Gift Cards for Restaurants, Pubs and Bars
A restaurant or pub gift card is a printed plastic card that someone buys as a present, for someone else to spend with you. It can carry a money value such as £50, a set experience such as Sunday lunch for two, or a value or experience your staff write in at the till. Give every card its own number, so it can be checked when it’s spent.
We supply printed plastic gift cards in your own design, made in England, from 25 cards. This page is for restaurants, pubs, bars and gastropubs, from a single venue to a small group. For loyalty, membership and the other cards a venue uses, see plastic cards for pubs and restaurants.
The short versionSell a money card and a card for your best-known meal, or one design with the value written in at the till. Print a number on every card and keep a register, unless your till has a gift card feature that takes printed cards: ask your till supplier before you order. Say in your terms how cards are booked, whether a balance stays on them and whether they can pay a tip. Your usual ID checks still apply when a gift card pays for drinks.
What can a restaurant or pub gift card be?
One of three things: a money value to spend on anything you sell, a set experience such as Sunday lunch or afternoon tea for two, or one design with the value or experience written in at the till when it’s sold. Many businesses sell two kinds side by side.
The Brindlewick Arms is made up for this page.
| Kind of card | Suits | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| A money value, printed | Pubs, bars and restaurants where guests choose from the menu | Each value is its own design, quoted separately, with a minimum of 25 of each. |
| A set experience, printed | Venues known for one thing, such as Sunday lunch, afternoon tea or a tasting menu | If your price goes up, you still honour the card, so build that into how many you sell. |
| Written in at the till | Venues whose prices change, selling a few hundred cards a year | One design covers every value and experience. A written card can be altered, so number every card and keep a register. |
If your till can hold each card’s balance against its number, that’s a fourth way: see which tills take printed cards below. Our gift card printing guide sets out all four ways for any business, with a flowchart to choose between them.
How do you check a gift card when it’s spent?
By its number. Every card carries its own printed number, and staff look it up before taking the card as payment: in your register, on your till, or by scanning a code on the card.
- What it’s for, printed: the value, or the experience with no price.
- Valid until, written in when the card is sold, so the date runs from the day of sale.
- The card number, printed small and different on every card.
- Two or three lines of terms, with your full terms on your website.
- A QR code to your booking page, the same on every card and at least 15mm square. It’s part of your artwork, so it costs nothing extra.
The QR codes in the drawings are illustrations and won’t scan.
A register
A notebook or spreadsheet with every card number, what it’s for, its valid-until date and whether it’s been used. Staff check it before taking the card, then mark it used or note what’s left.
The number, typed in
If your till or booking system has a gift card feature, staff type the card’s number and the system finds the balance. The number has to be one the system knows, so ask how it gets there.
A code, scanned or swiped
A barcode, a QR code or a magnetic strip carries the card’s number, so nobody types it. Every card needs its own code, in the type your till reads.
A written card can be altered, so staff check the printed number against your register rather than trusting the handwriting. Numbers can be printed in any CMYK colour to suit your design: give us a start number and the cards run on from it, and re-orders carry on from the last number issued. Our free gift card register template is a spreadsheet ready to fill in, and our guide to gift cards with barcodes covers the scanned route.
Which restaurant tills take printed gift cards?
Some take cards from any supplier, some need the codes to come from the till first, and some only sell their own, so ask your till supplier before you order. This is what seven systems’ own websites say about printed cards.
| Till | What its website says |
|---|---|
| Lightspeed Restaurant (K-Series) | Create a batch of up to 1,000 cards in Back Office and send us the exported file: each card’s link is printed as a QR code. Turn on Enable scan to redeem when you create the batch, because it can’t be changed afterwards. |
| Toast | Staff type the number, swipe a magnetic strip, or scan a QR code made from card data Toast generates. It doesn’t scan ordinary barcodes. Numbers on another supplier’s cards mustn’t begin with 862, UK venues ask Toast Customer Care to switch on swiping for them, and Toast doesn’t guarantee they’ll work. |
| Tevalis | Its EPOS has its own voucher feature, which generates the codes, and links to gift card partners such as Giftpro and VoucherCart. The pages we read don’t say how printed cards are read. |
| Epos Now | Gift cards come from apps such as VoucherCart. VoucherCart’s help says it finds a physical card by scanning its QR code or typing its card ID, and lets you upload your own codes. Ask whether it accepts cards printed elsewhere. |
| Square | Printed cards from another supplier can’t be sold as Square Gift Cards in Square POS. You can record them as a custom payment method, but Square doesn’t hold their balance, so keep a register. Linking them through Square’s developer tools needs a developer or an app. See plastic gift cards and Square. |
| SumUp Gift Cards | Takes cards you had printed elsewhere: staff type or scan the card’s own code. The SumUp app and POS Lite scan with the camera, and SumUp Register with a barcode scanner. |
| PayPal Zettle | For scannable cards, generate the barcodes in your Zettle account and send us the CSV file. Its camera scanner reads EAN, UPC and QR codes, and staff can type a code instead. |
We read these pages in November 2026. Features change, so confirm with your till supplier.
For any till, ask three things: does it take gift cards from any supplier, does it read a barcode, a QR code or a magnetic strip, and does it give you the numbers or let you load your own? We can’t test cards on your till, because every till and scanner is different, so to try real cards before the full run, add a postal proof to your order. Our guide to printed cards and tills has more.
How do bookings, balances and tips work with a gift card?
Your terms decide them: say how a card is booked, whether a balance stays on it and what it can pay for, then keep your register up to date. Our gift card terms and conditions page has wording to copy.
- Booking a table. Ask guests to quote the card number when they book, and note it with the booking, so staff can check the card before the day. Put “Bookings are subject to availability” in your terms.
- Part-used cards. Say whether a money card can be spent over several visits (“Any balance stays on the card”) or in one (“Must be used in one visit”). If a balance stays, note what’s left in your register each time, or let your till keep it.
- Tips and service charge. Whether a gift card can pay a tip or a service charge is your choice. Say which in your terms and tell your staff, so nobody is caught out when the bill comes.
- Menus and prices that change. An experience card names the meal, not the dishes, and carries no price. If your menu or your price changes, you still honour the card.
- More than one venue. Say on the card which venues take it. If it can be spent at all of them, every venue needs to see the same register or till, or a card could be spent twice.
- Expiry and VAT. If your cards expire, the date must be clear and the terms fair. Whether VAT is due when you sell a card or when it’s spent depends on what it can be spent on: see our gift card VAT and expiry rules.
| Card | For | Booked | Balance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 000347 | £50 | No booking | £18.50 |
| 000348 | Sunday lunch for two | Sun 13 Dec, 1pm | Used 13 Dec |
| 000349 | Afternoon tea for two | Sat 9 Jan, 3pm | Not used yet |
The numbers are the three cards drawn above. A register can be a notebook or a spreadsheet: what matters is that every card number is on it, and that whoever takes payment can see it.
Can a gift card pay for alcohol?
Yes, but it doesn’t change who you can serve: staff check ID just as they would for any other payment. Selling alcohol to anyone under 18 is an offence under the Licensing Act 2003 in England and Wales, and Scotland’s own Act makes selling alcohol to a child or young person an offence too.
In England and Wales, the Home Office’s licensing guidance says every licensed premises must have an age verification policy for alcohol: anyone who appears to be under 18, or under the age your policy sets, has to prove their age before they’re served. A gift card is just a way to pay, so the same checks apply.
A gift card can still be a present for a teenager to spend on a meal. In England and Wales, the table meal exception works as usual: an adult can buy a 16 or 17 year old beer, wine or cider to drink with a table meal, as long as an adult is with them at the meal.
Planning a gift card offer that comes with free drinks? The same guidance says free or discounted alcohol, given as a prize to encourage or reward buying and drinking alcohol, can be an irresponsible promotion where there’s a significant risk to the licensing objectives. Check an offer like that against your licence first. Money off a meal is simpler.
This is general information, not legal advice. For your own premises, check with your licensing authority.
How should a restaurant or pub gift card look?
Like the rest of your venue: the colours and typefaces of your menu or sign, one strong picture on the front, and the practical details on the back. These are three of the restaurant designs in our gift card examples.
- Full colour photography. Cards are printed in full colour on both sides, right to the edge, so a photo of your dining room, your bar or your best-known dish can fill the front. Artwork is 92 x 60mm with 3mm of bleed, at 600dpi, so use the largest copy of each photo you have.
- Your menu’s style. Use the colours and typefaces from your menu, chalkboard or sign, so the card is plainly yours. Name the experience, not the dishes.
- A matching loyalty card. Many businesses order gift cards and loyalty cards in the same design, so the two read as a set.
- Gold or silver. A metallic base card makes the whole card gold or silver, or metallic foiling picks out just your logo. White can’t be printed on a metallic base card.
- The finish. Premium Matt gives a softer, understated look and helps disguise scratches on dark designs, for £20 +vat per order. High Gloss, which makes colours richer, is included.
- What to leave off. A price beside the experience, staff names, a printed year, the whole menu and offers that end: our gift card printing guide explains what to leave off and why.
Our in-house design service lays out the card for £29 +vat, with no limit on reasonable amends. For the layout front and back, see how to design a gift card.
Should a restaurant gift card come in a wallet?
Usually, yes. A landscape wallet holds the card, takes a handwritten message and slips into an envelope, so it’s ready to give. A standard display carrier is the simpler choice: a flat printed board that presents the card at the till, with room for your greeting, your terms and how to book.
Both are printed in full colour on both sides of 350gsm silk board, made alongside your cards and supplied unattached. We quote the cards and carriers together as one job, and our design service can set up the carrier and the card together. Landscape wallets start at £89.00 +vat for 25. Our page on card carriers and wallets has all four formats and their prices.
When do restaurant and pub gift cards sell?
In waves: Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, and birthdays all year round. In the Gift Card & Voucher Association’s State of the Nation 2025 report, 66% of UK gift card buyers had bought one for a birthday in the past year, and 45% for Christmas. Ask the businesses near you whether they’d like cards as Christmas presents for their staff, keep a few on show by the till, and order well before each rush. Ask us for this year’s last order dates: email sales@cpcards.co.uk. Our guides to Christmas gift cards for your business and how to sell more gift cards go further.
What should a restaurant or pub order?
You don’t need a big order: gift cards start at 25 cards, so you can try a scheme first, and most small businesses start with 100 to 250. A good first order for a restaurant or pub:
- Full colour gift cards, 86 x 54mm and 760 microns thick, printed on both sides (from £85.00 +vat for 100)
- A money card, an experience card or both. Each printed value or experience is its own design, with a minimum of 25 of each
- A printed number on every card, from a start number you choose
- Write-on panels for the valid-until date, and for the value or experience if staff write it in
- A QR code to your booking page, the same on every card, at no extra cost
- A barcode, a QR code per card or a magnetic strip, only if your till needs one
- Premium Matt (£20 +vat per order) or High Gloss (included)
- Landscape wallets or display carriers, quoted with the cards
Numbering, write-on panels, barcodes, a different QR code on each card and magnetic strips are priced on your quote. Email sales@cpcards.co.uk or use our gift card quote form, and tell us what you’d like to sell, how many cards and which till you use. We often reply within minutes, 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday.
The cards are printed in full colour on both sides, then bonded between clear PVC sheets and cut, so the print can’t scratch or wear off. Every order gets a free email proof, so you can check the layout and wording before anything is printed. The colours on the proof are a guide only, because every screen shows colour differently. If a colour has to be right, add a postal proof.
Production takes 7 working days from proof approval and payment. Express takes 3 to 4 working days: ask us for cost and availability. Delivery is free within Great Britain, and our delivery prices list the charges for Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and the Channel Islands.
How much do they cost?
Gift cards start at £75.00 +vat for 25, and the price per card falls as the quantity goes up, because much of the work in an order is the same whatever the quantity.
| Quantity | Price from |
|---|---|
| 25 | £75.00 +vat £3.00 each |
| 50 | £79.00 +vat £1.58 each |
| 100 | £85.00 +vat 85p each |
| 200 | £99.00 +vat 49.5p each |
| 250 | £109.00 +vat 43.6p each |
| 500 | £175.00 +vat 35p each |
| 1,000 | £245.00 +vat 24.5p each |
Prices are for one design from your print-ready artwork and include delivery within Great Britain. They exclude VAT and extras such as numbering and write-on panels, which are priced on your quote.
Send artwork at 92 x 60mm with 3mm of bleed, as our gift card artwork guide shows, or your logo and wording for our £29 +vat design service. To see and feel the cards first, order our £3.50 sample pack.
Questions & Answers
-
What gift cards should a restaurant or pub sell?
What usually sells is a money card, such as £25 or £50, to spend on anything, or an experience card for your best-known treat, such as Sunday lunch or afternoon tea for two. Many businesses sell both. Another option is one design with the value written in at the till. Print a number on every card, so each one can be checked when it’s spent.
-
How does a restaurant check a gift card when it’s spent?
By its number. Give every card its own printed number and record each one in a register when it’s sold. When the card comes back, staff find the number, check what it’s for and its valid-until date, then mark it used or note what’s left. If your till has a gift card feature, it can hold the balance against the number instead.
-
Do printed gift cards work with Toast, Lightspeed or Square?
Some do, in different ways, according to their help pages in November 2026. Lightspeed Restaurant (K-Series) needs QR codes printed from a batch you export. Toast takes a typed number, a magnetic strip, or a QR code made from Toast’s own card data, but not ordinary barcodes. Square POS doesn’t sell another supplier’s cards as Square Gift Cards, though it can record them as a payment. Ask your till supplier before you order.
-
Can guests book a table with a gift card?
Yes. Ask them to quote the card number when they book, and note it with the booking, so staff can check the card in your register before the day. If the card is for a set experience, such as Sunday lunch for two, put “Bookings are subject to availability” in your terms.
-
Can a gift card pay for a tip or a service charge?
That’s the venue’s choice. Decide whether a gift card can pay a tip or a service charge, say which in your terms, on your website and at the till, and tell your staff, so nobody is caught out when the bill comes.
-
Can a gift card be used to buy alcohol?
Yes, but it doesn’t change who you can serve. Selling alcohol to anyone under 18 is an offence, under the Licensing Act 2003 in England and Wales and under Scotland’s own Act, so staff check ID as they would for any other payment. This is general information, not legal advice.
-
What if our menu or prices change after an experience card is sold?
You still honour the card. That’s why an experience card names the treat, such as Sunday lunch for two, rather than the dishes, and leaves the price off. Build price rises into how many you sell, and write a valid-until date on each card when it’s sold, so the date runs from the day of sale.
-
Can one gift card be used at all our pubs?
Yes, if you say so on the card and every venue can check it. Print the names of the venues that take it, and keep one register, or one till system, that every venue can see, so a card can’t be spent twice.
-
Where can I get restaurant and pub gift cards printed in the UK?
CP Cards supplies them, printed in England. Our minimum order is 25 cards, from £75.00 +vat. Delivery is free within Great Britain, and our delivery prices list the charges for Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and the Channel Islands. Every order gets a free email proof, so you can check the layout and wording before anything is printed. For a quote, email sales@cpcards.co.uk or use our quote form.
Ready to order gift cards for your restaurant or pub?
Tell us what you’d like to sell, how many cards you need and which till you use. We’ll quote by email, often within minutes, 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday.