Outraged diners fume over hidden fees at popular restaurant

Diners have been left fuming after discovering something “sneaky” on the menu of a popular restaurant.

Diners in Brisbane have been left fuming over a string of additional fees that were hidden in the fine print of a restaurant menu.

More than 1300 people have expressed their outrage after a customer at El Camino Cantina in Southbank shared a picture of the “sneaky fees”.

“Additional service fees every day of the week,” the diner noted.

A small disclaimer states the Mexican restaurant charges a 5 per cent service fee from Monday to Saturday and a 10 per cent service fee on Sundays. Public holidays come with a 15 per cent surcharge.

Customers have taken to social media to vent about sneaky charges at El Camino Cantina restaurant in Southbank, Brisbane. Picture: Reddit

Groups of 10 or more people will incur a “discretionary” service charge, and the usual fees for credit cards and debit cards are also applicable.

The picture attracted hundreds of angry comments from people slamming the “false advertising” and fuming over the “ridiculous amount of surcharges”.

“That’s such BS; service fees shouldn’t be a thing. Include them in your price and stop deceiving customers!” one commenter wrote.

Many social media users pointed out diners would have to have to pay 5 per cent more than the listed prices because of the “sneaky” surcharges.

“(There is) literally no way to pay the price listed on the menu. It’s not about the price, it’s about the underhanded way of stating the price,” one person said.

El Camino Cantina is a popular chain of restaurants around Australia. Picture: Richard Walker

Another realised that a group of 10 or more would have to pay a 25 per cent surcharge if they ate at El Camino on a public holiday.

“What a joke,” they said.

A Brisbane local took issue with the amount of service being provided for the fee.

“You order everything off a QR code … so what is the service, exactly?” they asked.

The company which owns El Camino Cantina told NewsWire the surcharges were necessary to cover operating costs and inflation.

“Service charges are commonplace across the Australian hospitality industry and cover various costs incurred by businesses, including penalty rate wages on particular days and higher costs of operating at certain times,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

Patrons must order their food and drinks via QR codes. Picture: Josh Woning

“In addition, recent soaring inflation and minimum wage increases have impacted our business, which continues to be impacted by Covid-19 induced hospitality hardship. We are fully transparent about service charges, which are noted on our menus, websites, and receipts.”

The spokesperson did not respond when asked whether it would be more beneficial to increase El Camino’s prices by 5 per cent instead of charging a daily surcharge.

A rash of recent Google reviews of the restaurant have rated the restaurant poorly because of the “hidden fees”.

The outrage over the “sneaky surcharges” comes only two weeks after a diner at The Bavarian Bier Cafe on the Sunshine Coast was left baffled by an additional charge.

Both the Bavarian Bier Cafe and El Camino Cantina are owned by Pacific Concepts, a hospitality giant which has seemingly implemented the same fee structure across its numerous venues.

Customers were unhappy with additional fees at the popular Mexican restaurant.

Earlier this month, a spokesperson for the company said the daily service fee would be added to all bills for an “interim period” but did not provide an end date.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission noted businesses may be misleading customers if they display a price as a total cost when there are extra fees.

“A simple way to avoid misleading consumers is to display an all-inclusive price that includes the lowest surcharge the consumer cannot avoid paying,” the watchdog said.