Digital menus for tascas
A digital menu for a tasca is the house menu published as a web page that guests open with the QR code on the table or counter. In a tasca the menu changes every day — which is exactly why paper, or the chalkboard alone, stops being enough once visitors walk in.
Updated October 2026
What a tasca needs from its menu
The dish of the day, full and half portions, petiscos at the counter, house wine by the glass and the jug. Prices that rise with the cost of fish and meat. Dishes that run out at half past twelve. None of that fits a laminated menu printed in January.
On a digital menu everything has its place: a “Dish of the day” section updated each morning, full and half portions as options of the same dish, and a button to mark a dish as sold out without deleting it. In Platerio you do this on your phone, standing up, between lunch and dinner.
Full and half portions, clearly
List the dose and meia dose as two options of the same dish, each with its own price. Guests see both side by side, and visitors understand that meia dose is a smaller portion if the translation says so: “half portion” in English, “media ración” in Spanish, “demi-portion” in French. Check these words when you review the translations.
The same goes for petiscos sold by the piece or by the plate: a prego or a bifana each, a cheese board for two. Always say what the price includes.
Explaining house cooking to visitors
What makes a tasca good — house dishes, family names, regional recipes — is what puzzles visitors most. “Pica-pau”, “moelas”, “pataniscas”, “iscas”: without a line of explanation they never get ordered. See the Portuguese dishes explained, with the explanation in English, Spanish and French.
For tascas with many visitors, see the Lisbon and Porto pages, with the languages that make most sense in each city.
Allergens in a small kitchen
A tasca has to state allergens like any restaurant (Decreto-Lei 26/2016). In practice, with a menu that changes daily, the simplest approach is to tag each dish’s allergens once and reuse them whenever the dish returns. The allergen chart helps you get started.
Frequently asked questions
How do I add the dish of the day?
Create a “Dish of the day” section at the top of the menu and change it each morning from your phone. Other days’ dishes can stay saved and come back with one tap.
How do I show full and half portions?
As two options of the same dish, each with its own price. In translations, check that meia dose reads “half portion”, “media ración” and “demi-portion”.
What if a dish runs out mid-service?
Mark it as sold out from your phone. It stays on the menu, flagged as unavailable, and comes back when you untick it.