At a fancy restaurant, a bill can add up pretty fast.
Order a few appetizers, some mains, drinks, and a dessert, and it’s not uncommon to get a bill that amounts to hundreds of dollars.
That doesn’t necessarily mean the dining experience will be better, of course. Plenty of internet users have shared stories of shelling out for a “nice” meal, only to be disappointed.
Still, if you do your research and know how much you’re willing to pay, it’s possible to have an upscale meal without completely breaking the bank. The exception, of course, is when you get hit with a deceptive menu. That appears to be what happened to TikTok user Lucie McDonough (@luciemcdonough).
How Much Did This King Crab Salad Cost?
In a video with over 1.3 million views, McDonough shows her partner looking at the menu of a restaurant.
“Little did we know the king crab salad was actually $750,” she writes in the text overlaying the video.
In the caption, she adds, “We thought it was $65 … oops.”
Later, McDonough posted a follow-up video showing how much crab they allegedly received for this price. Needless to say, it does not meet the claimed price tag.
“Very simple, nothing special, not a lot of crab,” she summarizes. “So, definitely not worth $750.”
McDonough does not mention which restaurant charged her this much. That said, the island is known for luxury dining and experiences, and high restaurant bills are relatively common.
How Can This Happen?
There are two issues that can cause unexpectedly high restaurant bills. The first is payment by weight; the second is “market price.”
Concerning the latter, “market price,” “MP,” or “MKT” are listed on a menu when the price of a menu item can change considerably from week to week or even day to day. For example, the price of certain seafood items may change based on how many of that fish have been caught that day, as well as the size of the fish caught.
As noted by USA Today, it is not a faux pas to ask a restaurant about the market price. A diner can simply ask, “What is today’s price?” and the restaurant will tell them, likely pricing it by weight.
How Do You Order By Weight?
However, this problem appeared to be related to the former—paying by weight.
The restaurant shown in McDonough’s video appears to be Shellona on St Barthélemy. A menu posted to the restaurant’s website last year states that the “grilled king crab” costs 52€, or around $60, per 100 grams. Assuming market price changes and inflation, it’s possible the modern price is $65 per 100 grams.
Some restaurants will tell diners how much an average portion weighs so they can get a sense of the price. Others will require diners to select their weight, which typically involves a conversation between the diner and the server about their desires, hunger level, and price limits. However, it’s possible that a restaurant will also allow a diner to simply select the menu item, then determine themselves how much of that item to provide—and thus, the amount they plan to charge.
While it does not look like McDonough received over a kilogram of crab meat, it’s possible that she was charged a price fairly reflected by the menu—even if many diners would consider that price to be too high.
Commenters Can’t Handle It
In the comments section, users agreed that $750 was too much to pay for the crab salad shown in the video.
“Nothing in a crab salad could possibly be worth that. That’s just blatantly price gouging,” wrote a user.
“The whole entire king crab better have been sitting on top of the salad that could serve 25 people,” shared another.
“I would contact my bank and report it as fraud cuz what,” stated a third.
@luciemcdonough We thought it was $65 😬 oops #stbarths #datingolder #agegaprelationship #relationshiptok #longdistancerealtionship
BroBible reached out to Shellona and McDonough via email.