How it works
The chip holds a web link, not the menu. A guest taps, their phone offers the link, and the menu loads over mobile data or your Wi-Fi. That has three practical results:
- Menu size doesn't matter to the chip. A long menu needs no bigger chip.
- You update the menu at the link. As long as the address stays the same, the chips keep working.
- The guest needs a connection. In a basement or a thick-walled room, test it on mobile data and make your Wi-Fi easy to join.
What to link it to
A page made for phones is better than a large PDF
A guest is holding a phone at the table. A page that fits the screen and loads quickly beats a print file they have to zoom into.
Use an address that won't change
If your menu lives at a file name with a date in it, the link breaks the day you upload a new one. Ask for a fixed address.
Show Arabic and English
Dubai's Food Code says a printed menu "shall" be in both. Doing the same online keeps the two versions in step, and serves more of your guests.
Keep allergens and prices in step
If you change a dish, change it everywhere. A guest with an allergy may rely on whichever version they read.
What Dubai Municipality's documents say
This is what we could find, and where it stops. It isn't legal advice. Before you rely on it, confirm with Dubai Municipality's Food Safety Department.
| Topic | What the document says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Printed menu | Food service establishments such as restaurants and cafeterias "shall" have a product menu printed in both Arabic and English. The Code uses "shall" for an absolute requirement, though it also describes itself as an interpretative guideline. | Food Code 2013 text on DM's site, section 8.3 |
| Allergens | Nine groups must be declared on the label or the menu, however small the amount: crustaceans, peanuts, soybeans, tree nuts, sesame, fish, egg, milk and cereals containing gluten. Where food is prepared for immediate consumption and is exempt from labelling, the allergen information must either be displayed or given to the purchaser on request. | Food Code 2013, section 3.4.3 |
| Non-halal items | Foods with allergens or non-halal ingredients "shall" be clearly identified in the menu. A restaurant that serves non-halal food "shall" also say so clearly on the first page of the menu card. | Food Code 2013, sections 8.3 and 8.7.4 |
| Calories | The November 2020 guide says declaring calories wasn't mandatory unless the venue was certified under the scheme or made calorie, nutrient or health claims. The guide's definition of a menu includes digital and online menus. | DM calorie guide, November 2020 |
Three things we could not settle:
- Whether a digital menu alone is enough. We found no official statement either way, so keep a printed one available.
- Which version of the Food Code applies today. We have seen a later draft with different allergen wording, but could not confirm it is in force, so we don't quote it.
- Whether the calorie position has changed since 2020. News coverage has said different things over the years.
Where the chips go
One way to set it up is a stand at the counter and a tile on each table. Planning NFC table tiles covers how many, and where. For guests whose phones can't tap, keep a QR code in reach. NFC or QR compares the two.
With Kyvo
A tap opens one page for your venue, and the menu button opens the menu link you choose, like the one you already use. A café can put its menu first. What is Kyvo? has the rest.