The Essentials

Restaurant Junk Fees

We’ve all heard about junk fees at airlines and hotels.

But now, be prepared for junk fees at restaurants.

These are charges that often aren’t disclosed until you get the check.

One restaurant adds $2.33 if they bring bread to your table. Another adds a 5% “administrative fee”, whatever that is.

And one restaurant added a surcharge of $3.75 to every menu item.

And then, of course, the mandatory — but often unexpected —  gratuities built into the total amount of the bill.

The real issue, of course, beyond the charges themselves, is when or if the restaurant discloses it at the time you order your food, or simply adds it to your tab at the end of the meal.

If it’s the latter and you’re paying with a credit card, you can dispute the tab and claim failure to disclose.