Best for compliance
Crumb
Ingredient-led allergens, contains/may-contain logic, and Studio+ review evidence.
How Crumb compares.
Most restaurants compare Crumb with one of two defaults: a PDF backed by spreadsheets, or a generic QR menu builder. Here's what each handles well, what it misses, and where Crumb earns its place.
At a glance: PDFs and spreadsheets are cheapest until something changes. Generic QR menu builders publish quickly but treat allergens, modifications, and printables as separate problems. Crumb is built around the restaurant workflow — one approved menu source, the right output for each moment.
Last updated
Fastest to publish
Crumb
Menu, price, and allergen changes go live in under 60 seconds.
Best for static menus
Works if ingredients, prices, languages, and service docs rarely change.
The PDF menu is the most expensive cheap thing in your restaurant.
Spreadsheet menus look free until service starts moving. Every ingredient, price, language, and printable update has to be repeated across files. The QR code points to last week's PDF. A supplier has changed. A special has sold out. Front-of-house finds out from a guest.
Allergen handling is the fragile part. A 14-column spreadsheet is easy to misread, hard to review, and usually disconnected from the menu guests see. Contains and may-contain notes blur together. Proof of review becomes a screenshot, a filename, or someone's memory. See how Crumb handles the 14 EU allergens →
Crumb tracks ingredients first, then carries that data into dishes, QR menus, staff sheets, kitchen matrices, and printables. Studio+ teams also get compliance events for document downloads and menu review acknowledgements, so review evidence stays with the menu. Learn about the menu service →
Feature comparison
| Feature | PDF / spreadsheet | Generic QR menu | Crumb |
|---|---|---|---|
| Speed & workflow | |||
| Time to publish a change | 30+ min | 5–10 min | <60 sec |
| Update once, propagate everywhere | |||
| Allergens & compliance | |||
| Ingredient-level allergen tracking | |||
| Contains vs may-contain distinction | |||
| Modifications surfaced to guests | |||
| Compliance document download audit trail | Studio+ | ||
| Review acknowledgements | Studio+ | ||
| Guest experience | |||
| Guest filters (vegan, gluten-free, etc.) | |||
| Mobile-first reading experience | |||
| Multiple visual styles | 4 styles | ||
| Manual multi-language menus | Manual | Duo+ | |
| AI auto-translate | Studio+ | ||
| Dedicated wine lists | Manual | Duo+ | |
| Outputs & exports | |||
| Branded QR codes | |||
| Menu PDF, kitchen matrix, and staff sheet | Manual | ||
| Insights | |||
| Insights on guest filters and dish attention | Studio+ | ||
| CSV and PDF analytics export | Studio+ | ||
A QR code that opens a database export isn't a menu.
Many QR menu tools solve the link, not the menu. They publish a list of dishes quickly, but allergen detail, service printables, wine lists, translations, and brand presentation are often separate jobs. The result works for lookup; it rarely feels like hospitality.
Crumb starts from the restaurant workflow: one approved menu source, then the right output for each moment. Guests get a mobile menu in Editorial, Typographic, Hybrid, or Matrix style. Teams get QR assets, PDFs, kitchen matrices, staff sheets, analytics, and tiered language support without rebuilding the same menu again.
The modification feature is the clearest example. Crumb can show when a dish can be made suitable by removing an ingredient, instead of hiding it from a restricted guest completely. That gives staff a more accurate starting point and guests a better menu. Read why →
When Crumb isn't the right answer.
We won't waste your time. Crumb is a poor fit for:
- Quick-service restaurants and takeaway counters. If your guests don't sit down to read a menu, you don't need this. A simple POS-linked QR is enough.
- Restaurants that change zero ingredients per quarter. If your menu has been the same since 2019, a beautifully typeset PDF is fine.
- Operators who want everything to look the same. Crumb is opinionated. If you want unlimited custom CSS, this isn't the platform.
For everyone else — independent restaurants, bistros, hotels, chef-led venues, and growing groups — Crumb is built to keep guest menus, staff documents, allergens, languages, and evidence aligned. We'd rather you decide that for yourself. See pricing →
Common questions.
- Is Crumb cheaper than just using a PDF menu?
- A PDF looks free, but the real cost is the time spent reprinting, re-uploading, fixing allergen mistakes, and reconciling spreadsheets. Crumb starts at €49/month and replaces those moving parts with one approved menu source that feeds the QR menu, staff sheets, and printables.
- How is Crumb different from a generic QR menu builder?
- Generic QR builders publish a list of dishes. Crumb tracks ingredients first, then carries that into dishes, modifications, contains vs may-contain logic, four guest-facing styles, staff sheets, kitchen matrices, audit evidence, and analytics — without rebuilding the same menu in separate tools.
- Can I import my existing spreadsheet or PDF menu?
- Yes. Most teams start by uploading a current menu and ingredient list; Crumb parses dishes, suggests allergen tags, and you confirm before publishing.
- Do I need a separate QR code generator?
- No. Branded QR codes are included on every plan, with optional per-table or per-venue variants on Duo and above.
- What about restaurants with seasonal or daily-changing menus?
- That's exactly where Crumb earns its place. Publishing changes takes under a minute, allergen data flows automatically, and the same change updates the QR menu, kitchen matrix, and staff sheets in one step.
Try Crumb on your own menu.
14 days free. No card required. Test it with a real menu, real allergens, and real service documents.