6 Restaurant Menu Tricks That Could Cost You Money

Yes, restaurants exist to serve food, but to do that, they need to make money. At the end of the day, this is the primary objective for any restaurant. To do so requires great food and excellent service, but some sneaky tricks exist as well that can get you to spend more money.

Six main tricks hide in plain sight on restaurant menus, according to Fred Harrington, the CEO of discount platform Proxy Coupons. I myself have many years of experience in the restaurant industry as well, and for the most part, he's right. 

Curious to know what you've been falling for all these years and how to save money the next time you're dining out? Take a look.

A lot of swirling, fancy words can compel you to order something that may be a bit more expensive. I have firsthand experience in this, having been employed as a menu copywriter in the past. 

People would pay me to change words like "Garden salad" into words like "Seasonal lettuces, sun-ripened tomatoes, heirloom cucumber, local carrot, house crouton, with zesty Italian vinaigrette." Which would you rather order?

Ironically, I now roll my eyes at the type of stuff. I'm much more likely to go for the garden salad.

It’s true that where you place items on a menu makes a big difference; Harrington says that your eye first hits the center of the menu, and then moves to the upper right. Those spots are going to be where you find all the big-ticket items, the ones that sell the most.

The next step in the placement process is the design itself. Notice any colorful boxes? Different fonts? Bold text? This is the restaurant telling you what they’d like you to order. And why do they want you to order that dish?

Because that dish makes them a lot of money.

This doesn’t exist everywhere, but there’s something to the idea of offering similar dishes with three different prices. According to Harrington, the middle-priced item tends to be more appealing because it’s sandwiched between a better and worse option. 

For example, if you’ve got fish and chips for $15, roasted sea bass for $30, and a whole, fried branzino for $65, the sea bass is going to feel less expensive by comparison. And in some cases, the branzino isn’t even meant to be ordered, which leads us to the next point…

Harrington claims that sometimes, you’ll find dishes designed to make another look more appealing. “Restaurants will include one ridiculously expensive item that makes everything else seem reasonable by comparison,” he says. 

The $20 burger, which seemed expensive before, now looks like a steal compared to the $160 tomahawk steak, which the restaurant doesn’t intend to sell too many of.

You know our friend, the dollar sign, AKA: $. He’s a scary guy. We all know this. A steak for $50 is far less appealing than a steak for a cool “50”. According to Harrington, “your brain immediately processes that as money leaving your wallet but when it's just ‘10’, it feels more like a number than a price.”

I’m sure he’s on to something here, but… that sounds like a rich guy’s attitude to me.

For more smart tips to save money, sign up for our free newsletters.