Don’t See Inflation in the Restaurant Menu? Look Carefully at the Bill

Times are tough. Inflation is at a 40-year high. Restaurants continue to face budget-busting challenges from the pandemic and labor crisis. But that’s not all. As I write this sentence, food prices have increased by double-digits and may have risen even higher when you read it.

Here’s the Weird Thing

Sure, restaurant menu prices have increased some, but none of that adds up to 18% across the board as restaurants attempt to cover the cost of the food. You may look at the menu for your favorite restaurant and see a few price hikes, but nothing that seems unreasonably out of line.

What’s Up?

Are restauranteurs morphing into benevolent philanthropists? Uh, that would be a negative, although according to OpenTable data, as a group, restaurateurs got into the business because they want to take care of people. They want their hospitality to be accessible no matter the economic climate.

That being said, the answer, my friends, is blowing through the bill—that check the server nonchalantly places next to your water glass at the end of the meal. While nothing that follows has become standardized, it helps paint a picture of what you can expect to see at restaurants near you.

• MORE: The Ultimate Restaurant Menu Cheat Sheet

Forget free refills

Enjoy them while you can because it may soon be something for our kids’ I-remember-when collection to tell their kids.

Soft drinks and coffee are not a massive expense for a restaurant, but not free either. Finding enough staff actually to perform beverage refills is making the practice on its way to becoming a relic. Instead, thirsty customers in some establishments need to request and then pay for each refill—a way the restaurant is covering increased costs.

Share the pain

Even though pasta, for example, costs the restaurant about the same as it did months ago, you may see big jumps for pasta dishes.

Example: Beef steak has gone through the roof, so a restauranteur may tack on some of that increase to the steak menu price to keep customers happy with only a tiny increase, offsetting the balance of the real cost by adding it to the price of say, Fettuccini Alfredo.

Charging for everything

We’re hearing about restaurants starting to charge for add-ons and extras such as condiments, coffee creams, ranch dip, and other add-ons. Don’t be surprised to see a slew of $.50 or $1.00 charges for items that have been previously complimentary.

Care to share?

More restaurants are adding a share fee or split charge, which should be disclosed on the menu, but don’t count on it. If you prefer to share a meal, entree, etc., you can ask for an extra plate but get ready to be charged $5 or more for the privilege.

 

 

Reservation deposit

It’s happened a couple of times for me: I make reservations at OpenTable.com, then discover the restaurant requires a credit card with clear instructions that if we don’t show up, there will be a significant fee to cover. It rubs me the wrong way but may indeed indicate what’s coming. I can see how this practice affects a restaurant negatively. Still, I am not a fan of reservation deposits because they come with conditions, i.e., if you cancel within 72 hours, you lose your deposit.

Gratuities no longer optional

This one really gets my goat. And again, with apologies to service persons everywhere, a gratuity is not a given. It is a reward for service rendered beyond what is expected. A gratuity should be optional, a customer’s decision. Get ready to kiss that concept goodbye as more and more restaurants are automatically adding 18% gratuity to the bill, with a nudge to “please add more if you like.”

In the face of this kind of thing, I console myself that the whole activity of eating out is still optional. It’s my choice, and if I choose to dine out, I’d better plan that it comes at a much higher cost than ever before in the history of civilization.

New fees

I first saw this on a restaurant bill in 2020: Covid Recovery Fee: 8%. What? Really? Another was somewhat gentler: Showing Love to Our Staff Fee: 7%. Another place calls it their Back-of-the-House Appreciation Fee: 6%. Or how about this one: Obamacare (ACA): $.20. See how a restaurant can pass inflation to the customer in small bits here and here, hoping to make it unnoticeable?

Get ready

Between April 2021 and April 2022, the total number of restaurants in the United States adding service fees to guest checks increased by 36.4%, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Slash the High Cost of Dining Out

This is easy—cook at home. Instead of seeing restaurant meals as routine, save dining out for special occasions, fully aware that what you see on the menu is only part of what will show up on the bill.

 

Graphic Courtesy of: OpenTable.com

 

 

---

 

 

 

More from Everyday Cheapskate

Please keep your comments positive, encouraging, helpful, brief,
and on-topic in keeping with EC Commenting Guidelines

Caught yourself reading all the way 'til the end? Why not share with a friend.