What does the corkage fee mean? What is a corkage fee in a restaurant?

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

If you have ever ordered a banquet in a restaurant (for example, for a wedding or for another large-scale celebration), you may have come across such a thing as a “corkage fee”. The proposed article will tell you what it is, where it came from and what to do with this phenomenon.

Meaning and origin

In English, this fee is called corkage fee. It means a fee for uncorking and serving a bottle of wine to the table, which the restaurant visitor brought with him. This practice is common among high-income people who have a home wine cellar and occasionally feel like dining out with their favorite drink, professionally prepared food. This can be done in a very civilized way: for you, the bottle will be rubbed to a shine, uncorked and served to the table, and then the fee for such service will be included in your bill. That's what the corkage fee means. This fee can vary at different restaurants, ranging from $15 to $85.

And now consider the features of this restaurant policyon the example of various countries and individual institutions.

In Europe and USA

Abroad it's considered good practice to follow a few rules when you bring your own wine. First, you need to call the restaurant in advance and warn of your desire. This is usually done at the same time as booking a table. At the same time, you can clarify which corkage system is used in this institution: what it will include and how much it will cost.

In some restaurants, the price for one open bottle is equal to the cost of the cheapest drink presented in the wine list. In other places it is higher, but you can count on a discount if you also buy local alcohol in addition to what you brought with you. In especially pretentious restaurants, the amount of corkage fee depends on the brand of wine: the more elite, the more expensive.

It is absolutely bad form to buy cheap wine to drink it in a restaurant. They do not save on such things, especially if they want to visit this institution again in the future.

At popular resorts

Now let's find out if there is a corkage fee in restaurants in Turkey, Egypt and other favorite tourist places. Judging by the reviews of visitors to restaurants and bars located at hotels, this system is not available in the resorts. Tourists bring their own drinks: champagne, wine, whiskey, etc. You can safely drink a bottle alone or in someone else's company. The waiters do not include additional charges on your bill, and at the request (sometimes without waiting for it) they bring glasses andice bucket.

True, this democratic practice does not apply to banquets. If you host a large event with your own alcohol, you will have to pay for the service at the set rate.

In Moscow and St. Petersburg

For Russian restaurants, this practice was considered exotic until recently, but since 2013 it has been introduced in all large and popular places. Restaurants in luxury hotels were the first to charge such a fee, and then the phenomenon began to spread more widely. Now you can encounter it more and more often, so you should find out what the corkage fee is in Moscow restaurants, for example.

So, in "Wasabi" closed factory bottles of wine, champagne and all kinds of strong alcohol are accepted for service. But it is forbidden to bring low-alcohol, home-cooked or purchased on tap drinks to the restaurant. Prices vary from 150 to 400 rubles for each open bottle, depending on its volume and alcohol strength. Often you can bring your own alcohol only if you order food from the menu for a certain amount.

In general, the restaurants of the two capitals do not always support the corkage fee system, since it is much more profitable to sell alcohol from their own stocks. The exception is elite places, where visitors sometimes bring rare collection brands of wines and other alcohol.

The situation is completely different when it comes to organizing weddings, corporate celebrations and other similar events. In thisIn this case, it is very beneficial for a restaurant to set its own rules, because the corkage fee is not yet regulated by law.

The following fee systems are practiced:

• how many bottles are brought, the same number should be bought in the institution;
• buy a certain amount of alcohol in a local bar, after which you can freely drink brought with you;
• fee is charged for each brought (or just opened) bottle.

The price varies from 300 to 1000 rubles for wine and champagne and from 700 to 3000 rubles for strong alcohol.

Other cities

And what is a corkage fee in a restaurant far outside of St. Petersburg and Moscow? Its essence is the same: a monetary payment for the right to drink alcohol brought with you. This system is also practiced when organizing banquets in the restaurant hall. Naturally, the cost will be lower compared to the metropolitan establishments: the lower limit is 50 rubles per bottle, the upper limit is 300.

Tips on how to save money

If you can't find a place without congestion fees, you can think of an effective strategy.

1. Agree with the restaurant on mutually beneficial terms. Since there is no single, legally regulated price, you can safely discuss this issue with the administration. The result of negotiations may be a certain price or an agreement to purchase a certain amount of alcohol in the restaurant itself in exchange for the opportunity to bring your own drinks as well.
2. Buy drinks in large bottles,if the corkage fee in this institution is considered regardless of this parameter.
3. If the corkage fee still far exceeds the cost of alcohol that you plan to purchase for the holiday, then it makes sense to think about the advisability of drinking your drinks. Sometimes it can be cheaper and easier to order them in the restaurant itself.

Now you know what a corkage fee is, how popular it is in Russia and abroad, in what forms it is expressed and, most importantly, what is the price of this issue. And when ordering a banquet, you will already be savvy in this and will not make a mistake.