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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Cakeage??

58 replies

purplemumster · 27/02/2023 16:57

Testing the waters here to see if we're just stingy country bumpkins!

A group of us are going out for a meal tonight to make a bit of a fuss of a friend before she has a baby. We've booked a table at a restaurant/posh pub she'd mentioned she'd like to go to.
Had a look at the menu, relatively steep prices - cheapest starter £15, cheapest main £25 but looks delish and she's our friend and worth making a fuss of so all good...... Until...

One of our group thought it might be a nice idea to take a cake along, totally fine, it is a kind of celebration I guess. So out of courtesy we let the pub know in advance and were informed that they charge a 'Cakeage' charge of £30 if we touch the cake but don't order a dessert with themselves. It was a very odd response basically giving us 3 options

  1. they will unbox the cake, bring it out and then rebox it - no charge to us whether we order desserts or not.

  2. They will unbox the cake, bring it out and if we eat any of it but don't order a dessert with them they will charge us a £30 'cakeage' fee

  3. I'll be suggesting we take the cake outside after the meal and eat it in the car park under the northern lights😂

Is this a thing?? I've obviously heard of corkage but not this. It feels kind of grabby but I guess the AIBU is - "is cakeage a thing and AIBU to think it's a bit stingy?"

OP posts:
Zhougzhoug · 27/02/2023 17:00

It is a thing and it's fair enough -- if you all had a slice of cake instead of ordering dessert, then you've effectively brought your own dessert.

I'd say £30 was a little steep but do they ONLY charge that if no one orders a dessert? So you could just order a few desserts too and then it would be free? In which case it's beyond fine and good service of them.

Zhougzhoug · 27/02/2023 17:00

It's a stupid word though!

londonrach · 27/02/2023 17:02

I'd not go there. Choose another restaurant

Movinghouseatlast · 27/02/2023 17:03

Realistically the cake will prevent people ordering a pudding if they can eat that instead. How many people will order pudding AND eat cake? So the cake being available means they won't get any pudding orders.

Most hospitality venues are on their knees at the moment. A lovely restaurants in our village has gone bust, another is not opening because they cant cover their electricity bill.

LordEmsworth · 27/02/2023 17:03

Most restaurants can be a bit funny about people bringing their own food, you'll be surprised to hear.

Do you plan to eat it off plates? Will you be washing those up yourselves? And you won't be ordering a dessert, so they're missing out on that. They're being entirely reasonable. Option 4 is presumably dessert AND cake...

Octonaut4Life · 27/02/2023 17:04

It's massively stingy and pretty stupid on their behalf, if people stay for cake they'll probably order more drinks which have a higher profit margin! I would certainly go elsewhere.

MrsBunnyEars · 27/02/2023 17:04

Normal. Unless you’re all buying desert they’re probably losing out of revenue. And at the same time, you’re likely to be rowdier and need more cleaning up!

Sleepygrumpyandnothappy · 27/02/2023 17:04

It’s a thing and totally reasonable. You won’t order pudding but will expect to use their plates etc.

ClaraThePigeon · 27/02/2023 17:05

Cakeage is a thing. I think it's fair enough for them to charge money for it. They lose money when you bring food from elsewhere. Plus how are you serving it? Will you be asking them to cut it and using their plates and cutlery?

budgiegirl · 27/02/2023 17:05

I guess it's fair enough. After all, you wouldn't be allowed to take your own starters or main courses, or drinks. Bringing your own cake will probably stop people from ordering dessert.

DappledThings · 27/02/2023 17:06

Seems reasonable. I've brought a birthday cake to a meal ince (after checking it was OK with the staff) but only when I was sure we would all be ordering dessert as well. Would be CFery to bring a cake and not order dessert there.

AgentJohnson · 27/02/2023 17:06

Grabby??? You are bringing your own desert to a restaurant that serves desert, I think if you really thought about it, you’d see their point.

Original poster
purplemumster · 27/02/2023 17:07

Oh wow, every day's a learning day! Never come across it before!

OP posts:
Emmamoo89 · 27/02/2023 17:07

I think its fair to charge

gawditswindy · 27/02/2023 17:08

Cheapest starter £15 is very expensive though.

saltinesandcoffeecups · 27/02/2023 17:08

Zhougzhoug · 27/02/2023 17:00

It's a stupid word though!

Corkage/Cakeage 🙂

@purplemumster yes it’s totally reasonable for them to charge this. Think about it, what is their business model…providing food/drinks for money. If you bring your own food (in this case cake) you are blocking that table from other customers who will be ordering food and drinks…it’s about table turnover.

SummerInSun · 27/02/2023 17:08

Agree with PP who say it's reasonable but the amount is a bit steep. How about if you but ice cream or cream from them to have with the cake - would they then be ok with that instead?

Lochroy · 27/02/2023 17:08

I don't understand why you have a problem with this? You are taking your own dessert.

BreadInCaptivity · 27/02/2023 17:08

I've heard of this before and I think it's fair enough.

It's not just the fact people won't eat a dessert it's also the cost to the venue of providing (and washing up) the plates and cutlery to eat it.

The whole point of a restaurant is to provide food to people paying for it and not to provide a venue for people to eat their own food for free.

Think of it this way - would you rock up to a pub with a bottle of wine and expect them to be fine about you drinking that using their glasses, using their tables and not buying anything from the bar?

Zhougzhoug · 27/02/2023 17:08

Is one of their desserts a cheeseboard? You could have that and then cake

Ineedsleepandcoffee · 27/02/2023 17:08

If you are taking your own cake, not ordering desserts but taking up time at the table that could be cleared for other guests and potentially using knives, plates, napkins, forks etc.

Original poster
purplemumster · 27/02/2023 17:08

For the record guys, I'm not saying nobody would order dessert, I'm fairly confident dessert will be involved 😂 Just wondered if it was a well known 'thing'. Of course we wouldn't just turn up without checking first hence... us checking first. I'd just never known such strict terms being imposed

OP posts:
Lochroy · 27/02/2023 17:08

(Agree the word sounds daft but we accept the word corkage and it conveys the message with the correct meaning)

saltinesandcoffeecups · 27/02/2023 17:09

Octonaut4Life · 27/02/2023 17:04

It's massively stingy and pretty stupid on their behalf, if people stay for cake they'll probably order more drinks which have a higher profit margin! I would certainly go elsewhere.

But if they turn the table over they know they will be selling food and drinks.

soboredoflooking · 27/02/2023 17:09

I thought it was usually a charge per plate. Like £2 per plate/cutlery for the cake. Least that makes more sense than just it's £30. £30 is quite steep but then if everything else is expensive then makes sense.