Said It Here

Why do restaurants charge a fee for sharing a meal?

Restaurants charge sharing fees to offset the extra kitchen labor, dishwashing, and table turnover costs incurred when two people occupy a table while ordering only a single portion. This policy often surprises diners and feels insulting, making them feel penalized for eating lightly or trying to avoid food waste.

What people tried

Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.

  1. 1
    Ordering extra drinks, appetizers, or desserts to offset the single entree
  2. 2
    Buying two meals anyway despite knowing the food will go to waste or become unwanted leftovers
  3. 3
    Seeking out casual diners or dive bars that do not enforce split plate fees

In their words

Unedited, most upvoted first, each linked to the thread it came from.

“The server indicated that there was a $7 sharing charge. We had never encountered this at this deli/restaurant.”source ↗

“I was sort of complaining to a friend about the sharing charge, and he told me I was being 'cheap' by only ordering one meal for the two of us.”source ↗

NotReallyJimHarbaugh · r/restaurantowners · 501 upvotes

“If I was really being asked to pay to share my meal I would be livid”source ↗

elanakin · r/restaurantowners · 9 upvotes

Where this came up

r/restaurantownersconsumer complaints

People with this problem also raised