'Stupid and Sneaky!': London Restaurant Slammed for Adding Hidden £1.23 Carbon Charge to Diners' Bills

Diners at a London restaurant have been left fuming after discovering a stealthy charge on their bills.

A new, undisclosed fee, purportedly for carbon offsetting, has sparked outrage, with customers branding the move as both 'stupid and sneaky'.

Online Outrage Against Restaurant

A London restaurant has ignited fury after covertly adding an extra charge to diners' bills, a move customers have labelled 'sneaky'. Posting on Reddit, a diner who visited The Pig And Butcher in Islington drew attention to an optional £1.23 'Carbon Free' fee that had been included in the final price of their meal.

The receipt from the restaurant was shared online and quickly spread, leading many to label the charge as 'stupid', 'sneaky', and even a 'scam.' The customer commented on the r/London thread: 'I kind of got desensitised to the service charge already, but carbon-free dining? That's something new.'

The receipt revealed that the customer had paid £54 for two beef dinners, £4 for bread for the table, £9.50 for a glass of red wine, £11.50 for a second glass of red wine, and £10 for a strawberry pavlova. However, it was the 'optional carbon-free dining' charge that sparked the online conversation.

Diners Label Charges as a 'Sneaky Scam'

Social media users were fast to condemn the fee as yet another unwelcome addition to the expense of eating out in the capital, with several people accusing restaurants of using climate change as a pretext to charge more.

'Yeah, this is a foolish and sneaky thing that's coming over from the US,' one person said. 'Service charge per cent on top of the additional 'optional' fee that they've added (probably hidden away on the menu, if mentioned at all).'

'When you ask for the £1.23 to be taken off, do you reckon they remove the 12.5 per cent of £1.23 that they've also added for no reason?'

Another added: 'As an American, I've never seen anything like this. Carbon-free dining? Come on. The only thing I've seen is a service charge only when it's a large party. This is ridiculous.' Someone else added: 'I... do NOT feel good paying this. Total scam.'

A fourth person added: 'Did they ask you before adding it to the bill, since it's optional? If not, I would ask them to remove it and will also reduce the service charge (also optional!) for all the time and bother they've caused me.'

What Is 'Carbon-Free Dining'?

The trend of 'carbon-free dining' first appeared in the restaurant industry in late 2023. It was created to help 'offset the environmental impact of meals.'

According to the scheme's organiser, Lightspeed, the £1.23 charge also helps plant more trees to combat the 'high rates of deforestation.'

Another Restaurant, Another Hidden Charge

The incident at The Pig And Butcher follows a similar event at a vegan restaurant in London that infuriated customers after it charged a 50p 'Diversity Role Models donation.'

According to its website, Mallow restaurant in Borough Market is fundraising for Diversity Role Models, a UK-wide charity dedicated to combating LGBTQ+ bullying in schools through educational workshops and role model storytelling.

While the fundraising effort is well-intentioned, users on Reddit have voiced concerns that the scheme puts the responsibility for social causes on the customer instead of the business.

A Reddit user showed the extra 50p that was automatically added to their £57.55 bill. The customer had paid £19 for a vegan full English breakfast, £19 for a mezze brunch, £5.50 for an oolong and pineapple drink, and £7.20 for two oat flat whites.

Additionally, there was an optional charge of £6.35 for the service, as well as a 50p donation to the diversity charity. Commenters raised doubts about the restaurant's involvement, suggesting that while the business promotes its charitable support, the financial responsibility appears to be shouldered by the customer.

One person said, 'This is about the owners being able to claim they're environmentally / socially conscious at your expense.

'You'll hear their celeb chefs on TOPJAW being all smug about "giving back to the community" while guilting you into this situation. 'Oh, you want me, a service worker, to take this bill back to the till, remove the 50 pence donation and bring it back to you? Do you want me to club a baby seal on my way back as well?'

'It's making the customers pay for their PR. The id**** posting 'Hurr durr not paying 50p is a bad look on you' is justifying this s*** being the norm.

They concluded: 'I might not get it removed at that time, but I will make a mental note of not going to that place again.'

Another said: 'Yep, they do exactly that. They boast about supporting charities, but they don't make it clear that not a penny is from them.'

Someone else wrote: 'You also see this a lot with airlines. They offer you the option to pay extra for your flight to help them meet their environmental obligations. And the way they word it is a clear attempt to make you feel guilty for not doing so.'

A fourth added: 'I hate this sort of thing. It's shaming the customer into paying more money, with the implication that if you don't, you don't care about diversity.

'Even if it does go to a charity in this case, if this sort of thing gets normalised, you could quickly see places start to establish their own "charities."'

The Restaurant Explains Its Charity Link

Mallow restaurant's website explained where the money goes, stating: 'Diversity Role Models is a UK-wide charity, working with schools to end LGBTQ+ bullying through educational workshops and role model storytelling.'

'They educate young people about difference, challenging stereotypes and addressing the misuse of language to shape a world where everyone embraces diversity and can thrive.' Mallow concluded: 'We fundraise for them during June and volunteer throughout the year.'