A RESTAURANT has been panned for its “insane” corkage charges – which could see diners pay up to £90 to bring their own bottles of wine.
One wine lover – known only as Kate – shared her disbelief after discovering the charges enforced at Fallow, a restaurant near London’s iconic Piccadilly Circus.
The eatery was sarcastically deemed the bearer of aficionado Kate’s “favourite wine corkage policy” thanks to its staggeringly high prices.
Visitors looking to bring their own bottles can expect to pay a minimum of £50 and up to £90 for a sparkling wine, whilst any premium wines will cost buyers 50% of their average value.
The screenshot of the restaurant’s website shows the answer to the question: “Can we bring our own wine?”
It answers with: “Yes, you can for bottles that are not on our wine list. There is corkage fee of £50 per 75cl bottle of wine and £90 per 75cl bottle of sparkling wine.
“For premium fine wines, we will charge 50% of the average value of the wine at the discretion of the management.
“We also reserve the right to decline corkage at the discretion of management.”
Kate shared the horrendous prices to social media yesterday with the caption: “Yet another favourite wine corkage policy. For the insane.”
It has since received over 320 likes and more than 50 comments from equally amused and unimpressed Brits.
One wrote: “So what would they charge if you brought your own screw-top bottle and used their water glass to decant it into?”
Another said: “So basically it’s a no corkage policy then. They could’ve saved a load on printing had they just been honest.”
A third commented: “More proof that wine is regarded as an elitist, esoteric substance and not some fairly foul-tasting waste of delicious grapes and other fruits.”
A fourth joked: “‘Lovely bottle. I’ll go to browse Wine Searcher and get back to you with a corkage charge by the end of your meal.’”
Another wrote: “Blimey. I’m now intrigued as to what the response is to the ‘are you a dog friendly restaurant?’ question.”
