London diner baffled after being charged bizarre 'Carbon-free' dining fee: 'Never seen anything like this'

A customer, dining at a London restaurant, was furious when they saw a strange additional fee added to the bill. Yes, that's right! Besides the usual service tax, the eatery had introduced a new charge — Carbon Free Dining. The incident shared on the r/london subreddit sparked rage over the "optional" fee the restaurant had added to the bill.

The customer was at "The Pig And Butcher" in Islington, where they were asked to pay a $1.65 "carbon free" fee. The diner had ordered bread, roast beef, two glasses of red wine, and a strawberry pavlova. Their total bill was initially $120, but the restaurant then added the carbon-free charge. Wait! That's not the end! Then came the service charge of $15.15, taking the bill to $136.35. "I kind of got desensitized to the service charge already, but carbon-free dining? That’s something new," the diner said.

According to Metro, Noble Inns, the parent company of The Pig and Butcher, said all tables, regardless of the number of guests or their total expenditure, are asked to pay $1.65 to either of the two social projects the eatery supports. "This is optional, and we explain this to customers. They can just ask to remove it. So far this calendar year, our customers have donated $41,641 to GiftTrees and $12,372 to Street Smart," a representative explained. The former is a CSR initiative that helps the environment by planting more trees, and the latter helps feed the homeless. In recent times, there has been a substantial increase in additional charges added to the bill.

In fact, CNBC, citing the National Restaurant Association’s restaurant business conditions survey, said 15% of restaurant owners added surcharges in 2023. Besides, the expectation of tips is another thing that is getting on customers' nerves across the globe. Meanwhile, reacting to the outrageous post, u/reallygreatnoodles commented, "This place has really gone downhill over the last few years. It used to serve my favorite roast in London. We went recently for a celebration. Rude staff, half-cooked veg, and they served a glass of totally flat sparkling wine without any apology, and this crap that OP posted about." Similarly, u/ivaneft wrote, "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."

u/fancy_pepper9575 confessed, "That could clearly backfire for the restaurant; I would definitely ask to reduce or even remove the optional service charge if I have to ask to remove that random carbon fee." u/slitherfang98 said, "Why are companies pushing this thing? Call me selfish, but I couldn't care less what my carbon footprint is. Reducing it isn't going to make a difference when it's all of those huge corporations that are majorly responsible." u/seriousyogiuk commented, "How did they do that? Because carbon is in everything, including the people, food, spatial dimensions, and the equipment, plus literally everything else... Did they hold their breath as well? This is becoming ridiculous." u/fernily shared, "As an American, I’ve never seen anything like this. Carbon-free dining? Come on. The only time I’ve seen a service charge is when it’s a large party. This is ridiculous."