Vegetarian and vegan
Let plant-based guests find their options without reading every ingredient list or asking the waiter about each dish.
Allergens and diet tags
Allergen Menu with 14 EU Allergen Icons
Turn your QR code menu into an allergen menu guests can actually use. Mark the 14 major allergens, diet tags, calories and spiciness on each dish once – guests see them next to the dish and filter the menu on their own phone.
- All 14 EU allergens as icons, stored per dish
- Diet tags such as vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free and halal
- Guests hide dishes that contain their allergens
How to add allergen information to your menu
You enter allergens where you already edit the dish – there is no separate allergen sheet to keep in sync.
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Open a dish and tick its allergens
In the menu editor, open any item and tick the allergens it contains from the list of 14. The information is saved with the dish, so every theme and every language uses it.
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Add diet tags and dish details
Choose the diet tags that apply, set spiciness from zero to three chilies and add calories, portion size, preparation time and an ingredient list where it helps your guests.
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Translate and publish
Translate dish names, descriptions and ingredients into your menu languages – by hand or with AI suggestions you review. Save, and the printed QR code shows the updated menu straight away.
What guests see on a digital allergen menu
On a paper menu, allergen information usually hides in a footnote, a code key on the last page or a folder behind the bar. On a Qdestera allergen menu it sits on the dish itself: an icon for each allergen, diet tags as small labels, a chili count for spicy dishes and calories where you choose to show them.
A guest who avoids peanuts or milk opens Filters, ticks them under “Hide items containing” and the menu drops every dish you marked with those allergens. A vegan guest ticks “Show only” vegan and sees just those dishes. Filters work together with the menu search, so “salad” plus “gluten-free” narrows a long menu quickly.
At the bottom of the menu, an allergen legend explains every icon in the guest's language. It comes with a short note asking guests with an allergy or a special diet to speak to your staff before ordering – because a menu supports the conversation, it does not replace it.
The 14 allergens you can mark on each dish
The EU lists 14 major allergens that must be declared (Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011, Annex II). Qdestera Menu uses exactly these 14, each with its own icon:
Allergen icons show on the dish card in the Classic, Cards, Gourmet and Night themes. The Bistro theme hides them by default for a clean, print-style look, and one switch in the design settings brings them back. The filter and the legend keep working either way, because they read the allergen data, not the icons.
- Cereals containing gluten (wheat, rye, barley, oats)
- Crustaceans (prawns, crab, lobster)
- Eggs
- Fish
- Peanuts
- Soybeans
- Milk, including lactose
- Tree nuts (almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, pistachios and others)
- Celery
- Mustard
- Sesame seeds
- Sulphur dioxide and sulphites
- Lupin
- Molluscs (mussels, oysters, squid)
Eight diet tags guests can filter by
Diet tags answer the questions guests ask before they look at prices. Each tag appears as a label on the dish and as a “Show only” option in the filters.
Gluten-free and lactose-free
Useful for guests with intolerances. Mark gluten or milk as an allergen whenever it is present, so the tag and the icons never contradict each other.
Halal and kosher
Show clearly which dishes meet these requirements – especially helpful for travelling guests who cannot ask in your language.
Organic and sugar-free
Highlight dishes and drinks for health-conscious guests, from sugar-free desserts to organic breakfast plates.
Calories, spiciness and the rest of the dish details
Allergens are only part of what guests want to know. The dish form holds the rest:
Spiciness from zero to three chilies
Mark how hot a dish is so guests who love heat – and guests who avoid it – can decide at a glance.
Calories
Enter calories per dish and switch them on in the design settings. The Gourmet theme shows them by default; the other themes keep them hidden until you turn them on.
Portion size and preparation time
Add “250 g” or “33 cl” and an estimated preparation time, so nobody is surprised by a small plate or a long wait.
Ingredients
A free-text ingredient list appears in the dish details. It is the right place for things that are not among the 14 allergens but matter to some guests.
Badges
Six badges such as New, Chef's pick, Popular and Seasonal help guests who have no restrictions find your best dishes.
Allergen information in your guests' languages
The allergen and diet labels are built into the guest interface in seven languages – Turkish, English, German, French, Spanish, Russian and Arabic. Add German as a menu language and a visitor from Munich sees the allergen names in German; add Arabic and they appear in Arabic with a right-to-left layout. You translate none of these labels. Any other menu language falls back to English for them.
Your own content – dish names, descriptions and ingredient lists – is translated per menu language. Type the translations yourself or let AI (Claude by Anthropic) suggest them, then review each suggestion before it goes live. Read more about the multilingual menu.
Because allergens are ticked on the dish rather than written into the text, you mark them once and they are correct in every language – no translation can drop a “contains nuts”.
Paper allergen chart or digital allergen menu?
A printed chart can list allergens too. The difference is what the guest can do with it.
| Paper menu or PDF | Qdestera allergen menu | |
|---|---|---|
| Guests hide dishes with their allergens | No | Yes |
| Show only vegan, halal or gluten-free dishes | No | Yes |
| Allergen names in the guest's language | No | Yes |
| Change one recipe without reprinting or re-exporting | No | Yes |
| Readable on a phone without pinch-zoom | No | Yes |
Keep your allergen menu accurate
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Update the dish when the recipe changes
New supplier, new sauce, new bread? Change the ticks on the dish. The menu sits behind a dynamic QR code, so nothing needs reprinting.
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Check hidden sources
Stocks, dressings, marinades and bread are common hiding places for celery, mustard, sulphites, milk and gluten. Ask suppliers for their allergen specifications.
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Treat “free-from” tags as a promise
Use gluten-free or lactose-free only for dishes you prepare to that standard, including shared fryers and surfaces.
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Switch a dish to sold out instead of guessing
If today's batch uses a different ingredient and you are not sure about it, mark the dish out of stock until you are.
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Brief your team
The menu asks guests with allergies to speak to staff. Make sure every server knows where the kitchen keeps its allergen records.
Who is responsible for allergen information?
Qdestera shows exactly what you enter – it does not analyse recipes or check your data. As the operator, you remain responsible for correct and complete allergen information, including cross-contact in the kitchen. The digital menu makes that information easier to keep up to date and easier for guests to find.
Everything else on the QR code menu builds on the same dish data: if you enable table ordering, guests order from the filtered menu, and the dish they pick carries the allergens you marked.
See the allergen filter in action
Open the demo menu, hide an allergen or pick a diet tag and watch the menu adjust.
What is an allergen menu?
An allergen menu shows which allergens each dish contains. In Qdestera Menu the allergens are icons on the dish, explained in a legend, and guests can filter out dishes that contain them.
Which 14 allergens must be declared?
The EU lists 14 major allergens that must be declared: gluten-containing cereals, crustaceans, eggs, fish, peanuts, soybeans, milk, tree nuts, celery, mustard, sesame, sulphites, lupin and molluscs. Qdestera Menu covers all 14.
How do guests filter the menu by allergen?
They tap Filters, tick the allergens they avoid under “Hide items containing” and apply. The menu then hides every dish you marked with those allergens.
Which diet tags can I use?
Eight: vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, lactose-free, halal, organic, sugar-free and kosher. Guests can use them as “Show only” filters.
Does Qdestera check my allergen information?
No. The menu displays what you enter, and you remain responsible for correct and complete allergen information. Review your recipes and supplier specifications regularly.
Are allergen names shown in the guest's language?
Yes, in seven languages: Turkish, English, German, French, Spanish, Russian and Arabic. Other menu languages show the labels in English; your dish texts are translated per language.
Can I show calories and spiciness too?
Yes. Each dish has a calories field and a spiciness level from zero to three chilies. Calories appear once you switch them on in the design settings.
Can I hide the allergen icons on the dish cards?
Yes, with one switch in the design settings. The allergen legend and the guest filters keep working.
Do I need new QR codes when a recipe changes?
No. You update the dish in your dashboard and the printed QR code shows the new information at the next scan.
Qdestera
Create your menu
Put the allergens where guests look.
Create your QR code menu, mark allergens and diet tags once and let guests filter the menu themselves.