- Which? priced 50 wines from 15 of the most popular restaurants in Britain
- But one in Chelsea charged £33 for a bottle that costs just £7.06 in shops
- On average, sparkling has the smallest mark-up and red wine the largest
Rip-off restaurants are adding mark-ups of up to 367 per cent on wine, according to a survey released today.
Which? priced 50 wines from 15 of the most popular restaurants and found an average mark-up of 167 per cent.
But one eatery in Chelsea, west London, charged diners £33 for a bottle that costs just £7.06 at an off-licence.
Which? priced 50 wines from 15 of the most popular restaurants and found an average mark-up of 167 per cent. File photo
A Which? spokesman said: ‘We found a 208 per cent mark-up on average on the second-cheapest wine, an option restaurants know that many people pick.
‘So a bottle that costs £10 in a shop would be about £31 in the restaurant.
‘Even if you are ordering the cheapest on the menu, we found that there were big disparities between the different varieties.
‘On average, sparkling has the smallest mark-up and red wine the largest.’
But one eatery in Chelsea, west London, charged diners £33 for a bottle that costs just £7.06 at an off-licence. File photo of wine bottles at a restaurant
Inflated wine prices in restaurants have led to a stream of tips about how diners can get the best value for their money.
Sommelier Mark Oldman said customers who think they are outsmarting restaurants by opting for the second or third cheapest on the menu need to think again.
He said the wines one or two above the cheapest at a restaurant is no more likely to be of better quality or value than the lowest priced glass or bottle on the list.
His advice? Always choose the cheapest wine on the list, reported Business Insider.
A Which? spokesman said: ‘We found a 208 per cent mark-up on average on the second-cheapest wine, an option restaurants know that many people pick’