Set up your digital menu in minutes
Follow these 9 steps to get your menu published and shared with your customers. No technical knowledge required — everything is done from your admin panel.
Quick to set up
In just a few minutes you'll have your digital menu ready to share with your customers.
Full customisation
Choose colours, fonts, themes and effects so your menu reflects your brand identity.
Mobile-ready
Your customers scan a QR code and instantly view your menu on any device.
How to set up your restaurant
Follow these steps in order to make sure everything works correctly.
Create your account
Go to the registration page, choose the plan that suits you best and fill in your details. All plans include a 14-day free trial.
- Enter your name, email and create a secure password.
- Select a plan: Starter, Professional or Premium.
- Your restaurant is created automatically when you register.
- You'll get immediate access to the admin panel.
Complete your restaurant information
From the admin panel, go to your restaurant section and fill in all the basic details. This information will appear on your public menu.
- Restaurant name: the name your customers will see.
- Description: a brief introduction to your establishment.
- Logo: upload your restaurant logo (square images work best).
- Banner: a hero photo of your venue or signature dish.
- Address and city: so customers can find you.
- Phone and WhatsApp: direct contact channels.
- Social media: Instagram, Facebook, TikTok (optional).
Set your opening hours
Add the hours your restaurant is open to the public. You can create multiple schedules for different days or services.
- Specify the days of service (e.g. "Monday to Friday", "Saturdays").
- Set the opening and closing times for each schedule.
- Create additional schedules if needed (e.g. separate lunch and dinner service).
- Opening hours are displayed on your public menu so customers know when to visit.
Create your categories
Categories organise your menu into sections. Think of them as the sections of a printed menu: Starters, Mains, Desserts, Drinks, and so on.
- Go to the "Categories" section in the admin panel.
- Click "Add category".
- Give it a clear name and, optionally, a description and icon.
- You can reorder categories by dragging them into your preferred order.
Add your products
Now that you have categories, you can add the dishes, drinks and everything else on your menu.
- Go to the "Products" section in the admin panel.
- Click "Add product".
- Assign a category to each product (required).
- Name and price: essential details for each dish.
- Description: an enticing line about the dish (optional but recommended).
- Photo: upload an image of the dish (optional but makes a real difference).
- Ingredients and allergens: helpful information for your customers.
You can also tag products with special labels:
- 🌱 Vegetarian / 🌿 Vegan / 🌾 Gluten-free / 🌶️ Spicy: for dietary requirements.
- ⭐ Featured: appears in a special section at the top of the menu.
- 🆕 New / 🔥 Popular: draws attention to specific dishes.
- 💰 Sale price: shows original price crossed out alongside the reduced price.
Customise the design
In the "Settings" section you can adjust every aspect of your menu's appearance to match your brand.
- Visual theme: choose from 6 pre-designed themes (Elegant, Modern, Rustic, Vibrant, Nature, Ocean).
- Colours: customise primary, secondary, background and text colours.
- Fonts: select typefaces for headings and body text.
- Effects: toggle decorative particles, banner zoom, animated logo and product hover effects.
- Product layout: choose between normal, compact or large view.
- Featured layout: horizontal carousel (scroll) or fixed grid.
- Banner opacity: control how much the cover image is darkened.
- Welcome message: a personalised greeting displayed when entering the menu.
Set up automatic payment
In the "Billing" section of your admin panel you can activate automatic billing so your menu stays active without worrying about manual renewals.
- Go to "Billing" in the sidebar menu of your admin panel.
- Review your current plan and the status of your 14-day free trial.
- Click "Activate automatic billing" and choose your preferred payment method: card (via Lemon Squeezy) or PayPal.
- You’ll be redirected to complete the payment securely.
- Once activated, the system will charge automatically each month — no action needed from you.
Generate your QR code
Your menu comes with a QR code ready to download. You can generate professional designs to print and place on your tables.
- Go to the "QR Codes" section in the admin panel.
- Download your QR code as a print-ready PDF.
- Choose from 4 premium templates: tent card (table-top), poster, stickers or business cards.
- Customise the colours and text of your QR design.
- Create multiple QR codes (e.g. one for the dining room, another for the terrace).
Share your menu!
Your digital menu is ready! Now you just need to let your customers know about it. Here are several ways to share it:
- Printed QR code: place it on tables, windows, menu folders and takeaway packaging.
- Direct link: your menu has a unique URL you can copy and share anywhere.
- Social media: share the link in your Instagram bio, Facebook posts or stories.
- WhatsApp: send the link when a customer asks for your menu.
- Google Maps: add your menu link as the website on your Google Business listing.
Everything you can do once the menu is live
Publishing the menu is day one. This is what the system does while the venue is running.
Order taking
Your team signs in from their own phone with a PIN — not your password — and sends orders to the kitchen.
Kitchen Display
Tickets appear on screen and change colour with how long they have been waiting. The kitchen marks each dish ready and the waiter is alerted.
Floor plan
See at a glance which table is free, which is in the kitchen, which is ready and which is still to be charged.
Till / point of sale
Charge the whole table or split it, take part payments, record the method and close the shift reconciling by payment method.
Tips
Credited to the waiter who served, not the one who took the money. Share them per person or as a pot, and every payout is recorded.
Reports that tell you what to do
Which dishes make you money, which tables work, when your kitchen falls over and how much came in by each method.
Today’s menu
Schedule which dishes are on each day. What is not on today does not appear on the menu and cannot be ordered.
Delivery orders
Orders from the platforms land straight in your kitchen, with nobody retyping them.
Your menu on paper too
The same menu you already loaded, ready to print in several designs and formats. And we tell you when the printed one goes stale.
All of this is explained step by step, with its tutorials, inside your panel: Guide. This is only the summary.
Frequently asked questions
Can I change products after publishing?
Yes. You can add, edit, hide or delete products at any time. Changes are reflected instantly on your public menu.
Do I have to give my password to my team?
No, and you should not. Each person signs in to the staff portal with their own PIN and the role you give them (waiter, kitchen, cashier or manager). If somebody leaves, you deactivate them and they lose access on their very next tap.
Can I use ElMenu without the kitchen screen?
Yes. Plenty of small venues use only the digital menu, or the menu plus the till. The kitchen screen is switched on if it helps you; the floor screen lets you deliver tables even when nobody is watching that screen.
If a dish runs out late at night, do I have to remember to switch it back on tomorrow?
No. You can mark it out for today only and it comes back on its own that same night. If it has genuinely run out, mark it out of stock and it stays off until you switch it back on.
What happens to my orders and takings if I change plan or fall behind on payment?
Your data is not deleted. If the subscription lapses, the public menu stops showing until it is sorted, and the same printed QR works again without reprinting anything.
Can I see who took each payment and each void?
Yes. Every movement goes into the activity log with the person, the time and the amount. It is the first place you look when the close does not balance.
How many products can I add?
It depends on your plan. The Starter plan allows up to 50 products and 10 categories. Professional goes up to 500 and 50. Premium has no limits.
Do my customers need to install an app?
No. Your customers simply scan the QR code with their phone camera and view the menu directly in their browser. Nothing to download.
Can I temporarily hide a product?
Yes. Each product has an availability toggle. If a dish sells out, simply switch it off and it will disappear from your menu without being deleted.
What if I need more categories or products?
You can request a plan upgrade at any time. Higher plans allow more products, categories and customisation options.
Can I use my own domain?
Yes, Professional and higher plans support custom domains for your menu. Contact support to activate this option.
Are images optimised automatically?
Yes. The system compresses and resizes uploaded photos so they load quickly on mobile, without losing visual quality. No need to edit them beforehand.
Can I hide the "Powered by ElMenu" badge?
Yes. In the settings section you can toggle the brand badge on or off. Your menu will look 100% like your own.
What happens if I don’t set up payment before my trial ends?
If your 14-day free trial ends without an active payment, your menu will no longer be visible to your customers. You won’t lose any data — once you activate payment, everything comes back online instantly. That’s why we recommend setting up automatic billing at least one day before your trial expires.
What if my customers prefer a paper menu?
You don’t have to choose. From your dashboard, Printed menu gives you the same menu you already keep up to date, ready to print with today’s prices: pick from nine styles and eight formats (A4, A5, folded, placemat, poster…), with an optional cover and back sheet. And whenever you change something we tell you the printed one has fallen behind, so you know when it is worth reprinting. Plenty of restaurants leave the paper menu on the table and the QR for whoever prefers their phone, with photos and in their own language.
Ready to get started?
Create your digital menu now and impress your customers with a professional, elegant and easy-to-update menu.