What's Up With: Restaurant Websites Without Prices?

Can we get a price list up in here? 

By Simon Butler

We don't believe in the old line suggesting that if you have to ask the price of something, you can't afford it. If the cost isn't apparent, you've every right to inquire.

But do restaurants feel the same way?

There's a tendency for many eateries to eschew any mention of moola on their websites – even if they list their full menus. Now we realize they're within their rights to change their prices as needed, but how does this affect prospective customers? Shouldn't Joe and Jane Schmo be able to calculate the potential cost of their meal before deciding on where to go? And isn't that often a determining factor when dining out?


It's true that some spots are self-evident – it's not too hard to guess your conceivable financial outlay at Burger King, for example. And yes, you can always call a place to ask just how much those two-pound lobsters are. Yet it might be a nice courtesy to list recent or current prices with the menu, accompanied by a caveat noting that they're subject to change. We don't think that's too much to ask, as long as nothing's binding.

What's your opinion of the online price-o-rama? Is it fair or foul, in your opinion, to cite menu item costs?