Six menu tricks restaurants use to make you spend more – and how to avoid them

ANYONE trying to cut down on their spending could still be splashing cash without realising via “sneaky” tricks on menus.

Families eating out or getting a takeaway treat could stand to save money by avoiding falling for these tricks.

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We’ve already seen how supermarket layouts trick you into spending more – like cheaper items located on the bottom shelves out of your eyeline.

And Aldi is one of the shops using “decompression zones” that slow you down to get you to spend more, as well as entrance-only doors, which mean you have to go round the entire store before you can leave.

Meanwhile, pound shops sell brand-name products in store, making you think you’ve bagged a bargain – but they’re actually often smaller than you get elsewhere.

And it’s not just shops tempting you to spend. Restaurants and takeaways also use sneaky tactics to part you from more of your cash.

Here’s what you should look out for, according to money expert Andrea Knowles from vouchers.co.uk, to make sure you’re not spending more than you need to.

Ambush order

No one wants to stare at the menu for ages waiting to order, but being ambushed by the waiter wanting your drinks order immediately could make you spend more.

Andrea says: “While a waiter or waitress asking for your drink order as soon as you sit down is a positive sign of good service, this is often a sneaky way of forcing you to decide before you’ve had a chance to look at the cost of drinks.”

Without time to check out the full menu, you might order a size of drink that’s pricier or miss bargain offers.

It’s worth checking if the menu is online so you can make an informed decision before you arrive, or simply say you’re not ready and ask for more time to decide.

Missing £££

You may not notice this trick, says Andrea, but many restaurant menus leave out the pound sign when listing prices.

“This isn’t a design feature, it’s a psychological decision – studies show that removing the sign disassociates the numbers from money, so you don’t feel like you’re spending,” she says.

Without the currency symbol, the number feels meaningless, but if you’re aware of this hopefully you can avoid this trick.

It’s not just supermarket layouts that tempt you to buy more – restaurants and takeaways are at it too.

The design of the menu can influence your decisions, on top of missing of the £ sign.

Andrea says: “Another technique restaurants use on their menu is to highlight their most expensive item by placing it in a box.

“For example, their surf and turf option. Not only does this encourage big spenders to treat themselves to the ‘best’ item on the menu it also has the opposing effect, too.

“The sheer size and price of this item makes everything else look reasonable in comparison, so diners feel like they are getting a bargain if they pick something else.” 

Menu deals often look like a bargain, but you should check the maths first.

Andrea says: “Many diners opt for the set menu as it feels like you’re getting more bang for your buck, however, this tactic can actually make you spend more money than you would have if the set menu was not an option.

A three-course menu for £20 may seem like a bargain, and even if you’re not that keen on the starter or dessert options, you find you’ll choose them anyway.

Andrea says: “Instead, opting for a £12 main course and £5 dessert, both of which you really like, works out better value.” 

Meal deals can work out cheaper – but only if you really want all the items on offer.

Plus, if you order more than you can eat and leave some to go to waste, you’re not really making a saving.

Odd numbers

There’s nothing more annoying than having a sharing dish like mozzarella sticks between two that contains three or five items.

While you might agree to split a snack dish, depending on your dining partner, it’s actually a trick to get you to spend more, as only by ordering two plates can you get the even amount of bites.

Andrea says: “Restaurants know that this makes it awkward to share between two people so this may encourage you to order another one so there’s an even amount that can be split fairly.”

Cheapest wine

“It’s a well-known fact that many people tend to order the second cheapest wine so that they don’t seem ‘stingy’,” says Andrea.

“However, as this is such a common occurrence, that many restaurants actually hike the price up.”

Next time you go to a restaurant, look more carefully at the difference in price between the cheapest and second-cheapest wine, she says. 

Sometimes the cheapest bottle of wine is actually better quality, because restaurants know they can profit more from you buying the second-cheapest one.

Elsewhere Martin Lewis has explained how to get FREE food from KFC and local bakeries – or even how to get PAID to eat.

This post first appeared on thesun.co.uk