bottle opening fee

Meaning

A bottle opening fee is a charge applied by a restaurant or bar when guests bring their own bottle of wine or alcohol to consume on the premises. It covers the service of opening the bottle, providing glasses, and cleaning up.

Examples

• The restaurant allows you to bring your own wine, but they charge a twenty-dollar bottle opening fee.

  The restaurant allows you to bring your own wine, but they charge a twenty-dollar bottle opening fee.

• We should check if there is a bottle opening fee before we bring this vintage champagne to the diner.

  We should check if there is a bottle opening fee before we bring this vintage champagne to the diner.

• They waived the bottle opening fee because it was our wedding anniversary.

  They waived the bottle opening fee because it was our wedding anniversary.

• Is the bottle opening fee charged per bottle or per table?

  Is the bottle opening fee charged per bottle or per table?

• I don't mind paying a small bottle opening fee if it means I can enjoy my favorite wine with dinner.

  I don't mind paying a small bottle opening fee if it means I can enjoy my favorite wine with dinner.

Common Mistakes

• ✗ How much is the open bottle price?

  ✓ How much is the bottle opening fee?

  'Open bottle price' is an incorrect literal translation. The standard terms are 'bottle opening fee' or 'corkage fee'.

• ✗ The restaurant charged us for opening the bottle.

  ✓ The restaurant charged us a bottle opening fee.

  While understandable, using the noun phrase 'bottle opening fee' is much more natural and professional when discussing restaurant policies.

Related Expressions

Practice

• Since we brought our own wine, the waiter added a ten-dollar ___ to our bill.

  💡 A charge for opening and serving customer-provided alcohol.

  Show answer

  bottle opening fee

• Does this restaurant have a ___ if we bring a bottle of champagne?

  💡 The cost of bringing your own beverage to a restaurant.

  Show answer

  bottle opening fee