Table Tent Ideas for Restaurants: What to Print on Each Face

Why the table sells

A seated guest has a few quiet minutes before the food arrives. They read the menu once, check their phone, and look around the table.

A table tent sits right in that line of sight. It pitches one item while the guest is still deciding what else to order, a moment a wall poster or a website banner never reaches.

That is why table tents work best for add-ons: a dessert, a second drink, a weekday lunch deal, or a rewards club sign-up. The guest is already spending money, so a small upsell feels natural.

Give each face one job

A folded tent shows two faces, one toward each side of the table, with a base that tucks underneath. Treat each face as its own small sign with one message.

Strong pairings put food on one face and a drink or a club on the other. A dessert photo with its price on face one and the happy hour times on face two means every seat at the table sees something worth ordering.

Keep the headline to five words or fewer, set large enough to read from across the table. Use one photo, one price, and one short line telling the guest what to say to the server.

Skip the urge to shrink the whole menu onto the tent. A crowded tent gets ignored, while a single bold dessert shot gets ordered.

Choose the size by table and sight line

Super Cheap Cards prints three table tent sizes, all on 16pt card with UV coating on the printed side. Every tier is buy one, get one, so 2,500 tents cost the price of 1,000.

• 4″ × 6″ finished, 4″ × 16.25″ flat: the standard size for two-tops and four-tops. 2,500 cost $695, 5,000 cost $1,085, and 10,000 cost $1,585.
• 4.25″ × 6″ finished, 4.25″ × 16.25″ flat: a little wider, good for a short list such as three cocktails or four lunch specials. 2,500 cost $764.50, 5,000 cost $1,193.50, and 10,000 cost $1,743.50.
• 5″ × 5.5″ finished, 5″ × 16.5″ flat: nearly square and easy to read from a bar stool or a counter. 2,500 cost $799.25, 5,000 cost $1,247.75, and 10,000 cost $1,822.75.

Small tables and booths do best with the 4″ × 6″ tent because it leaves room for plates and glasses. Bars and counters, where guests read from farther away, suit the 5″ × 5.5″.

Put tents where the decision happens

The center of the table works for two-tops. On longer tables, set one tent at each end so nobody reads it upside down from six feet away.

Along a bar, space tents every two or three seats. Host stands, front counters and waiting areas each get one, since guests stand there with nothing else to read.

Hotels and offices use the same idea at the front desk, in the breakfast room and on conference tables. The tent pitches the upgrade, the event or the review request to people who are already standing still.

Make the QR code earn its spot

Pew Research Center found that 91 percent of U.S. adults own a smartphone, in a survey fielded in 2025. Nearly every guest at the table scans a code without help.

Give the code a clear reason to exist. Label it with what happens after the scan, such as "Scan to join the rewards club" or "Scan for tonight's wine list," and print it at least an inch wide on a plain light background.

Tag the link before you make the code. Google Analytics says to always add utm_source, utm_medium and utm_campaign to a tracked link, or those visits show up as "(not set)" in reports. A link ending in ?utm_source=table-tent&utm_medium=print&utm_campaign=fall-dessert shows exactly how many visits came from the tents.

Write offers guests trust

A tent that promises a free dessert and hides the catch in tiny type annoys guests and servers alike. The FTC says ads offering something free or at a low cost with another purchase should clearly and conspicuously disclose the terms.

Put the limits right under the offer in readable type: one per table, dine-in only, Monday through Thursday, ends October 31. Servers answer fewer questions, and guests order with confidence.

Drink specials follow state rules that differ from place to place, so check with your state liquor authority before printing one. A short call before the print run costs far less than reprinting 2,500 tents.

Plan how many you need

Tents get knocked over, wiped with wet rags and slipped into purses. Plan on swapping worn ones often, and treat each run as a supply that lasts for months.

Count your tables, add a set for the bar, patio and host stand, and you have the number you put out per swap. A 40-table room with a spare set needs about 50 tents per swap, so one run of 2,500 covers a long stretch of replacements.

Because the smallest run is 2,500, print messages that stay true for months: the dessert lineup, the happy hour times, the rewards club. Save fast-changing daily specials for the server to mention, and replace the tents when they look tired, not every week.

Fold, stand and replace

Tents arrive flat at their full sheet size, scored for folding. Fold along each score, tuck the base under, and the tent stands on its own.

Folding a few hundred makes a good task for a slow afternoon. Keep the rest flat in the box so the spare stock stays crisp until you need it.

The UV coating on the printed side wipes clean with a damp cloth, so a tent survives a few spills. Once the corners soften or the face looks stained, pull it and stand a fresh one.

Get the layout right before printing

Send your logo, a photo and the words for each face, and we lay it out for $89 with a proof to approve before anything prints. Already have artwork? Call before you send it and we will tell you how to set up the file.

Pair the tents with matching take-out menus and brochures or business cards for the host stand, so the same offer shows up at the door and at the table. See every table tent size and price or start with the 4″ × 6″ table tent.

Corey answers the phone himself. Call 512-573-1977, 7am to 7pm ET, 7 days a week, and ask which size fits your tables.

Quick answers

What size table tent is most common?

The 4″ × 6″ finished tent. It stands on two-tops and four-tops without crowding plates, and 2,500 cost $695 on 16pt card.

Do table tents come folded?

No. They arrive flat at the full sheet size with the scores in place. Fold along each score and tuck the base under, and the tent stands on its own.

What should a restaurant put on a table tent?

One offer per face. A dessert, the happy hour times, a weekday lunch deal or a rewards club QR code are strong choices because guests act on them during the meal.

How do I track scans from a table tent QR code?

Add utm_source, utm_medium and utm_campaign to the link before you make the code. The visits then show under that campaign in Google Analytics instead of as (not set).