For independent specialty cafés
Every table, one clear lane to the bar.
QR ordering and live café operations in one calm layer. Guests order from their table, the bar sees one readable queue, and sold-out items stop being orderable the moment you say so. Your team still does the hospitality.
Portfolio demo · fictional café and data · nothing to install
How it works
One order, five hands-offs, no gaps.
Follow ticket #1842 — two flat whites and a cardamom bun for Table 04 — from the guest’s phone to the table.
- 01
Scan
Each table has its own code. The guest lands on Serein’s menu with Table 04 already attached.
- 02
Choose
Oat milk, extra shot, a note for the bar. Prices update as they pick, and sold-out items can’t be chosen.
- 03
Send
Pay at the counter, no account, no app. The order goes straight to the queue with its table.
- 04
Prepare
The bar accepts, starts and marks it ready. Elapsed time is always on the ticket.
- 05
Serve
The guest’s status page says it’s on its way to Table 04. Nobody walks back to ask.
Guest ordering
A menu that reads like your café, not a form.
No app download and no account. Tasting notes, dietary labels in words, modifiers laid out as clear choices, and a live status page afterwards, so guests aren’t left wondering.
- Table identity stays on every screen
- Prices update as modifiers are chosen
- Status updates arrive without refreshing
- Nothing is sent until the guest confirms
Shift view
Fewer missed handoffs at the bar.
QR and counter orders share one queue. Each ticket shows where it’s going, how long it has waited, and anything the bar needs to watch for. The bar can work through it with the keyboard, one key per step.
- Every ticket shows
- Table · source · elapsed time
- Late orders
- Flagged after 10 minutes
Availability
Sold out means sold out, everywhere, now.
One toggle removes an item from guest ordering. Tickets already in the queue are left alone. A guest who already added it is asked to swap or remove it before sending, so the bar never gets an order it can’t make.
Owner overview
How is the shift going, and what needs attention?
Four numbers, each compared with the same point last week. Then the live queue, what’s selling and what’s sold out. No vanity charts.
- Net sales
- €2,846.40
- +5.9% vs previous Wed
- Orders
- 218
- +13 vs previous Wed
- Average ticket
- €13.06
- −€0.06 vs previous Wed
- Median prep
- 6m 42s
- 33s faster vs previous Wed
Figures from the fictional demo café, Serein Coffee, at 09:42 on a Wednesday.
Who it’s for
Built for focused cafés. Honest about the rest.
A good fit
- One location, 20–60 seats
- 80–350 orders a day
- Mixed counter and table service
- Owner-operated, with a shift lead running the bar
Not what Tablelane does
- Replace your POS or take card payments
- Reservations and waitlists
- Ingredient inventory and purchasing
- Delivery marketplaces or multi-branch chains
- Staff scheduling and payroll
Pricing
Per location, per month.
Illustrative pricing for a fictional product. There is nothing to buy.
Starter
€49/ month / location
QR ordering for the whole room.
- Table QR menu and ordering
- Live order queue
- One-tap availability
- Pay-at-counter orders
Flow
€89/ month / location
Everything in Starter, plus the shift picture.
- Table overview and timeline
- Overview and analytics
- Advanced menu: modifiers, categories, bulk edits
- Keyboard-first bar workflow
Design principles
Designed around these operating realities.
No customer quotes, because there are no customers. These are the constraints the product is built to respect.
An order without a table is a guessing game.
So table identity comes from the QR code and never from a guess.
A sold-out item is not a toggle, it’s a promise.
So availability blocks new orders and repairs carts, but leaves tickets already in the queue alone.
The bar reads the queue in glances.
So every ticket leads with where it’s going and how long it has waited.
Owners compare days, not percentages.
So every number says what it is compared with.
FAQ
Questions cafés ask first.
Does Tablelane replace our POS?
No. Tablelane is the in-room layer: table QR ordering, the bar queue and availability. It is designed to sit alongside the POS you already take payment with. In this demo, orders are simulated and no POS is connected.
Do guests need to download an app?
No. Guests scan the table code and order in the browser. No account, no password, name optional.
How do payments work?
In the first version guests choose “Pay at the counter”. In-app card payment would come through your existing payment provider; it is intentionally not part of this demo.
How long does setup take?
The demo café was set up with 13 items, 3 modifier groups and 24 tables. For a single-location café, that is an afternoon: enter the menu, print one code per table.
Is there one QR code per table?
Yes. Each code carries its table, so orders never arrive without a location. If a guest opens a link without a table, Tablelane asks them to scan again or order for counter pickup — it never guesses.
What happens when something sells out?
One tap marks it sold out. It stops being orderable immediately, orders already in the queue are untouched, and any guest with it in their cart is asked to remove or swap it before sending.
What data does Tablelane keep?
Orders, table, time and an optional first name. No guest accounts, no marketing profiles. This demo stores everything in your browser only.
Run the demo shift.
Open the staff app in one tab and Table 04’s menu in another. Send an order, move it across the bar and watch the guest’s phone follow along. Reset it any time.