I went to a Christmas gettogether at a Indian restaurant the other day, and ordered a Diet Coke, which came in a 330ml bottle, and when the bill came I was stunned to see that it cost £4.
The pints of beer didn’t cost much more than that, and there’s tax on them. Diet Coke doesn’t even have the sugar tax.
I’ve noticed before that Coke is almost always a rip off in the UK, although £4 was really taking the piss I think.
Abroad it varies, Coke is often a rip off in a lot of European countries too in comparison to alcohol, although in the US I’ve noticed the opposite, Coke is often reasonably priced (and free refills), it’s the alcohol restaurants there rip you off on.
The only logical reasons I could think of why Coke is such a rip off in the UK is maybe because it’s a low volume item in many restaurants, or maybe because there’s such little competition on non-alcoholic drinks that they have a captive audience?
I think I’ll just have tap water next time in any case.
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It’s expensive because they can charge what they want – you’re sat down at the table and can’t bring your own drinks in. There’s no supply-side issue.
The answer you are looking for is ‘greed’. Cola is sold by the bucket load. It’s cheap. Restaurants and pubs are taking the piss, and have been for years. It’s one of the reasons many are closing down. They got a ton of government support during Covid, including ‘eat out to help out’. I don’t mind them changing for things they have to cook and create, and I know they have overheads, but wildly overcharging for basically handing you a bottle makes people stay at home. There’s a difference between doing good business and scamming your customers. I’m pretty sure they’re still quids in at £3.50. I went into our local pub the other day. It was practically empty. One pint and a large glass of white wine, £14.75. Not going back. The social club is £7.20, and they have a band on!
There are a number of reasons why the prices of food items may be higher in restaurants than in supermarkets. Some of the main reasons include:
Cost of labor: Restaurants typically have higher labor costs than supermarkets. They have to pay for the salaries of chefs, servers, and other staff members, which can add to the overall cost of the food.
Overhead costs: Restaurants also have to pay for rent, utilities, and other overhead expenses that supermarkets do not. These costs are passed on to customers in the form of higher prices.
Mark-up: Restaurants often mark up the price of their food to cover their costs and make a profit. This mark-up can vary, but it is typically higher than the mark-up at supermarkets.
Service charge: In some cases, restaurants may add a service charge to the bill, which can also contribute to the higher overall price of the food.
Its the basic economics of business.
Typically you triple or quadruple the price of alcohol to cover your costs. A restaurant will want you to order a £30 bottle of wine and make £20-22.50. If you order cokes then you’re not generating as much profit as those tables so they try and make it up by charging more for soft drinks.
Think of it as hiring the table via drinks and food. The table costs the restaurant roughly the same if you buy a beer or a coke.
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Eating out don’t expect the same value as buying in the shops
Drinks are a big mark up and profit driver for most hospitality businesses. Obviously alcoholic drinks are the big one, but if you aren’t ordering alcohol they don’t want you occupying a table for 1-2 hours and generating hardly any profit, hence the pricey softs.
You’re kind of thinking about it the wrong way round.
The profit on the drink is part of why the restaurant or cafe survives, it’s like a ‘cover charge’ or a ‘sitting-down’ tax
In fact, if the soft drink is from a tin or bottle, the margin won’t be appreciably greater than for a pint.
Other ‘extra’ items can also be marked up v heavily, like tea of coffee at the end, or bread, which increasingly cost £3 to £5 for a few slies, which they may or may not have baked themselves.
I often drink a pint of lime and lemonade in a pub or restaurant. I absolutely don’t care whether they charge it at cost or charge me a fiver- it’s the kind of ‘dining tax’ for me to pay the going rate for a drink if I want a drink.
It’s about your visit as a customer being worthwhile to the restaurant, and they need some minimum profit.
Another example is steak. Although steak is usually the most expensive item, the raw material, the raw steak, costs a lot, so the restaurant makes less on it than on pork belly or offal.
To profit from lol, thats almost with all restaurants
It’s a “because they can” situation – soft drinks are where the big profit margins are because the tax is far lower, part of the reason that there’s been a push toward non-alcoholic versions of booze that costs the same as the regular kind.
Before ordering you should look in their fridge. If it’s little glass bottles then it’s a rip off. If it’s out of a tap then it’s more reasonable.
Also you can’t be one of those people that doesn’t check the price before they order then moans about the price at the end. Read the menu
Because they know your are thirsty and will live with it.
Simply because you’re going to pay it anyway
£4 is pretty unusual and is taking the piss a bit. But basically drinks are where they make their profits most easily, and they do have a lot of costs to cover. It’s not a business that’s easy to make money in.
I’m not sure I’ve been anywhere in the world where soft drinks are cheap at a restaurant (compared to the meal costs, I mean; obviously some places will cost less, but the food will too). Where are you thinking of?