# Weird restaurant policies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 22, 2012, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-restaurant-policies/622696 "2012-05-22T07:24:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2012, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-restaurant-policies/622696/61 "2012-05-23T04:45:26Z")
> [@Lacunae\_Matata](#): > > Random restaurants through the years: a posted sign or menu note that says “no sharing entrees.” I completely understand this for a buffet, but it’s perfectly common for two people to order salads and/or appetizers, split a main course, and maybe have dessert. My daughter and I, or my mom and I do this regularly because so many restaurant meals are just too huge for one person. I’ve actively avoided places that have that policy. My husband and I often have one appetizer and one entree between us. We might order another side dish (another salad, for instance), but if we order two main courses, we also say “Just bring out a couple of to-go boxes with it”, because we know that we’re gonna end up taking half home. > [@tdn](#): > > I’ve seen some places that allow sharing, but charge for an extra plate. Personally, I think this is a ripoff in most cases. Now, I’ve seen Mexican places that charge a small setup fee, but in those places, that’s for the chips and salsas and tortillas. And it’s because a lot of people will just eat the tortillas and salsa, without ordering anything else. These restaurants also tend to offer a “fajita setup plate” for a small charge, which means that two people can share an order of fajitas, as the setup plate have beans and rice and pico de gallo and onions and such. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2012, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-restaurant-policies/622696/62 "2012-05-23T04:46:33Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Makes sense to me. One initial plate and one extra plate, and that’s all you can eat! I would’ve very politely told them to either bring me another plalte, or I wasn’t paying them a dime. > [@Agent\_Foxtrot](#): > > I never quite understood weird restaurant polices. Is it because restaurant profit margins are so thin that managers look anywhere to save money, or is it because the industry is inherently greedy? > [@Mister\_Rik](#): > > …It probably never occurred to her that those Solo cups and their lids were costing her more than any “extra” syrup/sauce the customers would use if she just gave them the bottle. > > Amazingly, she’s still in business, but the place has never been as busy for her as it was for the previous owner. Same cooks (aside from me), same food, totally different level of service. That seems to be a recurring theme on **Kitchen Nightmares** and **Restaurant: Impossible** ; owners who don’t really know what they’re doing, fixate on random & petty things while ignoring stuff that actually matters, and won’t listen to anyone who tells them differently. > [@Bleach23](#): > > …I guess he figured it was cheaper to give away a few meals than pay credit card processing fees. I once ate a diner that had the logos for every major credit card on the door. I had a burger & fries, went up to the register to pay, and the cashier gave me the stink-eye when I tried to pay with my Visa. She then pointed to small sign taped to the _side_ of the register saying there as a $10 minimum for credit cards. _Without saying a word_. :mad: I stared back at her for a few seconds before she started talking. I bluntly told her she could either charge my card or give my meal would be free. She started to argue, and I shut her down saying they should’ve had a bigger sign, like on the door were people could see it. She got the owner/cook/manager (I’m not sure which he was) out and they said they’d made an exception, but they’d have to a dollar “service charge” to my bill. I told them no, they could charge me the exact amount of the bill, and I’d call my card for a charge back if there was any discrepency. I got some really nasty looks, but they relented. Never ate there again. And if she’d been nicer and said “I’m sorry we have a $10 minimum” instead of just pointing silently to the sign I would’ve sheepishly pulled Mr Hamilton out of my wallet and be done with it. Probally would’ve still said something about them needing a better sign though ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2012, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-restaurant-policies/622696/63 "2012-05-23T04:50:11Z")
> [@woodrowjween](#): > > Pizza place in Atlanta. Asked for ID when I ordered a beer, fair enough. Brought it several minutes later. Waitress insisted that I now wear a wrist band even though not planning to order another. I’m over 50 by the way. Told her I am not wearing anything I don’t want to. Argued for 5 minutes. Finally had to play the religion card…Nazi’s forcing Jews to wear yellow stars of david. What are they thinking in this place? Afraid that roving bands of underage kids are not going to sneak a sip of my beer and make them lose their beer license? Actually, yes, they ARE afraid that they’ll lose their beer license. Those licenses can be suspended or revoked, you know, and that might make the difference between a profitable restaurant and one that’s losing money. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2012, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-restaurant-policies/622696/64 "2012-05-23T05:34:16Z")
> [@agent foxtrot](#): > > missed edit window: I’ve also noticed that establishments owned by immigrants tend to be a lot more strict with policies like this (especially not offering free refills), any idea why? no coke pepsi no soup for you ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2012, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-restaurant-policies/622696/65 "2012-05-23T05:35:29Z")
I used to go to buffet/all-you-can-eat restaurants with a woman I’ll call Shirley. When she filled her buffet plate, she would come to the table and take several zip-loc bags out of her purse and fill them from the plate, to my surprise. At an expensive rib place, this came to the manager’s attention and she did some glib talking to convince him she was not doing anything wrong. :rolleyes: At an Indian-style restaurant I noticed she was getting dirty looks from a customer at a nearby table as she did this. Another time I took her to a Swedish smorgasbord style restaurant I really liked. She reeled from the food served, claiming that her Jewish heritage made her extra carefrul of potentially spoiled food and she refused to eat the food. (This suggests I was deliberately having her served unpalatable food; I was insulted and embarrassed.) While we were on the way to another restaurant she suggested we go to a well-known buffet restaurant and sneak in the back so we could eat from the buffet line for free; :eek: I refused. A lawyer later told me Shirley risked arrest for theft–and _ **I** _ risked arrest as an accessory. I don’t go to restaurants with her any more. I haven’t even seen her in more than a year. ---
**Author:** ![MrDurden](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ed655f/32.png) [@MrDurden](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDurden)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2012, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-restaurant-policies/622696/66 "2012-05-23T06:24:49Z")
> [@dougie\_monty](#): > > A few years ago my Mom went to a local restaurant; when she paid her bill they gave her the currency change, but not the coin change. They said it was “policy” to keep the coin change. She said she would never return. (She eventually did.) As someone who worked in the industry in a high turnover restaurant(s)… I can say this is pretty standard practice. Whether the bill is 17.43 or 87.32, we would usually round up and give the appropriate amount of cash back.. kind of ASSUMING the one or two percent-ish tip and hoping to get more. About 99.99% of the people who paid with cash got this. The .01 percent that didn’t… well, the manager would back up any server who got complaints. Which I remember as like two in 2 years of working at one particular place. The simple reason was, servers are usually very busy and don’t carry a cash register’s worth of coins on them.. and not time to change everyone’s bill into 19 cents or what have you. I would usually have quarters, but nothing smaller. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2012, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-restaurant-policies/622696/67 "2012-05-23T06:37:19Z")
> [@](#): > > As someone who worked in the industry in a high turnover restaurant(s)… I can say this is pretty standard practice. Whether the bill is 17.43 or 87.32, we would usually round up and give the appropriate amount of cash back.. kind of ASSUMING the one or two percent-ish tip and hoping to get more. About 99.99% of the people who paid with cash got this. The .01 percent that didn’t… well, the manager would back up any server who got complaints. In my experience, the restaurant or server will, if anything, round DOWN, in favor of the customer. So if I had a bill for 17.43, to use your example, and paid with a twenty, I’d get two singles and three shiny quarters as my change. This sort of slight generosity on the part of the restaurant or server would indeed result in a slightly larger tip from me. If I received less change than I was supposed to get, though, this would definitely backfire on the server/restaurant, because I’d probably leave two cents as the tip. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2012, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-restaurant-policies/622696/68 "2012-05-23T12:27:28Z")
> [@GreasyJack](#): > > There was a vegetarian Indian restaurant in the town I went to college that had gender-divided seating the first few years it was open. Wow, where was this? There are a few kabab places around here that have closed-door “family” seating areas for Muslims who don’t want their women eating in full view of the public. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2012, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-restaurant-policies/622696/69 "2012-05-23T13:18:06Z")
> [@MrDurden](#): > > As someone who worked in the industry in a high turnover restaurant(s)… I can say this is pretty standard practice. I’ll confess that I’ve never seen this in my 29 years in the business. > [@](#): > > The simple reason was, servers are usually very busy and don’t carry a cash register’s worth of coins on them.. and not time to change everyone’s bill into 19 cents or what have you. I would usually have quarters, but nothing smaller. What, were you making change out of your pocket, right at the table, instead of going to the cash register? ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2012, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-restaurant-policies/622696/70 "2012-05-23T13:42:09Z")
> [@dougie\_monty](#): > > I used to go to buffet/all-you-can-eat restaurants with a woman I’ll call Shirley. When she filled her buffet plate, she would come to the table and take several zip-loc bags out of her purse and fill them from the plate, to my surprise. At an expensive rib place, this came to the manager’s attention and she did some glib talking to convince him she was not doing anything wrong. :rolleyes: At an Indian-style restaurant I noticed she was getting dirty looks from a customer at a nearby table as she did this. Holy shit, she sounds like a piece of work. A friend told me that on Monday one of her coworkers baked a chocolate cake and brought it in for everyone to share. Their boss took three pieces to bring home to his family. Some people are really clueless. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2012, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-restaurant-policies/622696/71 "2012-05-23T13:50:03Z")
> [@Mighty\_Mouse](#): > > I’m an American of Pakistani origin. A few years ago, I went into an Indian restaurant in an Atlanta suburb while on a business trip and ordered some chicken tikka masala. It is the least authentic thing on an Indian restaurant menu. > > Damned if the waiter didn’t refuse to take the order, and insisted that I order something authentically Indian. That’s hilarious. I’ve heard of the other way around (“You wouldn’t like that, you’re a foreigner”), but that’s the first time I’ve heard “You wouldn’t like it, you’re not a foreigner”! ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2012, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-restaurant-policies/622696/72 "2012-05-23T13:50:45Z")
> [@Dervorin](#): > > I was at a restaurant last night (an old favourite that’s recently become much bigger) and was told that it was their policy to only serve tap water on the ground floor. If you were seated either in the basement or on the first floor, you only got bottled water. I was rather annoyed, but not enough to wait 20 minutes, move tables, and get my damn tap water. That may actually be illegal - in some states it is actually state law that they provide a glass of tap water to anybody who asks, customer or not. > [@grude](#): > > I don’t know that I’d call it a restaurant as there is no seating inside just a counter to order and pay, but Charlie’s original black pudding is the only place I have ever been to where the clerk seemed worried about selling me their food. I had to assure them I knew what I was buying first, as if I randomly walk into places and order random things. When I was 8 years old, my dad and I went out for lunch at the [Pen and Pencil](http://ny.eater.com/archives/2010/07/mapping_the_bars_and_restaurants_of_mad_men.php#pointmap) in NY [this was in 1969] and I ordered [steak tartare](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steak_tartare). The poor waiter tried desperately to get me to change it to a hamburger and right up until he saw me dig in he was trying to convince my dad that there was no problem, he could take it back and have the chef turn it into a hamburger. ---
**Author:** ![FuriousGeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecae2f/32.png) [@FuriousGeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FuriousGeorge)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2012, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-restaurant-policies/622696/73 "2012-05-23T13:51:20Z")
> [@Icarus](#): > > Big busy restaurants not taking reservations - yes, I know you want me to chill in the bar and order $18 drinks, sorry, not gonna happen. Yes, I know you want to have massive crowds of people hanging out in front because it makes you look “happening” - but honestly, hire another hottie to manage the list, install a phone line and GET THE F\*CK OVER YOURSELF! This, big time. Mother’s Day breakfast and you’re NOT taking reservations? Good call. You don’t even have a bar to hang out in and buy overpriced mimosas. Genius! ---
**Author:** ![Namkcalb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c89c15/32.png) [@Namkcalb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Namkcalb)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2012, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-restaurant-policies/622696/74 "2012-05-23T14:01:07Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > > [@dougie\_monty](#): > > > > I used to go to buffet/all-you-can-eat restaurants with a woman I’ll call Shirley. When she filled her buffet plate, she would come to the table and take several zip-loc bags out of her purse and fill them from the plate, to my surprise. At an expensive rib place, this came to the manager’s attention and she did some glib talking to convince him she was not doing anything wrong. :rolleyes: At an Indian-style restaurant I noticed she was getting dirty looks from a customer at a nearby table as she did this. > > Holy shit, she sounds like a piece of work. > > A friend told me that on Monday one of her coworkers baked a chocolate cake and brought it in for everyone to share. Their boss took three pieces to bring home to his family. > > Some people are really clueless. The boss isn’t clueless, he’s just a jerk who knows who holds the cards. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2012, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-restaurant-policies/622696/75 "2012-05-23T14:06:37Z")
> [@Namkcalb](#): > > The boss isn’t clueless, he’s just a jerk who knows who holds the cards. I stand corrected. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2012, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-restaurant-policies/622696/76 "2012-05-23T14:23:28Z")
> [@FuriousGeorge](#): > > This, big time. Mother’s Day breakfast and you’re NOT taking reservations? Good call. You don’t even have a bar to hang out in and buy overpriced mimosas. Genius! Are people not showing up for brunch because of the lack of reservations? Why shouldn’t you have to stand in line like everyone else? ---
**Author:** ![FuriousGeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecae2f/32.png) [@FuriousGeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FuriousGeorge)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2012, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-restaurant-policies/622696/77 "2012-05-23T14:33:52Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Are people not showing up for brunch because of the lack of reservations? At least this one party of ten did not show up because they weren’t taking reservations or call ahead seating process. > [@Acsenray](#): > > Why shouldn’t you have to stand in line like everyone else? Because I tried to plan ahead and call several days before to get reservations (or, at the very least, given a call ahead seating process) so that we wouldn’t have ten people, in our party alone, milling about an overcrowded waiting area for 45 minutes. They weren’t taking reservations and weren’t planning to on one of their busiest days of the year. This seems counterintuitive to me. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2012, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-restaurant-policies/622696/78 "2012-05-23T14:37:26Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Are people not showing up for brunch because of the lack of reservations? Why shouldn’t you have to stand in line like everyone else? Have you ever tried just walking into a nice restaurant on Mother’s Day or Valentine’s Day? ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2012, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-restaurant-policies/622696/79 "2012-05-23T14:37:44Z")
> [@FuriousGeorge](#): > > At least this one party of ten did not show up because they weren’t taking reservations or call ahead seating process. And so what? There were presumably plenty of people who did show up to make up for it. > [@](#): > > Because I tried to plan ahead and call several days before to get reservations (or, at the very least, given a call ahead seating process) so that we wouldn’t have ten people, in our party alone, milling about an overcrowded waiting area for 45 minutes. They weren’t taking reservations and weren’t planning to on one of their busiest days of the year. This seems counterintuitive to me. It seems the opposite to me. Why would they even consider taking reservations if they know that it’s guaranteed that people are going to be lining up for a table? They want the house to be full and if it’s the busiest day of the year, then the house is going to be full. Taking reservations means slower turnover as tables are held for people to show up for their reservations and it means adding unnecessary work and delays to the process. ---
**Author:** ![FuriousGeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecae2f/32.png) [@FuriousGeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FuriousGeorge)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2012, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-restaurant-policies/622696/80 "2012-05-23T14:49:18Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Ar]And so what? There were presumably plenty of people who did show up to make up for it. > It seems the opposite to me. Why would they even consider taking reservations if they know that it’s guaranteed that people are going to be lining up for a table? They want the house to be full and if it’s the busiest day of the year, then the house is going to be full. Taking reservations means slower turnover as tables are held for people to show up for their reservations and it means adding unnecessary work and delays to the process. This, I guess, is one of the agree to disagree things. I thought the whole concept of the reservation/ call ahead seating process was pretty well known. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-restaurant-policies/622696.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-restaurant-policies/622696.md?page=5)