SIGforum
Make me scan a barcode for your menu, lose a star.
June 07, 2026, 12:43 PM
ibandaMake me scan a barcode for your menu, lose a star.
I cannot stand restaurants that make you scan a barcode for their menu. To make it extra special my favorite breakfast diner had a tasteful designer do the decor and then the Manager decided to secure paper barcodes on the tables with packing tape that is if course peeling up and gathering dirt under the edges.
Taking away menus is lazy and it's the first reminder of covid lock down bullshit. Not that any restaurants that does this would have Michelin stars but even if I bothered to give a Google review I'm taking points off for no menu and I haven't even spoken to the staff or tasted the food yet. Yes, I have a phone and can handle the technology, but It's lazy and tacky to force the barcode route.
"The left can't applaud me because their hands are in other people's pockets." - Javier Milei
June 07, 2026, 12:57 PM
sigfreundI have not seen that at the places in my small town where I eat, but if I did, I would benefit by eating out less often.
If someone wants me to know something that's not essential to know (such as a restaurant menu), it had better be presented in a way that's easiest for me to know.
► 6.0/94.0
“I can’t give you brains, but I can give you a diploma.”
— The Wizard of Oz June 07, 2026, 01:31 PM
egregoreYeah, as if I'm going to read an extensive menu, each item with its own description, on a 3x6-inch phone.

I don't eat at "sit-down" restaurants that often and have not yet encountered it, but if any of them pull this on me, I'll ask for a printed menu and leave if I don't get it. For that matter, either I'm doing it wrong, the phone is malfunctioning or there's no app on it to start with, because I've never gotten any QR code to work.
June 07, 2026, 01:48 PM
oddballIt's been awhile since I have seen a barcode requirement for a menu, our favorite regular places all have laminated print ones for their customers. The last time was maybe 4 years ago for a sit down dinner and I told the waitress I did not have a smartphone- she just shrugged and said "sorry". We walked out and went to another place down the street, which had regular menus.
"I’m not going to read Time Magazine, I’m not going to read Newsweek, I’m not going to read any of these magazines; I mean, because they have too much to lose by printing the truth"- Bob Dylan, 1965
June 07, 2026, 02:12 PM
smschulzNever stood for this during COVID and I won't now
June 07, 2026, 03:41 PM
.38supersigI call that the don't-come-back-again menu.
June 07, 2026, 06:26 PM
flesheatingvirusI don't mind it SO LONG as I can also pay that way, too. That way, I don't have to wait for my bill or my CC to be brought back to the table.
If you're going high-tech, go all in.
________________________________________
-- Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past me I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain. --
June 07, 2026, 08:09 PM
GustoferI stopped into a bar in an airport somewhere on the east coast (LaGuardia I think) a few years back. You were required to order either from your phone or from an iPad on the bar. The fella who informed me of this was the bartender...standing right in front of me behind the bar.

I walked down to a different place. Ridiculous.
________________________________________________________
It is long past time for a Convention of States. The Founding Fathers gave us this tool to fix an out of control government and we need to use it.
June 07, 2026, 08:58 PM
flesheatingvirusOk, at a bar ordering drinks, that's dumb. It loses some of the old-school appeal of drinking at a bar.
________________________________________
-- Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past me I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain. --
June 08, 2026, 08:58 AM
r8rs4lfI agree!
All these businesses are using OUR phones that WE pay for to conduct THEIR business.
I always ask for a menu just like I always have someone scan my items at the stores. No self checkout here.
Don't get me started on Apple Pay, Zelle, Venmo, etc, and how no one carries cash anymore!
June 08, 2026, 12:06 PM
PrefontaineI’d get up and leave and tell them why. Many of us are sick of fucking phone life. It ain’t my life.
What am I doing? I'm talking to an empty telephone
June 08, 2026, 03:04 PM
armoredIf no printed menu, I will ask for one and actually enjoy the sneer the wait person puts on there face. I will remember that sneer, or lack of, when its "tip time".
If no printed menu, I will leave.
I HATE all this scanning BS!
June 08, 2026, 04:09 PM
FredwardI leave.
June 09, 2026, 07:19 PM
selogicThey better find a printed copy someplace. There are way too many restaurants around to have to put up with that bullshit .
June 09, 2026, 08:52 PM
marksman41Worst case is go home, grill some steaks, and eat in the comfort of your own home.
I like eating out but more and more I'll forego it mainly because of cost, but substandard service is another peeve.
If the eatery doesn't have something unique that is too much trouble to make at home (sushi and the like), in my opinion, it just isn't worth the hassle.
June 12, 2026, 01:57 PM
Johnny 3eaglesYeah, no thanks. Barcode and QR Codes can be used to introduce MALWARE into your phone.
Any dog can be a Guide Dog if you don't care where you're going.
NRA ENDOWMENT LIFE MEMBER
June 12, 2026, 07:29 PM
Scooter123Two things come to mind.
1. That peeling tape is a Health Code Violation. I would suspect the Kitchen is as well.
2. I don't tolerate poor service like this. I would walk to the cashier and tell here about
item 1 and then state I would not be dining there.
I've stopped counting.
June 15, 2026, 04:19 PM
mindustrialLocal place has 3x5” plexiglass displays on the table. Pictures of the new specials-seasonal entree-appetizer and new cocktail on one side, QR code for all the rotating craft beers with descriptions on the other side, also listed is complete menu. But every non changing item listed on a printed menu.
Totally fine with me. Still order with real person with their input & feedback from others.