A Michelin-starred restaurant is charging a minimum £135 corkage fee to bring-your-own-booze.
Dorian, located in Notting Hill, is just one of many restaurants in London upping its additional dining experience charges, reports Need To Know.
The eatery claims it isn’t making enough from food sales alone.
According to Dojo, a payment system for businesses, the average corkage fee in the UK per bottle opened on-site ranges from £12 to £15 for still wine, £15 to £20 for regular sparkling wine and £20 to £35 for champagne.
But Dorian, owned by Chris D’Sylva and run by head chef Max Coen, is now charging £100, with a maximum of one 750ml bottle only per booking.
They also ask that “in return” at least one bottle of a similar retail value is also enjoyed from their list.
Their extensive wine list, which spans 24 pages, has prices ranging from £35 for a 2023 37.5cl bottle of I Think Manzanilla En Rama, all the way up to a whopping £6,600 for a 1996 bottle of red La Tâche Grand Cru –Domaine de La Romanée-Conti.
Other wines include a 2018 37.5cl of Spätlese Wehlener Sonnenuhr or for a full-size bottle, there’s around 40 on offer for a minimum of £50.
The owner posted to social media about the corkage fee hike, stating that the business is “not sustainable on food sales alone”.
They said: “We think we’ve finally landed a simple, universal solution for corkage that gives guests the opportunity to bring ‘that special bottle’ for the occasion, whilst not jeopardising the fundamental sustainability of the restaurant.
“To give insight, transparency and context to our policy, our business is not sustainable on food sales alone.
“Enough guests try to game the system by rolling up with multiple bottles, to extract the lowest cost experience for themselves, with a complete disregard and respect for the fact that it’s financially impossible to put out our quality of food, using superior produce and offering the best quality of life to the best young talent in London, without the sales of wine.
“It takes a team of 54 professionals (excluding all the offsite team in our company) to make this 40 seater restaurant even possible.
“Wine sales crucially fund the food and the team as an ecosystem.
“Without wine sales, we would have to double the price of the food to make it possible (on paper) to open the doors the following day.
“Thank you for your understanding and support in advance.”
While the corkage fee is an eye-watering addition to the pricey meal, which ranges between £50-£79 per person according to SquareMeal, the reviews are still highly-rated.
Recent restaurant-goers have called the place a “Notting Hill jewel” and said the meat was “amazing”.
But others have advised to “avoid” as the “hype isn’t worth it”.
Jam Press has contacted Dorian, Notting Hill, for comment.
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