Dining in restaurants with market-price items can be a daunting experience for folks who are hoping to watch their wallet—especially at higher-end restaurants.
However, a former server says people trying to decide what they would like to order should not worry about asking for the price.
In a video that has drawn over 1.2 million views on TikTok, martial arts content creator and ex-server Rick (@sifurickb on TikTok) tells viewers that asking what the market price is for the day is not only acceptable but expected.
Rick stitches a video showing a waiter informing a guest of the market price for a menu item.
“As the waiter should have done,” he says. “The waiter or waitress will come up and give you a list of the specials for that night. Most seafood is listed at market price. So a lot of times, hey, maybe it’s the beginning of the night, and they don’t know that price right off the top of their head. So they got to go check the price of that particular item. But some people will say, ‘Well, you’re asking for it, that just means I should be able to afford it, correct?’”
He says just because someone is asking for clarity about a price doesn’t mean that they cannot afford it.
“See, but those in the service industry know that you’ve got to let your customer know the prices of everything. Because at the end, when they get the bill, and they say, ‘$149 for a lobster, you didn’t tell me that.’ And if you go and watch the rest of that video, he ends up giving that waiter a $180 tip,” he notes of the stitched video.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Rick via TikTok direct message regarding the video.
What is market price?
Market price does not automatically mean a menu item is expensive, as some folks might believe.
Rather, market price refers to the current market value of all the major components that make up a specific menu item. For example, seafood purchased fresh from a fish market will have a daily fluctuating price. So can special cuts of meat, imported goods, and seasonal items.
Designating a menu item as market price helps restaurants maintain a profit margin when prices on certain items are known to fluctuate.
What determines market price at restaurants?
Changes in market price can come down to a few things.
The dish could be made from ingredients out of season, so they are a little more expensive—just like autumn strawberries at the grocery store in the northern hemisphere. Or, it could be sourced from a foreign nation subject to tariffs. Even the weather can impact a dish sold at market price, as wild-caught fisheries are often at the mercy of good weather.
Viewers weigh in
Several viewers shared that they also work in restaurants that offer menu items at market price. They gave examples of their experiences with customers ordering these items.
“Lol as someone who worked with real rich people,” one commenter wrote. “They will not only ask they will also try they hardest to negotiate the price. They definitely can afford it just would rather pay less.”
“I work in a seafood restaurant and this is typical…. Prices change from week to week,” another said. “It’s not to come off offensive.”
“As a server at a restaurant with daily specials and market price seafood… I do in fact share the prices when describing specials and I ask about MP at the beginning of every shift… I treat customers the way I would want to be treated in these situations,” a third said.
Some commenters also shared their various experiences from the customer’s perspective.
“Yeah I ordered a steak one time at a nice restaurant that didn’t have prices listed and no one told me it was $150 until the bill came,” one commented.
“I have dined at many fancy steakhouses,” another user claimed. “And them letting me know was just fine cuz like this guy said it most of the time it says market price.”
“I just had carbone for my birthday dinner they were charging 150 dollars for truffle shavings,” a third claimed. “The waiter looked me funny when I asked the MP.”
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