Restaurant’s unique policy of charging extra for unfinished meals leaves people divided

Restaurants worldwide have been increasingly adopting subtle strategies to extract additional revenue from customers. These tactics often include hidden service charges, loyalty programs, portion control, premium experiences and strategic menu pricing. Recently, Mikasa Hanma (@mikasahanma) sparked widespread debate with a controversial TikTok video. The woman revealed that her restaurant charges extra if customers don’t finish their food. This innovative approach has raised eyebrows about the ethics and fairness of such policies in the food industry. 

"Leftover food costs extra in our restaurant," Hanma said, filming herself chopping beetroots for dishes. "If you can't finish the food you’ve ordered here, you’ll have to pay extra at the end," she added, emphasizing that "not finishing your plate" is a pricey affair at her restaurant. Hanma further explained their 'All You Can Eat' offer, where customers pay €30 per person and must finish their food within 90 minutes. However, the concept comes with an even more interesting rule.

After 90 minutes, customers are required to pay extra for any food they couldn’t finish. "You can order five small dishes, each minute, per person. That means theoretically you can order 450 dishes in 90 minutes. However, the rule is to order only as much as you can eat," Hanma explained. Notably, this distinctive concept is very popular in Germany and isn't exclusive to her restaurant.

While people in the comments were divided on the unusual approach, Hanma explained, "I think it’s a very fair concept." To justify the idea, Hanma pointed out that in an 'All You Can Eat' setup, you pay for unlimited food, not for a specific portion. "You pay for the service that you can eat as much as you can. You do not pay for a specific portion," she explained, highlighting the importance of minimizing waste while maximizing value. The TikTok video received an overwhelming response from people with over four million views.

For instance, @iltlat wrote, "In 90 minutes? Why would I be eating faster than usual to get what I paid for?" Similarly, @x0xcrstnex0x commented, "But what if I try it and don’t like it? All you can eat I always make a plate of small portions of what I want to try so I know what I want on my next full plate… I’m not paying for stuff I don’t like." On the other hand, @spac335 commented, "In Denmark, this is also quite normal for 'All-you-can-eat sushi', the limit is usually over three pieces of sushi and then 10kr per piece."

@short.human.being wrote, "Concept is cool, except the time limit. That means you can't just wait to order, you have to approximate and order immediately. Making one dish can take as much as an hour if the restaurant is busy." Meanwhile, @mm.marysiaa, who was seemingly impressed with the concept, wrote: "I don’t eat a lot at once but I love the concept. You can always try new things. The leftover policy is fair and I would always pay extra to take some sushi home." What initially seemed like a perfect deal—unlimited food for €30—took an interesting twist when Hanma explained the strict 90-minute rule and extra charges for leftovers. It’s a high-stakes challenge where eating quickly and avoiding waste are as important as the meal itself.

You can follow Mikasa Hanma (@mikasahanma) on TikTok for more such food-related content.