Marco Pierre White’s London Steakhouse is now charging a £1.50 fee for napkins
by Amy Houghton · Time Out LondonThere are some things you might expect to pay a bit extra for at a restaurant – additional bread to mop up your soup, an extra jug of gravy, bottled mineral water instead of tap, that sort of stuff. One thing you probably haven’t prepared to pay for is the napkin or tablecloth.
But London Steakhouse Company, co-founded by celeb chef Marco Pierre White, has had a £1 fee for just that since 2022. But it’s facing new backlash after recently increasing that charge to £1.50.
On its website, the restaurant says: ‘Our £1.50 cover charge is a fixed fee chargeable per person to cover the cost of laundering table linen/napkins and other consumables.’
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In response to reports about the charge, one X user complained: ‘This is why restaurants are shutting down, they are stealing from customers.’ Another wrote: ‘Next thing there will be charges for cutlery.’
The steakhouse also charges a £10 fee for guests who book certain set members more than 48 hours in advance. Its discretionary service is 9.5 percent, which is below the standard 12.5 percent.
Jane Hawkes, a consumer expert, called the fee ‘bonkers’. She told the Telegraph: ‘The hospitality industry is struggling, but don’t bamboozle your customers, a fee just for the privilege of booking is unfair. It's not at all fair to introduce an extra charge for something that should be included as standard.’
Hospitality expert Steven Hesketh told LBC: ‘To continue adding additional charges for customers is another nail in the coffin of the hospitality industry, which we really don’t need.’
In a statement, London Steakhouse Company said: ‘Our decision to introduce a small flat cover charge reflects the rising costs of running a hospitality business and helps us cover essentials like linen without increasing menu prices across the board.
‘Introduced in 2022, the cover charge has received an overwhelmingly positive response from our customers, and we are grateful for their understanding and support. Of course, if a customer objects, our policy is to remove the charge from their bill.
‘It’s worth noting that the year to September 2024 saw the greatest number of restaurant closures in over a decade, highlighting the immense pressures faced by our industry.’
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