Restaurant has 2 prices for same menu

[Fern]

Has anyone run across this in thier area?

My local Chinese restaurant, i discovered, has one (lower-priced) menu for take-out, and another higher priced menu for the same items if you eat in the restaurant, presumably becus of the table service.

[robby]

I'm not sure if this is the case with yours, but I once worked at a restaurant where they had different prices. They had lower prices for take out because the packaging made the portions smaller and therefore thought it only fair to charge less.

[cercis]

That's interesting. I've never experienced that.

It'd be worth looking into for take-out, unless you just like being waited on (and there is nothing wrong with that, I love having someone fill my water, etc).

[Bruce Wayne]

In Paris it's traditional to have different prices whether you drink at the bar or at tables. Makes a mockery of the 'expense' of delivery though if you're paying less for take out wouldn't you say?

[akaivyleaf]

A lot of 24 hour resturants have more expensive prices between Midnight and 6am, presumably because they pay their night time help, a higher shift differntial and pass that on to the consumer. I've also experienced lunch time/dinner time price shifts for the same portion and menu items.

[cercis]

Bruce, I had assumed that this was for pick-up only. Hmm, I'd like more information from the original poster (OP).

[Fern]

I could sort of see why they may charge more if you drink at a table as
opposed to the bar, since you'd be taking up table space that would
otherwise be more lucrative for the owner if someone were sitting at the
table eating a meal.

In my case, the restaurant has just one small seating area with tables
with no bar. We also have chinese restaurants in the area that serve
buffet style and they charge for more the same buffet on the weekend as
opposed to weekdays. It seems it's the chinese restaurants that want to
charge a la carte for every little thing.

[cercis]

Fern, here the chinese buffets do actually vary greatly on the weekends and evenings. They pull out the more expensive seafood and other dishes. I don't like most seafood, so I don't miss out by going to lunch, but DH loves all the lobster, crab, shrimp and crayfish so he wants to go on the weekends occasionally.

If it was the same, I'd be pretty ticked off too.