Brisbane restaurant under fire after charging patrons a 25 per cent surcharge for a public holiday

A popular restaurant is under fire for charging a 25 percent surcharge on a holiday after a customer noticed the surcharge in fine print at the bottom of the menu.

The patron visited Andonis Café & Bar in Brisbane’s southern suburb of Yeerongpilly on the May 1 Queensland Labor Day holiday.

While perusing the menu, the restaurant saw that the restaurant imposed a 25 percent surcharge on items ordered on the holiday.

A photo of the menu showing the surcharge was shared to Reddit on Monday, with the caption “How much is too much for a holiday surcharge?”

Diners who order the $23.60 “Naked Greek Yiros” or “The Barramundi” for $28.30 on the holiday will pay $29.50 and $35.38, respectively.

The Reddit post has received more than 550 comments, many claiming the surcharge was too high.

One person said 25 percent “extort customers” while another called the surcharge “theft.”

“25% = I eat somewhere else,” one person commented.

‘Serious. Almost $25 for a gyro is already too much let alone a 25% surcharge,” another person wrote.

“Jesus, I thought 15 was pushing it, but 25 is definitely overkill,” a third added.

Others found the restaurant’s 7 percent surcharge for splitting a bill between customers even more outrageous.

‘25% is outrageous, as is 7% for splitting bills. It’s like they hate customers,” one wrote.

‘Ruin that place! 25% surcharge plus 7% if you want to pay in part?? That is absolutely ridiculous,” another person commented.

A third added, “F*** any place that charges extra for split billing, ESPECIALLY 7% JFC, how are people not more mad about that part?”

However, some Reddit users defended the restaurant, claiming that the owners likely have high overheads and should compensate staff wages on a holiday.

“Allowed 25% is a bit steep, but unfortunately it may be necessary to even allow them to exist,” one person wrote.

“Normally I’m against this sort of thing, but having been to this particular cafe twice in the last few weeks I think it holds up,” another person added.

Some Aussies criticized the restaurant’s exorbitant bank holiday and bill-splitting charges, with many claiming the rate was ‘absolutely ridiculous’.

Andonis Café & Bar told Daily Mail Australia that opening on a public holiday poses “growing challenges”.

A spokesperson for the company explained that the high surcharge allows the restaurant to cover the extra costs on a holiday without passing on the higher operating costs to the customer throughout the year.

“As a small business operating in the hospitality industry, staying open on holidays creates increasing challenges, including inflation, rising ingredient costs and other operational costs,” said Andonis Café & Bar.

‘Due to the 25% public holiday surcharge, we can only just cover these extra costs and pay our employees fairly.

‘This surcharge only applies to the 14 public holidays per year. We cannot justify increasing prices throughout the year to cover these costs as this would negatively impact our customers on the remaining 342 days.”

The restaurant explained that the 7 percent surcharge on split bills was a policy designed to cover expenses associated with multiple transactions.

Fees include merchant fees, gateway fees, terminal rental fees, and fraud prevention service fees.

The small company said the policy was also designed to deter customers from “causing checkout delays,” especially in the case of large bookings.

Andonis Café and Bar added that customers had the option to order online using an app that “rewards customers with loyalty points” that outweigh the card transaction costs.

However, the restaurant has since dropped the 7 percent bill split fee after negative feedback.

“In response to recent feedback, we have decided to remove the 7% surcharge on split bills to alleviate cost pressures for our valued customers,” the cafe said.

A spokesman for Andonis Café & Bar told Daily Mail Australia that the high holiday surcharge was intended to cover ‘growth costs’. The restaurant also ditched its 7 percent split bill after receiving a ton of negative feedback

“Our commitment is to provide a welcoming space for our loyal customers where you can enjoy great food, attentive service and a pleasant ambiance with loved ones,” the cafe added.

“We are committed to continuous improvement and development, and we thank everyone for their feedback and support as we grow.”

According to the Queensland Government, a restaurant or pub is allowed to set their own charge on any given day.

Restaurants must state the surcharges prominently, clearly and transparently on their menus and are not obliged to make separate menus for surcharge days.