167360 Fri Mar 28 17:49:51 -0800 2003 7 14 Washington DC & Baltimore Area 0 895142 I've never heard of this before and wondered if this is common or simply a restaurant's attempt to rip me off. Meeting friends tomorrow night at Cafe Atlantico at the bar for a birthday celebration, and I want to bring a cake for my very good friend and the guests (from Heidelberg, of course). Being smart, I called today to find out if that was okay, and they told me that they charge a "cutting" fee" of $2.50 per slice. The man who answered the phone said it was just like a corkage fee (not in my world, buddy!) I know cutting a cake can get messy sometimes but it is just me, or is a cutting fee excessive and unwarranted? Fri Mar 28 17:49:51 -0800 2003 0 Nancy 1 895143 In my experience, anytime you bring food or drink into a restaurant and serve it, it usually requires a fee of some kind (if it is permitted at all, which it often isn't). Particularly in a popular restaurant like Cafe Atlantico that has no trouble turning tables over on a weekend night. After all, if you weren't serving the cake, guests would presumably be consuming more of the restaurant's food (dessert or otherwise). Or the table would turn over quicker, and new customers would be seated. At a birthday celebration like the one you are describing, people often linger over coffee and cake and the restaurant makes less money than they would if the table was going to a normal party. Just the perspective of a former service industry type... Fri Mar 28 18:04:15 -0800 2003 895142 0 mimi 2 895144 Point taken but we'll be at the bar, not a table (it will be a large group, 15-20 people who definitely drink!) and I'd be more amenable to paying a flat fee for bringing a cake from outside, instead of per slice, as I was quoted. We are now leaning toward candles and 3-4 desserts instead, on principle alone. Fri Mar 28 18:13:20 -0800 2003 895143 0 Nancy 3 895145 Will you be bringing a knife? Plates? forks? Napkins? All those things have an associated cost (including breakage/loss) that the restaurant wants to cover. I think it's not uncommon when someone wants to bring outside food/drink in to a restaurant to charge a fee like this. Fri Mar 28 18:21:40 -0800 2003 895144 0 Chris VR 4 895147 In addition to the costs mentioned above, good restaurants would normally decorate each slice as if they were serving their own dessert. $2.50 per slice translates to $20 per eight people, which is a flat cake-cutting fee some restaurants charge for a medium-size cake. Fri Mar 28 20:36:55 -0800 2003 895145 0 AC 1 895183 Individually wrapped Hostess snack cakes. No cutting fee involved;) Mon Mar 31 10:04:30 -0800 2003 895142 0 Malcolm J. 1 895204 I celebrated a birthday a few years ago at Barolo. They offered us a dessert menu and when we told them we were going home to have cake they told me that they charged no cutting/serving fee and that we should have brought it with us. You might want to check around next time. shellymck Mon Mar 31 14:41:15 -0800 2003 895142 0 shellymck 1 895210 Fun was had by all, sans cake (but many mojitos, guacamole, malanga dip/chips and scallops appetizer at the bar - all very good). And the manager sought me out - he read my post! He was quite apologetic and I explained that I would have been more amenable to a set fee, instead of a per slice charge. I have eaten there before, and I will definitely go back. The food and atmosphere at Cafe Atlantico are great. Thanks for all the input. Mon Mar 31 15:51:12 -0800 2003 895142 0 Nancy