Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I went to a restaurant recently, and on the menu I noticed that a particular brand of sparkling wine cost $27 for a bottle. At my local bottle shop, the exact same bottle costs $8.
Anyone notice such a hike in the price of the same drink at restaurants over its retail value in your area? Are they price gouging or is there a reason for this?
I went to a restaurant recently, and on the menu I noticed that a particular brand of sparkling wine cost $27 for a bottle. At my local bottle shop, the exact same bottle costs $8.
Anyone notice such a hike in the price of the same drink at restaurants over its retail value in your area? Are they price gouging or is there a reason for this?
I once heard a restaurant credict in So Ca say, a bottle of wine should never be more than double, in a restaurant over what it is in a bottle store. of course this is wonderful advise, but what do you do when you have no choice?
I went to a restaurant recently, and on the menu I noticed that a particular brand of sparkling wine cost $27 for a bottle. At my local bottle shop, the exact same bottle costs $8.
Anyone notice such a hike in the price of the same drink at restaurants over its retail value in your area? Are they price gouging or is there a reason for this?
The basic rule of thumb for marking up food in restaurants is 3X the cost of ingredients, with nicer restaurants marking up more. But that is to cover the labor costs, and pay the rent and the linen service and the advertising, and hopefully include a bit of profit. It would seem that opening a bottle of wine is quick and simple so it should be marked up less than food, but wine service is expensive for restaurants, with storage and spoilage and high stemware breakage, etc. And in many cases, your bill for the dinner only pays the rent, and your beverage service is expected to generate the profit. So management tends to think in terms of 2.5 - 3X markup on less expensive wines (and a wine that is $8 at retail is a cheaper wine), decreasing to maybe 2X on pricier wines. Maybe.
Sparkling wines (Champagne, Prosecco and the like) do tend to be marked up more in nightclubs because people tend to buy them when they are celebrating, thus will spend a bit more, and a little of that thinking slops over onto restaurant .
But still, if you live in a state where restaurants pay retail prices for their wines, at $27 that $8 bottle is being marked up 3.375 times, which has that rrrrrrrrrrripping sound, to me. Personally, I wouldn't order wine there often, and might not even eat there any more once I figured that out unless I really liked the food and felt it was fair value for money.
Worse, if you live in a state where restaurants buy wine at wholesale prices, the markup would be higher. Even if they are only getting a 10% discount for buying case lots, that still means they are paying $7.20 for that bottle, and marking it up 3.75X to get their menu price of $27.
I'll just have water, please! No, no... tap water will be fine.
this is how restaurants operate! the booze always provides them with greatest margin - be it wine, beer, scotch or anything else. they are close to break-even on food, but they will always get you through booze.
last time I had a nice drum of Ardbeg 10, I payed $12. I mean WTF, 12 bucks for a small portion of whisky, when I can get a big bottle at the store for $45?
this is how restaurants operate! the booze always provides them with greatest margin - be it wine, beer, scotch or anything else. they are close to break-even on food, but they will always get you through booze.
last time I had a nice drum of Ardbeg 10, I payed $12. I mean WTF, 12 bucks for a small portion of whisky, when I can get a big bottle at the store for $45?
But people do like the experience of dining out, and having drinks in a group setting. And for that you pay.
Cocktails are marked up even more than wine, with 5X the liquor cost being a common starting point for management calculations, and maybe 4X for straight shots.
Let's do the math... that $45 bottle of whisky, at 15.6 drinks (1.5 oz) per bottle works out to cost $2.88 per drink, so that $12 price represents a 4.17X markup, not too bad.
this is how restaurants operate! the booze always provides them with greatest margin - be it wine, beer, scotch or anything else. they are close to break-even on food, but they will always get you through booze.
last time I had a nice drum of Ardbeg 10, I payed $12. I mean WTF, 12 bucks for a small portion of whisky, when I can get a big bottle at the store for $45?
yes, their biggest profit is on alcohol and drinks of all kinds. Think about the profit, for instance on soft drinks in fast food restaurants? I still have a problem with the price some restaurants charge for a mixed drink or glass of wine....of course we can always decide not to have a drink. I actually have a friend thatdoes this most of the time. Her husband doesn't drink so when they want to go out for dinner, she will have a drink or two and home first. This is ok, if that is what someone wants to do: I still like my drink before or with my meal, especially my wine.
Nita
Interesting subject, because hubby and I have recently put ourselves on an eating out budget. Our tabs were becoming ridiculously high when we have dinner out because we like 2-3 glasses of wine apiece. And we usually just drink the house brands or the least expensive. Still, I have noticed most places charge AT LEAST 3 times the cost per bottle. OK, I know that restaurants make their profits on their alcohol. But our wine tab was running more than the cost of our dinners, whether at cheaper or nicer places.
Bottom line, we know that when we go out to eat we want at least two glasses of wine; so we have been eating at places where we get a real value on the dinner (for quality and price point). I factor in how much it's going to cost ahead of time so that we don't come out of there shocked because our tab was $90 We enjoy eating out and do not want to give it up; we don't take vacations due to time and money right now, so we look at this almost like a "mini-vacation" when we eat out. And we need our wine with our dinner! So I just plan ahead when we go out.
I do draw the line at the after dinner drinks - those are REALLY high-priced. I keep a nice bottle of cognac at home for that.
when I go out to eat (to even fanciest restaurants), I usually do not buy alcohol, or buy only one moderately priced beer and double fist it with water.
happy hours are of course the best thing to do.
I tend to drink either at home or friend's places -- and save a ton of money that way !
Sadly true for us as well my gypsy sister. The price of our drinks is always more than the price of our meal. You can figure 3x increase for a glass of wine vs. the bottle at the store.
The big mark up on alcohol is the reason I don't order it in restaurants. I have water or diet soda. In fact, I cannot remember the last time I ordered a drink in a restaurant.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
We enjoy eating out and do not want to give it up; we don't take vacations due to time and money right now, so we look at this almost like a "mini-vacation" when we eat out. And we need our wine with our dinner! 
So I just plan ahead when we go out. 
