languages spoken by local communities. A restaurant in a neighborhood with a large Vietnamese population benefits more from Vietnamese translation than from Swedish.

The Rule of Three

As a starting point, most restaurants benefit from three languages: their local language, English (the most common second language worldwide), and one additional language based on their specific guest demographics. You can always add more later. Starting with three keeps the initial effort manageable and lets you establish a quality standard before scaling.

Automatic Translation vs. Manual Translation

Scan2Order offers automatic translation powered by machine translation engines. This is a powerful time-saver, but it comes with trade-offs you need to understand before relying on it exclusively.

When Automatic Translation Works Well

Machine translation has improved dramatically in recent years and handles certain content reliably:

• Simple, descriptive item names — "Grilled Chicken Breast," "Tomato Soup," "Chocolate Cake" translate accurately in virtually every language pair.
• Ingredient lists — straightforward enumeration of ingredients ("tomatoes, mozzarella, basil, olive oil") translates cleanly.
• Standard category names — "Appetizers," "Main Courses," "Desserts," "Beverages" have well-established equivalents in all major languages.
• Allergen and dietary labels — "Contains gluten," "Vegan," "Nut-free" are standardized terms that machine translation handles correctly.

When Manual Translation Is Essential

Certain types of menu content require a human touch — ideally a native speaker of the target language who also understands food culture:

• Creative dish names — if your signature burger is called "The Barnyard Brawl," a machine will produce a literal translation that makes no sense or sounds absurd in another language. A human translator can adapt it to something culturally appropriate.
• Evocative descriptions — "A velvety bisque of roasted butternut squash, kissed with sage and finished with a swirl of crème fraîche" requires a translator who can write appetizing copy, not just convert words.
• Regional dish names — dishes like "Pad Kra Pao," "Wiener Schnitzel," or "Moules-frites" should often be kept in their original language with an explanatory translation rather than fully translated.
• Humor, wordplay, or cultural references — these never survive machine translation. Either adapt them for each culture with a human translator or remove them from translated versions entirely.

The Recommended Hybrid Approach

The most efficient workflow for most restaurants combines both methods:

1. Run automatic translation on your entire menu to generate a first draft in each target language.
2. Review the output for every item. Flag anything that looks awkward, wrong, or culturally inappropriate.
3. Manually correct flagged items. For critical content (dish names, descriptions of your signature items, allergen warnings), have a native speaker review and rewrite as needed.
4. Leave simple items as-is if the automatic translation is accurate. There is no point in paying for a human translation of "Orange Juice."

This hybrid approach gives you 80% of the coverage at 20% of the cost of fully manual translation, while ensuring that the items that matter most read naturally to native speakers.

Cultural Pitfalls in Menu Translation

Translation is not just about language — it is about culture. Getting the words right but the cultural context wrong can be just as off-putting to guests as a bad translation. Here are the most common pitfalls and how to avoid them.

Ingredient Sensitivity

Ingredients that are perfectly normal in one culture can be offensive, taboo, or simply unappetizing in another. This does not mean you should remove items from your menu, but your translations should be thoughtful about emphasis:

• Pork and alcohol — for Arabic, Turkish, Malay, and Indonesian translations, clearly label items containing pork or alcohol-based ingredients. Do not bury these details in a long description. Many guests scanning in these languages specifically look for this information.
• Beef — for Hindi translations, be aware that many (though not all) Hindi-speaking guests avoid beef. Clear labeling helps them navigate your menu confidently.
• Raw preparations — dishes like steak tartare or raw oysters may need additional context in translations for cultures where eating raw meat or seafood is less common.

Measurement and Portion Description

How you describe portions and measurements should adapt to the target audience:

• Use metric measurements (grams, milliliters) for most international audiences. Imperial measurements (ounces, cups) are only intuitive to guests from the United States, Liberia, and Myanmar.
• Avoid culturally specific portion references. A "generous Southern portion" means nothing to a guest reading your menu in Japanese. Use concrete descriptions instead: "350g grilled ribeye."

Formality and Tone

Languages vary enormously in how formal or casual they can be, and the appropriate register for a restaurant menu differs by culture:

• Japanese — menus typically use polite, formal language. Casual phrasing can come across as disrespectful.
• German — a moderate level of formality is expected. Overly casual copy feels unprofessional.
• Brazilian Portuguese — a warmer, more conversational tone is often welcome and can make guests feel at home.
• Arabic — Modern Standard Arabic reads formally; consider whether your target guests speak a specific dialect and whether a more conversational approach is appropriate.

When in doubt, err on the side of slightly more formal. A menu that sounds a bit stiff is far less damaging than one that sounds disrespectful or sloppy.

Flag Icons vs. Language Dropdown: The Interface Decision

How guests switch between languages on your menu affects usability more than most restaurant owners realize. There are two common patterns, and each has clear advantages and disadvantages.

Flag Icons

Displaying small national flag icons (a British flag for English, a French flag for French, and so on) is the most visually intuitive approach. Guests can identify their language at a glance without reading any text. However, flags carry significant problems:

• Languages are not countries. Which flag represents Spanish — Spain, Mexico, Argentina, Colombia? Which flag represents English — the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia? Every choice alienates someone.
• Political sensitivity. Flags carry political meaning. Displaying a specific flag can be unwelcoming to guests from regions with political tensions related to that country.
• Portuguese is a common offender. Using the Portuguese flag excludes Brazilian guests psychologically, and vice versa — even though the language is mutually intelligible.
• Chinese variants. Simplified Chinese is associated with mainland China, Traditional Chinese with Taiwan and Hong Kong. Flag choices here are especially loaded.

Language Name Dropdown

A text-based dropdown or list that shows language names (written in their own script) avoids all flag-related issues. "Deutsch," "Français," "Italiano" are neutral, unambiguous, and respectful. The drawback is that guests must be able to recognize their language name in written form, which is rarely a problem for literate adults.

The Best Practice

Scan2Order uses a language selector approach that prioritizes clarity and neutrality. The recommended configuration is to display language names in their native script. This is the approach used by the United Nations, the European Union, and most international organizations because it is maximally inclusive and minimally controversial.

If you strongly prefer a visual element, consider using simple two-letter language codes (EN, DE, FR, JA) alongside or instead of flags. These are neutral and universally recognized in international contexts.

Keeping Multilingual Content Accurate Over Time

The hardest part of multilingual menus is not the initial translation — it is maintenance. Menus change constantly. Prices shift, seasonal items rotate, new dishes launch, descriptions get refined. Every change needs to propagate across all active languages, and this is where most multilingual menus fall apart.

Establish an Update Workflow

Define a clear process for how menu changes reach all languages:

1. Make the change in your primary language first. This is your source of truth.
2. Flag the item for re-translation. Scan2Order can help you identify which items have been modified in the primary language but not yet updated in other languages.
3. Apply automatic translation to the changed items for a quick first pass.
4. Review translated changes before publishing. Even if the original change was minor (like a price update), verify that the automatic translation did not introduce errors.
5. Publish all languages simultaneously. Having different prices or item availability across languages creates confusion and erodes trust.

Seasonal and Temporary Changes

Seasonal menus, daily specials, and limited-time offers present a particular challenge for multilingual content because they change frequently. Strategies for handling this efficiently:

• Use a simplified description for temporary items. A daily special does not need a three-sentence evocative description in eleven languages. A clear name, key ingredients, and price are sufficient.
• Maintain a glossary of commonly used terms and their approved translations. If your daily specials frequently feature the same ingredients ("truffle," "seasonal vegetables," "catch of the day"), having pre-approved translations for these terms speeds up the process.
• Consider showing temporary items only in your primary language plus English. If a daily special changes every 24 hours, translating it into twelve languages daily is not practical. Two languages cover the vast majority of your audience.

Quality Audits

Schedule a thorough review of all translations at least once per quarter. Over time, small errors accumulate — a price that was updated in one language but not another, a dish name that was corrected in the primary language but still shows the old version in Spanish, an ingredient that was added to the English description but missing from the German one. A quarterly audit catches these inconsistencies before they become guest complaints.

During the audit, ask a native speaker of each language to browse the menu on their phone and flag anything that reads unnaturally, contains errors, or does not match the primary language version. This investment of a few hours every three months protects the quality of your multilingual experience year-round.

Measuring the Impact of Multilingual Menus

After enabling multiple languages, monitor these metrics in your Scan2Order analytics:

• Language selection rate — what percentage of visitors switch away from the default language? A high rate confirms that multilingual support is needed and used.
• Session duration by language — guests browsing in their native language typically spend more time on the menu, which correlates with larger orders.
• Bounce rate by language — if guests selecting a particular language leave quickly, the translation quality for that language may need attention.
• Review mentions — track online reviews for mentions of your multilingual menu. Positive mentions ("loved that the menu was in our language") are strong social proof that can be highlighted in marketing.

Getting Started with Your First Translation

If you have not yet added a second language to your Scan2Order menu, here is a practical action plan:

1. Check your analytics (or observe your dining room) to identify the single most-needed additional language.
2. Run automatic translation for that language on your entire menu.
3. Review every item in the translated version. Correct anything that looks wrong.
4. If possible, have a native speaker do a final review.
5. Publish the translated version and monitor analytics for two weeks.
6. Based on the results, decide whether to add a third language or refine the second one further.

Multilingual menus are not a one-time project — they are an ongoing commitment to hospitality. Every language you add is a statement to guests from that language community: you are welcome here, and we have made an effort to make your experience comfortable. In the hospitality industry, that kind of effort is remembered, shared, and rewarded with loyalty.