Sharing is only caring until you need an extra plate. Then it costs €5.
Picture it: You sit down at a cosy restaurant, order a couple of drinks, and one juicy steak to be shared between two people. Then you ask for an extra plate and cutlery, and suddenly your bill includes a €5 surcharge for tableware.
Welcome to Venlo, where the sharing surcharge at “Eetcafé Prins Hendrik” triggered a country-wide debate on money, manners, and morals.
Was the restaurant stingy over a single plate? Was the couple pinching pennies by ordering one steak for two? Or has a culture of individualism lost its ability to share?
It was only a matter of time before the cost of living crisis snuck into our cutlery. And indeed it has, this is a growing trend in the Netherlands.
How would you react?
The debate gained traction after Rob Baltus, regional chairman of Koninklijke Horeca Nederland, shared the instance on LinkedIn to gauge public opinion.
According to the restaurant, guests were warned of the surcharge before they requested additional tableware.
“It was €2.50 for cutlery and €2.50 for a plate,” an employee of Eetcafé Prins Hendrik clarified to AD.
Because they were informed prior, “It’s their own choice whether or not to opt for it,” the employee added.
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The guests found the matter despicable, according to the newspaper. And many critics on LinkedIn accused the restaurant of being inhospitable over a measly €2.50.
However, supporters argued back that occupying two seats at a restaurant and ordering one main course was a crime in itself.
Paying for the experience
“This is a way to capitalise on the experience,” wrote Baltus in defence of the surcharge.
Money is not only spent on the dish. Guests are paying for the service, atmosphere, square footage, furniture, and the list goes on.
Just as much as common people, profit margins in the hospitality industry are under pressure. The restaurant in Venlo isn’t the only one charging extra for tableware.
And legally speaking, no law protects your right to a free plate!
The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets says that a sharing surcharge is allowed, as long as it’s communicated in advance.
Whether or not you get it, perhaps, depends on the generosity (non-Dutchness) of the restaurant owner.
Where do you draw the line?
While the challenges of hospitality are very real, where do you draw the line? By the same logic, restaurants may very well charge for in-house candles, curtains, and toilet paper!
Just ask yourself this question: Would you ever catch an Asian restaurant charging for an extra plate?
This is not to say that Dutch restaurant owners entirely lack the generosity gene. Prins Hendrik made sure to mention that children can share for free, and couples can share a cake for free.
But a steak for two adults? Please beware of the terms and conditions.
What is your take on the great plate debate? Tell us in the comments!
This has been standard practice in many European cities for decades, defended and understood by anyone who comprehends the business model of the hospitality industry, and pilloried by those who don’t, and persistently compare the price of their steak or bottle of wine to what it would cost at Lidl…