A takeaway leaflet with a direct order phone number and WhatsApp

Just Eat, Deliveroo and Uber Eats: What You Can and Cannot Put on Your Own Printed Menu

September 16, 2026

Your own printed menu belongs to you, not to Just Eat, Deliveroo or Uber Eats. Printing a leaflet that pushes customers to order direct, by phone or WhatsApp, alongside staying listed on the platforms is normal practice, and most takeaways I print for run both channels side by side. What you cannot do is assume your platform listing and your printed menu follow the same rules. They don't, and where you're unsure, your own partner agreement is the only place to check.

Can I print my own menu if I'm listed on Just Eat, Deliveroo or Uber Eats?

Yes. The menu inside the Just Eat, Deliveroo or Uber Eats app is a listing you manage through their partner hub, uploaded item by item under their own format rules. It has nothing to do with the printed menu you keep on the counter, hand out with an order, or post through doors nearby. You're free to design and print your own version with your own branding, your own photos and your own contact number on it. The one thing that applies to both is the law: allergen information has to be there whichever menu a customer is reading. Where a platform's own terms say something specific about using their logo or name on your material, that's covered in your partner agreement, not in general advice like this, so check it before you print anything that references them.

A takeaway leaflet with a direct order phone number and WhatsApp

Can I design a menu online and print it myself?

Yes, and plenty of owners get most of the way there before calling a printer. Design is always free when I do it for a client, so most takeaways I work with send me their prices and photos and skip the DIY stage, but nothing stops you building the file yourself first. Whichever route you take, get the specification right before it goes to print: 130 GSM gloss, full colour, double sided if you want prices on one side and an offer on the other. A blurry phone photo of the old menu is a common reason a first run comes back looking wrong, so start from a proper file.

What should a direct-order menu say that your app listing doesn't?

It should give your own phone number, your own WhatsApp number, and a reason to use them instead of the app. A flat discount for phoning or messaging direct, printed near the top rather than buried at the bottom, does the actual work. Nobody switches away from an app out of habit. They switch because a leaflet on the fridge told them a cheaper way to reach you, and gave them the number to do it.

How much does it cost to print a menu for direct orders?

An A5 flat leaflet, 130 GSM gloss, double sided, runs from £89.32 for 1,000 up to £115.12 for 5,000, which works out at 2.3p each at that quantity. Prices correct as of September 2026. I sell this exact spec as A5 cheap flyers, 130 GSM trade leaflets, and it's the format most takeaways use for a door drop or a stack by the till, because it's cheap enough to hand out freely and still gets a phone number and an offer in front of someone.

Quantity	Cost	Cost each	Replies at the DMA's 0.5% average response rate
1,000	£89.32	8.9p	about 5
5,000	£115.12	2.3p	about 25

For the full range of sizes and quantities, see our menu printing prices.

Is a leaflet through the door still worth it when everyone has an app?

Yes, and the industry's own numbers back that up better than most owners expect. The DMA's Door Drop Report 2025, published 19 June 2025, put the average response rate at 0.5% and the return at £2.90 for every £1 spent, up 39% on the year before. Restaurant and takeaway is the second-largest category of UK door drop volume at 18%, behind only local tradespeople. A leaflet reaches someone standing in their kitchen deciding what to eat, not scrolling past your listing between three others on a screen. For the numbers on getting a print run actually delivered, see our guide to takeaway leaflet distribution costs.

What does commission actually cost you on a platform order?

Neither Just Eat, Deliveroo nor Uber Eats publishes a UK commission rate card, so nobody outside those companies can quote you a reliable figure, and I won't invent one here. What's confirmed is that commission is charged against the order subtotal, and Just Eat's own help pages state that payouts land on the 24th of the month, without stating a rate. Your own monthly statement, from whichever platform you use, is the only place to see your real number, because it's the one that actually applies to your account. Whatever that figure turns out to be, a direct order taken by phone or WhatsApp doesn't carry it at all, which is the whole commercial case for printing a menu that asks for one.

What can't you put on your printed menu?

The one thing that's non-negotiable on any menu, printed or digital, is allergen information. The UK requires all 14 named allergens to be identified, and food.gov.uk sets out that a QR code linking to allergen details is only acceptable where a non-digital alternative is also available on request. Beyond that, be careful about claiming a formal status with a platform, wording like "Official Just Eat Partner" for example, unless your own agreement actually permits it. That's between you and them, not something a printer can confirm. Getting this right matters more than it used to: UKHospitality forecast on 12 January 2026 that 2,076 hospitality businesses, including 963 restaurants, will close in 2026 without a change to business rates, and its chief executive Kate Nicholls said "thousands of venues, particularly neighbourhood restaurants and local hotels, will be forced to close for good as a result of the significant rates rises they're facing." Every order that skips a platform's cut is margin kept in a year when margin is under pressure.

Frequently asked questions

Can you refuse a Just Eat delivery?

This depends on the platform's own operating rules and the type of order, not on anything a menu printer can confirm. Just Eat, Deliveroo and Uber Eats each set out order acceptance and rejection terms inside their partner agreements, and these can change. If you need to know exactly when you can turn down an order, check your own agreement or contact the platform's restaurant support line, rather than relying on general advice.

Do I need permission from Just Eat, Deliveroo or Uber Eats to print my own menu?

No. A printed menu that you hand out, post through doors or keep on your counter is your own marketing material, separate from the listing you manage inside their partner hub. You don't need sign-off to design or print it. The one thing worth checking your own agreement for is anything involving their logo, name or branding on your material, since trademark use is theirs to control, not something a printer can confirm for you.

How many leaflets should I print for a first direct-order push?

There's no single right number. It depends on how many households and workplaces sit within a realistic delivery radius of your kitchen. Most independent takeaways start with a run in the low thousands and reorder once they see which streets respond best. See our guide on how many menus to print for the maths.

Does my printed menu need allergen information even if my platform listing already has it?

Yes. The UK requires all 14 named allergens to be identified on any menu a customer uses to order, printed or digital, and one listing carrying the information doesn't cover the other. If you use a QR code for allergen details on a printed menu, food.gov.uk requires a non-digital alternative too, so keep a paper allergen sheet behind the counter as well.