Alex Buscemi
Cocktails at restaurants are usually pricey. That’s to be expected. But the price listed on the menu should be what you pay (excluding tips).
But one unnamed restaurant in Dallas charged TikTok user @blondeswhoeat and her party extra for cocktail “prep charges.”
The hidden fees amounted to $80 on top of their meal and drinks.
Baffled by the unexpected charges, she asked viewers if such fees were “normal,” to which the internet replied, “no, definitely not.”
This woman was baffled by unexpected “prep charges” for the cocktails she ordered at a Dallas restaurant
In her now-viral video, which has garnered over 3.2 million views, she detailed how her bill for a night out with friends ballooned to $530—$400 of which was for drinks alone.
Each cocktail had a mysterious “prep” fee tacked on, in addition to the already high drink prices.
For instance, a $14 Lalo Blanco margarita came with a $3 fee just for shaking the drink, while a Fortaleza Blanco margarita, priced at $32, had a whopping $13 prep fee.
One of her friends ordered a Casa Dragones Blanco margarita, and after adding in the prep charge and opting for a double, the total came to $75 for a single drink.
The hidden “prep charges” — which the server described as “the shaking of the margarita” — amounted to an extra $80 on the final bill
“I was like, ‘What’s prep?’ And [the server] was like, ‘Oh, it’s the shaking of the margarita,'” @blondeswhoeat explained.
The TikToker did not disclose the restaurant’s name, but internet sleuths quickly speculated that it could be Mar Y Sol Cocina Latina, a Dallas restaurant known for serving premium tequila.
However, Mar Y Sol responded humorously on their Instagram, posting a photo of a bartender shaking a cocktail with the caption, “No extra fees were charged in the shaking of this cocktail,” indirectly denying that they were involved.
This viral moment has sparked a debate about hidden fees in the restaurant industry. Some commenters expressed outrage, with one saying, “They might as well charge extra for using the plates and glasses!” Others, including a luxury cocktail bar owner, were equally baffled by the practice, noting, “There is NO reason to charge for prep.”
Watch the full video here
@blondeswhoeat Charging extra to “prep” aka SHAKE your drink is WILD! Or better yet.. a $70 margarita is wild! Has anyone ever seen this before? #dallas #dallasrestaurants #dallasfoodie #fypage
The internet sided with @blondeswhoeat and took aim at the restaurant for its sneaky fees
H/T Bored Panda
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