Restaurant Charges for Unfinished Food
I hate that. And if you're like me, you imagine opening your wallet and flushing dollar bills down the toilet.
Well, a Japanese restaurant in New York is having none of that. If you eat there and don't finish your food, you'll be hit with a 30% surcharge.
Hayashi Ya, located on Manhattan's West Side, will tack on an $8 fee for any unfinished food as part of their all you can eat $26.95 per person special.
It might seem mean, but Hayashi Ya has had this policy in effect for 2 years now and no one's complaining. Maybe that's because food waste is a major problem in the New York City, and the United States as a whole.
The Associated Press reports approximately 30% of U.S. food becomes waste, a cost of $48 billion a year. And newer studies have the number as high as 40% to 50%. Meanwhile, much of the world is starving.
Honestly, I can't say I object to this. Diners know what they're getting themselves into and quite frankly, 1 or 2 trips to the buffet is more than enough for anybody.
Via Vitamin G.
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I live in Maryland, and several buffets I go to have the same policy. You see this a lot at sushi buffets. One reason is because some people like to get nigiri (fish on rice) and then just pick the fish off the top, leaving the rice (which is very wasteful).
I don't have a problem with it. The intent isn't to get you to clean your plate. The intent is to make sure you only take what you think you can eat. Take a modest amount, and if you're still hungry...go get more!
ReplyBut what if you don't eat rice?
I can totally understand why the policy is in place and actually think it's helpful in restaurants offering an "all you can eat" buffet....but do they also provide options that do not include something you don't eat (in this example, the rice)?
ReplySome places do offer sashimi, which is just fish (no rice). If the restaurant does not offer sashimi, I think you are out of luck. It's considered rude and wasteful to just eat the fish and leave behind the rice.
ReplyIt's considered rude and wasteful to just eat the fish and leave behind the rice.
Wow, and here I'd think it's rude to expect a person to eat something they either do not like or do not eat....oh well, each to their own!
ReplyI think the idea is to not take something you know that you cannot or will not eat, rather than wasting the food. Why on earth would you take sushi if you know you won't eat the rice?
ReplyWhy take the sushi and not eat the rice? Because one may like the fish? If sashimi is available then it's not an issue, but if it's not available, why should I be forced to eat the rice or pay money for something that costs pennies and "wasting" it preserves my health....I don't need to eat the rice to enjoy the fish!
ReplyNobody is forcing you to take the rice in the first place.... you should only take what you will eat. How is that rude?
ReplyThis is nigiri sushi:
http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/guides/epcot/photos/Japan-Nigiri.jpg
It is fish on rice. When you are at a buffet and you see this laying there, you are supposed to take the whole thing. Image going to a cheeseburger buffet, and just scraping off the cheese for yourself and leaving the burger.
ReplyI've never seen an all-you-can-eat sushi buffet that *didn't* charge for unfinished food. As Trent above says, the intent is to encourage people to only order what they expect to eat.
ReplyGuys have you ever taken a girl out to dinner and she orders the priciest thing on the menu, only to take a few bites and then say she's full!
Where do you find these women, exactly?
ReplyFree market capitalism at its finest.
A business should be free to ban fat people from its restaurant if it wants; or people with blue eyes, or (gasp) black skin; or white people. Whatever.
Freedom, baby.
ReplyWhen I lived in California, there was a Chinese buffet that did this--although I think the charge was something like $3.50--if you left your plate more than 1/3 full.
I don't have a problem with it. If you don't like it, don't eat there. That's why we live in a free country.
ReplyWell when I read the headline, I have to admit to feeling quite annoyed... what were they thinking! But hey, once I knew it was a buffet - I thought it was a pretty shart idea. Take what you're going to eat and not what you're going to waste.
ReplyI don't have a problem with it at all. It prevents "eyes bigger than your stomach" syndrome. Lots of people go to AYCE buffets and load their plates up with a crapload of food and they leave most of it on their plates. Well, the restaurant has to throw that out, whereas if you don't take the food in the first place, other customers can eat that food. So yeah, I think it's totally fair. I'm guessing more places will start doing this to prevent people from being so wasteful.
ReplyHow is this helping the obesity epidemic?
ReplyIt's more designed to protect restaurant owners from losing too much money in overhead. Since food prices are higher than ever, I'm guessing most restauranteurs are interested in losing the least amount of money possible.
ReplyI've actually seen this at several Japanese food buffets. It's pretty commmonplace.
ReplyWhat if you get something and don't like it?
ReplyI can understand this policy from a business standpoint, but I would not patronize such a restaurant. I don't want to be punished for not eating what I don't like. Not sure about others, but there were many times when I took a buffet dish that just didn't taste good. Why should I be forced to eat it? If profits are suffering so much, why not raise the buffet entrance price a bit? Having said that, I am not sure how widespread this practice is. I have yet to see a restaurant/buffet with such policies.
ReplyI've never actually seen anything like this rule, but I like the idea. I see people waste food way too much at restaraunts. I mean, they pay for it and don't even ask for the rest to be packed up to be eaten later. They just throw it out! I never get it.
ReplyI completely understand and agree with this rule . . . possibly those who don't agree or don't "get it" have never been to an all you can eat sushi bar??
If you look up the definiton of the word sushi, it refers to the vinegar rice that the fish is served with, it does NOT mean raw fish, as is commonly thought. So why would you go to eat sushi (rice) and then proceed not to eat the rice?! Usually sashimi (fish only) is not on the all you can eat list of items (in my experience anyway), but can be ordered a la carte.
My last thought is - rice is filling! If you only eat the fish, you'll eat twice as much, costing the restaurant that money plus the wasted rice money. Just a thought.
ReplyI'm not one to support wasteful, behavior but what difference does it make to a restaurant if you finish the food or not if you're still paying in full? You're not going to tell me they're charging for the extra trip to the trash can.
Granted the restaurant can charge for whatever it wants, but this sort of policy comes off as needless.
ReplyOh yeah - as far as raising the price . . . after drinks and tip, the all you can eat sushi buffet is usually around $40 . . . can you imagine the cost if they raised the prices?!
ReplyI understand this policy and agree with it. If you don't like nigiri sushi (the rice, that is), don't take it. Get sashimi instead. If a restaurant has nigiri sushi, then they have sashimi as well, since sashimi is sushi before it is applied to the rice. Simply ask.
ReplyI've seen this on an anime! In Lucky Star the girls have to finish all their cake otherwise they'll pay extra.
ReplyI think it's a good idea because it means less wasted food. I think it would hide a tuppawear box in my bag to store the leftover food and avoid the charge. :D
It is common here in Alberta for All-You-Can-Eat Sushi places to charge for any uneaten sushi (including just the rice)... I think it makes sense and prevents people from over-ordering and then wasting the food and the time of the chefs and servers.
Reply