Why do Restaurants not mention the cost of alcoholic drinks on their menus?

[Lisa loves Pooh]

This is an example of the Disney drink menu. It shows exactly what is in it but doesn't list the price.

 

[Squirlz]

First off it has nothing to do with "fluctuating alcohol costs". Beef prices change more than alcohol but the entrees are always priced, right? Like that Disney menu, the listed drinks are specialties that look and sound attractive but are pricey. They want you to order without worrying about the price. They'll gladly tell you but many people don't want to look cheap by asking. So they sell more that way.

 

[JanaDee]

By the same token, why don't convenience stores list prices for most of the stuff they sell? You know - maybe a shelf tag or a sticker?

I've never been in a convenience store that didn't have a price listed for everything.

 

[AustinTink]

My husband and I ordered margaritas in the hotel bar, when we visited NYC this summer. We didn't ask the price beforehand. Totally should have asked... we paid $26 a piece for the worst margaritas we had ever tasted!! $52 dollars for two horrible drinks and a nightmarish bartender giving us attitude!!

 

[MIGrandma]

My husband and I ordered margaritas in the hotel bar, when we visited NYC this summer. We didn't ask the price beforehand. Totally should have asked... we paid $26 a piece for the worst margaritas we had ever tasted!! $52 dollars for two horrible drinks and a nightmarish bartender giving us attitude!!

Wow! Just goes to show we should always ask the price if it isn't listed. I can't imagine paying $26 for ONE drink!!

 

[NotUrsula]

DH & I gave up buying alcohol in restaurants the year after we got married, as part of our "saving up for a house" plan. By the time we bought the house, prices had changed so much that sticker shock put us permanently on the restaurant wagon.

We still drink, mind you, we just don't order cocktails in restaurants, and we don't even buy soft drinks in actual bars because the price is jacked so high. I recently went to a happy hour for a retiring colleague that was at a trendy martini bar; the waiter wasn't particularly happy with me for ordering only tap water, LOL. (The average drink price seemed to run between $12-15 there.)

So, if you have to ask then you can't afford it? Nah, more like, if you have to ask then you are probably too frugal to drink in this establishment. (I won't apologize for the tap water, though -- I still did tip for the service, and after all, it's not like it takes any skill to pull a pint of water properly!)