20+ group eating out - ask for a discount on wine?

A

aoifes

Guest
There is a group of approx 25 of us eating in a dublin city restaurant on Sat evening. Has anyone asked about getting a discount on wine (or better still BYO) recently? The restaurant in questions wine normally start at €23.50.
 
I would ring them beforehand and explain that you want a discount rather than asking and not getting on the night. If they think you will go elsewhere, I am sure they will fall over themselves to give you something.
 
worth a try but most places tend to have an extra service charge for such large groups
 
You could ask them if you can BYO and pay Corkage? But unless you get a good price on the wine when you buy it retail it may not be such a great deal, unless you get a reasonable Corkage rate.
 
Having worked in far too many restaurants when I was a good bit younger and fitter I can tell you that catering for a group of 20 is very difficult especially if the restaurant has lots of other tables in. All 20 have to be served their food together, regardless of what they order, all 20 will need the same thing at the same time, and all the other people in the restaurant have to be fed too. You might get somewhere if you tell them beforehand how many bottles you want and of what or if you agree to fax in your food order a couple of hours before hand - but then again you never know!
 
Saw today in Galway Indo, a local hotel offering free wine for weddings. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
 
My local Italian Restaurant are no longer serving wine , but they invite guests to bring their own .

There is however an uncorking fee € 3 per bottle
 
allthedoyles said:
My local Italian Restaurant are no longer serving wine , but they invite guests to bring their own .

There is however an uncorking fee € 3 per bottle
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€3 corkage is for nothing ! Most restaurants I've been in are around the €10 mark !!
 
There was a discussion about restaurants on Joe Duffy's show one day and one woman said that she subtracts the cost of the wine off the bill before she decides what tip to give. Her point was that she was paying an inflated price for it and didn't see why she should tip on that too. Do any AAM members do the same? How do you decide what tip to leave normally?
 
Sandals said:
Saw today in Galway Indo, a local hotel offering free wine for weddings..
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Well, I can't imagine free being a great vintage, but it's a good publicity stunt for the hotel. Fair play to them all the same.
 
I also subtract the cost of drinks before deciding on a tip. I only tip on the food bill and tip appropriate to service.
 
niceoneted said:
I also subtract the cost of drinks before deciding on a tip. I only tip on the food bill and tip appropriate to service.
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A lot of people do this but I don't think it's fair, unless you've gone up to the bar and ordered your own drinks every time.
 
extopia said:
A lot of people do this but I don't think it's fair, unless you've gone up to the bar and ordered your own drinks every time.
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I remember a scene from the Sopranos where the lads where computing the tip after a meal. As far as I can remember, they excluded the drink before applying the percentage. I remember being surprised that this would be the norm in a tipping culture like the US but it seems to be quite widepread.
 
aoifes said:
There is a group of approx 25 of us eating in a dublin city restaurant on Sat evening. Has anyone asked about getting a discount on wine (or better still BYO) recently? The restaurant in questions wine normally start at €23.50.
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Did you ever get that discount then aoifes?
 
Success (of sorts!). I was able to bring in 4 bottles of Champagne with no corkage charge. The 4 bottles cost me just over what buying one in the restaurant would have.
 
just to dishearten people more the margin for wine in most 4 or 5 star hotels is 65 to 70 percent. as a general rule when we get a new bottle of wine on the wine list we multiply it by 4. ie buy it in for 10 euro net and sell it for 40.
or if your in a nice hotel the next time looking at the wine list pick out your wine divide it by 1.215 (vat) and multiply it by .3 thats what it costs the hotel.
 
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