DiningBuzz! - Pet Peeve: Split plate charge. Cross posted in Omni.

Please forgive me for cross posting in Omni. A person posted in Omni about moving my Omni thread to this one. Here it is in DiningBuzz!.

In some of the mid to high level restaurants mainly in Southern Calif (and SF & a few places in Hawaii), there is a split plate charge that is usually around $5 or $6. My wife & I don't presently eat alot of food. I am on a restricted diet and don't eat much anymore. (I didn't have any stomach surgury but I need to lose some pounds/KG's.

For Valentine's Day, I took my wife to an upscale restaurant. I made reservations for that evening. We eat there a few times a year and were pleased with the food & service. For that day, the only option was a 4 course meal that had alot of fat, chlorestrol, sugar & salt. I have to severely limit these things. We nicely asked if we can have food off the usual menu but they refused in spite of a doctor's order of restricted diet. The restaurant refused to allow us to order more healthy choices. :td: They had an attitude to boot! My wife didn't want to go somewhere else w/o reservation and wait a long time to eat. I understand her not wanting to go elsewhere.

We had so much food (even with the split entree) that we both took boxes home.

What do you think of the split entree charge at restaurants?

Split entree prices make a lot of sense from the restaurant's perspective.

When you get a table at a restaurant, you are excluding others from taking that seat. If a restaurant must make $5 profit from the average entree to stay afloat, they can either price entrees at cost + $5, or charge $5 for the seat and give you entrees at cost.

Now almost all restaurants choose the former, but in the case of people who attempt to eat at a restaurant by splitting a meal with another, they essentially charge the $5 to seat you.

It's worth noting a less economically minded explanation as well: when you split an entree at a restaurant, you likely consume complimentary water, and require extra plates, silverware, etc. Split plate charges are a way for restaurants to recover these costs.

For those who eat less than average, this is of course less than ideal. Hopefully, considering the situation from the perspective of the restaurant's management can be a bit of consolation.

I'm okay with a modest split plate charge. What burns me, and I will not pay, is a "not eating" charge. I've occasionally gone to places in rather touristy areas (Times Square comes to mind), where even if you order something small, they ding you with a $5 charge for not ordering an entree. :rolleyes:

Actually most restaurants will do both.....mark up the food $5 and then slap you with a $5 for splitting the entree. By the way, the second $5 for the split entree is pure profit.

Let's also tack on another $5 so the owner can buy yet another BMW.

Everyone in New York knows that you NEVER go to Times Square unless you absolutely have to.

I love NY, but UGH, time square is hell on earth.

Are you guys talking about $5 and you guys are literally sharing one dish where they give you an empty second plate? At a lot of Chicago restaurants they may charge you a splitting fee, but the chef actually splits the protein on two dishes, but garnishes each plate individually. I think that is always worth the fee.