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Where To Avoid Check Trickery In NYC

April 27, 2009 at 2:56 PM | by | Comments (0)

Now that fewer people are eating out, some New York City restaurants seem to be adopting the fee-happy policies of your least favorite airlines. The New York Post reports that a few upscale joints have been sneaking formerly included items like bread and butter onto the bill to squeeze their remaining patrons of a few more dollars, like a 10 percent delivery charge at Nobu in Tribeca and a $2.50 supplement for cocktails made with ice at Morton's steakhouse.

This skimming, while distressing, is not at all new: A Gawker post last fall complaining about a Thai restaurant that hid an 18 percent gratuity charge in the bill got alternately flamed for insensitivity and lauded for exposing the gotcha attitude of city retail. But it's even easier to miss a line item on a bill and then suddenly feel like your wallet was a little bit lighter because you got ripped off for your water (which West Village's Bobo Restaurant was caught doing).

Herewith, a few restaurants where there are no illusions:

· The unbeatable duo of the Alligator Lounge in Williamsburg (600 Metropolitan Ave.) and Crocodile Lounge in the East Village (325 E. 14th St.) may not have appreciably cheap drinks, but every beer gets you a free small pizza.
· The Upper West Side's Silk Road Palace restaurant (447 Amsterdam Avenue) does the opposite, providing unlimited free white wine (albeit of the box variety) to hungry diners.
· Manhattanville's Cafe du Soleil packs 'em in Monday nights for $12.95 steaks or hamburgers -- no other purchase necessary.
· And while we ragged on them for raising their "recession special" price a few months back, it's hard to beat Gray's Papaya's $1.50 hot dogs -- you can get 3 under $5 or 2 with their weird mixed fruit drink.

Related Stories:
· Check! (Carefully!) [NY Post]
· Retail Hell: That Was Easy [Gawker]
· Eating Through the Recession: Even the Recession Special Is Going Up! [Jaunted]

[Photo: sshb]

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