QR menus in Portugal: price lists and allergen rules
In Portugal a QR code menu can sit alongside the paper price list, but it cannot replace it: the law requires a price list at the entrance and inside the venue, written at least in Portuguese, and allergen information must be available in a form guests can easily consult. This guide summarises the two rules that matter most for restaurants that add QR ordering. It is general information, not legal advice; check the official texts linked below.
Do I still need a printed price list?
Yes. Article 135 of Decreto-Lei n.º 10/2015 requires restaurants and drinks establishments to display price lists both next to the entrance and inside, written at least in Portuguese. According to ASAE's guidance on prices in restaurants, the list must cover the dishes, food and drinks on offer with their prices, including the couvert where there is one, and it must state that nothing, couvert included, can be charged if the guest did not order it or left it untouched.
A QR menu is a convenient extra for guests, but the posted list is what the law asks for. Keep the prices on the QR menu and on the posted list identical.
What allergen information must a restaurant provide?
EU Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 makes allergen information mandatory for food that is not prepacked, including meals served by restaurants. Annex II of the regulation lists the 14 substances that must be declared:
- cereals containing gluten
- crustaceans
- eggs
- fish
- peanuts
- soybeans
- milk
- nuts
- celery
- mustard
- sesame seeds
- sulphur dioxide and sulphites (above 10 mg/kg or 10 mg/litre)
- lupin
- molluscs
Can the allergen information be on a QR menu?
Portugal sets the rules for this in Decreto-Lei n.º 26/2016. For food supplied by catering establishments, article 4(3) says the allergen information "must be available on any information medium that allows the consumer to grasp it easily". The decree does not name a specific format.
A digital menu can therefore be one of those media, as long as every guest can reach it easily. Because not every guest has a phone, or wants to use it, the safest approach is to keep the same allergen information available without a phone too, for example in a printed allergen table that staff can bring to the table.
Does KuKA show allergens to guests?
Not as a dedicated allergen panel today. Many venues write the allergens into each dish's description, which guests see in the menu. Whatever you use, keep one source of truth for allergen data and update the QR menu, the printed table and the kitchen sheets together when a recipe changes.
Checklist for a compliant QR menu in Portugal
- Post the price list at the entrance and inside, at least in Portuguese.
- Use the same prices on the QR menu and the posted list.
- Declare the 14 Annex II allergens for every dish where they are present.
- Keep allergen information reachable without a phone.
- Make sure staff know where the allergen information is and how to answer questions about it.