A vegan couple has been slammed for refusing to pay their share of a restaurant bill despite only eating bread.
In a post with over 7,400 upvotes on Reddit, user u/OnlyFox774 explained they had recently been invited out for a "last minute" birthday meal and the restaurant offered barely any vegan options.
The partner wrote: "We decided to eat a snack at home and then order drinks and appetizers at the restaurant. We also have been tight with money lately because of some medical expenses, so we didn't want to spend too much on food we couldn't eat anyway."
But when they arrived, they discovered the party of 15 had already decided to order large platters and enjoy family-style dining.
The original poster said: "They ordered a lot of food, most of which was meat or cheese-based. The only thing we could eat was the bread, so we just had a couple of slices each and two beers each."
After the meal, the friend sent a Venmo request for $120 which shocked the Reddit user as they were expecting to pay around $40 for four drinks and a tip.
"I texted him back and explained that we didn't know it was going to be family style, and that we only had the beers and some bread. I said I would send him $60 to cover our drinks and a bit extra for the bread.
"He got angry and said that we should have told him we were vegan, and that it was rude to not participate in the family style dinner. He said that everyone else paid their fair share, and that we were being cheap and selfish. He said that he expected us to pay the full amount," told the user.
How You Can Split the Bill Fairly
This reaction has left the user feeling confused as they didn't "want to make a scene or cause any drama" by announcing their dietary preferences. But this is exactly what they should have done, certified financial planner Jeff Rose told Newsweek.
Rose, the founder of GoodFinancialCents.com, has provided tips that may help prevent awkward moments when it comes to splitting the bill.
Split by Item
The most straightforward way to split the bill is by having each person pay for what they ordered. If someone's meal costs less (or more) due to their dietary preferences, this method makes sure everyone pays for what they actually ate.
If one person's meal is significantly more expensive due to specialty ingredients (like vegan or gluten-free options), consider splitting the bill based on a percentage. For instance, if a vegan dish is 20 percent more expensive than the average dish at the table, the vegan diner could pay 20 percent more than others.
Communicate in Advance
Before ordering, have a brief chat with the group about how the bill will be split. This can prevent any awkwardness or surprises later. It also gives those with dietary restrictions an opportunity to voice any concerns.
So far, the post has racked up over 1,300 comments since October 22 and the top comment has 7,700 votes.
It said: "Changing my verdict to ESH [everyone sucks here] for refusing to pay $120 and your friend is kinda being a jerk about it. BUT I do think to some extent that it would've helped if you'd been a little more upfront about saying 'Hey there's really nothing here we can eat' so that they'd have either tried to order more of the very few items you could eat and/or not have expected you to pay as much.
"I hate this method of paying for meals but if you know it's going to be split up like that, it's probably better to speak up early than wait until after the meal is over to negotiate what's fair for you. It's also tough to be the person who has to request payments from everybody at the end of a meal and I'm wondering if he got stuck paying double or if the rest of the party made up for the other half of what he'd requested from you."
"Communication is important," said another user.
"YTA [You're the a******] for not saying something before food was ordered. When they said it was family style, you should have spoke up then, not when the bill came," said another.
Newsweek reached out to u/OnlyFox774 for comment via Reddit. We could not verify the details of the case.
Do you have a monetary dilemma? Let us know via life@newsweek.com. We can ask experts for advice, and your story could be featured on Newsweek.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Lucy Notarantonio is Newsweek's Senior Lifestyle and Trends Reporter, based in Birmingham, UK. Her focus is trending stories and human ... Read more
To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, Click here.
