How restaurants charge hundreds of pounds per person for guests who cancel their booking

Some of the UK’s best restaurants charge hundreds of pounds to guests who cancel their reservations.

This means that some customers have received high bills despite not getting anything to eat.

The Ledbury in London, which has two Michelin stars, charges £195 for guests who cancel within 48 hours of their booking.

Meanwhile, Core by Clare Smyth, which has three Michelin stars, has a similar policy charging £150 per head for guests who cancel.

And it’s not just the country’s fanciest restaurants that charge.

The highest fee is Ynyshir, (pronounced inish-eer), in Machynlleth, Wales.

Voted the best restaurant in the UK, it charges customers £375 per head for dinner, with sales ‘final and non-refundable’.

Guests who are unable to make the date can reschedule, but must notify at least two weeks in advance.

Chefs have previously spoken out about the issues with last minute cancellations and no shows, with many saying this could cause the already fragile post-Covid restaurant industry to crumble.

Celebrity chef Tom Kerridge previously berated customers for not showing up at his London restaurant.

Clare Smyth’s Core, which has three Michelin stars, has a similar policy charging £150 per head for guests who cancel

He wrote: ‘To the 27 people who booked @kerridgesbandg and then didn’t show up on Saturday night… This industry, like many others, is on the brink of collapse.

“Your behavior is disgraceful, short-sighted and downright unhelpful…all of you don’t show up at all the restaurants across the country and add to the problems we already face…YOU are putting people’s jobs more at risk. .

“We’ve tied headcount to the number of covers booked and if you don’t show up, it’s costing us now, which in turn will lead to very inconvenient and difficult headcount decisions.

“You’re the worst guest, and that’s selfish.” I hope you take a good look at yourself…”

James Snowdon, co-founder of the Palmerston in Edinburgh, told the Observer that they once charged £10 each, but ‘no one batted an eyelid’, so they raised it to £20 each.

A customer told the newspaper that they canceled five hours’ notice at a restaurant after being delayed on their way there from the Cotswolds, but were charged £125.

“I did cancel on the same day, but I never showed up. I thought I’d give them some time to fill the space,” she said.

Other restaurants include Salt in Stratford-upon-Avon, who charge £55 for their tasting menu.

“If someone cancels within 48 hours on weekdays, we have trouble reselling the table,” he says. ‘It’s dead money. Now that table is open, food has been ordered, preparation has begun, and staff has been scheduled. I’m very strict about it and we’ve lost customers because of it in the past,” he said.

Other less exclusive restaurants also charge for no-shows.

The Tamil Prince in Islington charges £35 per head for late cancellation up to six hours before booking.