15 Sneaky Ways Chain Restaurants Trick You Into Spending More Money

Dining out is not cheap, but it can sometimes be nice to enjoy a different environment and food without cooking it yourself.

Minding your budget and treating yourself to nights out can be a challenge, especially since chain restaurants are incentivized to take more money from each customer.

You can stretch your restaurant budget by avoiding these 15 common mistakes at chain spots.

Have you ever noticed that the most expensive menu items seem to be the most noticeable? It’s not just you. Lower-priced items have been getting less space on signage and the website, so you might not realize there is a value menu.

Food chains are incentivized to post current “specials,” which often involve limited-edition meals that are more expensive than regular menu options.

In the same vein, most menus use smaller fonts for their prices. This makes it difficult to know upfront what you might be spending, especially if you’re being rushed through an order at a fast food drive-through or casual eatery.

While restaurants aren’t inclined to let you know when they’re testing dynamic pricing, it’s something to watch for, as a few spots are set to implement it in 2025.

Be wary of drive-thrus that give you one total at the order board only to find that the total increases by the time you get to the pay window.

Sometimes, a restaurant can use the term “deal” to con people into buying more expensive food.

If you’ve ever ordered a meal “deal” and then calculated the cost of each individual item only to realize that purchasing the bundle costs the same (or even more), you understand what we mean.

Did you know Americans have over $20 billion in unused gift cards each year? While gift cards may seem like a great idea, if you don’t end up using them, all you’re doing is wasting money.

It also means it’s free money for the restaurant at the end of the day.

Many chains offer condiments and toppings for free. However, some restaurants charge 50 cents or $1 for things like extra dipping sauces.

These places are not likely to disclose the additional cost upfront. Sometimes, it’s worth it if you are eating on the go or at the restaurant, but you may want to skip it if you own the sauce.

Most drive-thrus and waiters will attempt to upsell you on a product you’re purchasing. You’re constantly asked about upsizing your meal and adding sides, desserts, sodas, or alcoholic beverages.

To stick to your budget, remember that “no” is a full sentence.

You may have noticed that portions at your favorite chain restaurant are a lot different today than they were just a few years ago. Unfortunately, that usually means you’re getting less food for your dollar.

While many restaurants are implementing updated sustainability and health practices, for many, it’s also just about cutting costs.

The next time you sit down to eat at a chain, take stock of the music that’s playing. Is it upbeat, charming, and being played a little loudly?

Most chains will stick to upbeat music because it encourages faster eating, which equates to faster table turnaround. In fact, you might even eat more because of the pace of the music in your environment.

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Take a look at your itemized bill the next time you sit down to eat at a restaurant. Over the past decade — and certainly since the pandemic — restaurants have been tacking surcharges onto their bills.

Items like “minimum wage surcharges” have started to crop up at storefronts that claim to struggle with the increasing minimum wage.

Depending on which restaurant you frequent, you may find yourself enjoying a free basket of delicious salty snacks or complex carbohydrates while you peruse the menu.

Chips and salsa, peanuts, and bread often create the craving to drink more, which can help the storefront sell more beverages, alcoholic or otherwise.

Have you ever ordered a beverage at a restaurant and then never had the opportunity to see the bottom of it?

Make sure to check the small print on the restaurant’s menu or website so you know if they charge for soft drink refills.

Your favorite restaurants are beginning to implement digital kiosks, like the wildly popular Shake Shack. These kiosks provide attractive photos for every menu item, which can better entice you to order something different.

Every transaction includes at least one upsell attempt, which research suggests leads to an average spending of 10% more.

Every restaurant server is also a salesperson. If they’re really great at their job – attentive, helpful, charming – they’ll rack up more spending.

Whether you choose to come back specifically to a spot due to their fantastic service or the fun stories the servers always tell, great salespeople are a trick many restaurants keep in their back pockets.

Often at a restaurant — whether it’s a chain or not — the host or hostess will enforce the rule that they can't seat you until your entire party shows up.

This encourages the host to lead people to the bar to wait until everyone shows up, which often leads to more alcohol sales than originally anticipated.

The best way to avoid wasting money at a chain restaurant is to check out local reviews and recent social media posts. A little research and digging around on the restaurant's website can also reveal portion sizes and any deals they may be running.

Plus, you can find out what people like and don’t like about the spot, allowing you to make a more informed decision about your meal.