Will adding "discretionary" service charge become a thing of the past ?

It could be. Some restaurants are now stopping this sneaky practice to extort money from their guests as it also deprives service staff of their social security benefits and retirement savings.

By definition and legally, at least in the EU, service is an integrated part of a meal and the final price has to be clearly displayed without add ons.

I am not anymore tolerating this dubious practice and wil counter attack the hospitality professionals who try to create an embarassing situation by inverting the game . For this year with the help of AI I prepared a small text which I will print and hand upon asking for the bill. We will see who feels bad, especially at high end restaurants with heavily up priced wine lists:

"regarding fair compensation and transparent / honest pricing - statement of principle

Dining at your establishment, I thoroughly enjoyed the overall experience. However, I noticed a discretionary service charge may be added to my bill, which I find to be rather inelegant.

I firmly believe in fair compensation for staff by the owner, (not by the guest who pays the posted price for the service already), through transparent pricing. The service charge is supposed to be directly reflected in the menu item prices, as per UK pricing transparency regulations. In light of this, I kindly request not adding the discretionary service charge to my bill.

Thank you for your understanding. Please consider this a statement of principle to oppose this tendency."

P.S. Some research on the internet shows that only 20 to 22 % of people ask the removal of that shameful add on.

BTW: In Lisbon some "high end" restaurants even add 10 % to the bill without asking and without this being posted and even worse, others put a stamp on the bill "service not included" - cases for the Courts.