If bringing your own booze used to be a way to get around the mark-up on wine in restaurants (which was often around 75 per cent, but could be as high as 300 per cent), that is no longer the case; we may have reached the peak of corkage fees, with one west London restaurant demanding a princely fee of £150.
Many fine-dining restaurants are more open than ever to customers showing up with a bottle or two of wine they’ve sourced themselves, but you’re increasingly likely to be hit with an exorbitant bill for the pleasure of opening and serving it.
The average price, according to a new study by specialist publication The Drinks Business, is £13.50, but there are some notable exceptions.
At Notting Hill’s Dorian restaurant, a favourite with West London celebrities, corkage now costs £100 and must be purchased alongside at least one bottle from the wine list, the cheapest of which is £50, so bringing your own wine could easily top the £200 mark.
Wine merchants Lea & Sandeman list the corkage charges charged by some of the capital’s best restaurants, and their selection holds plenty of surprises.
At London’s most popular restaurants, Noble Rot Soho, the fee is £25, while Quo Vadis charges £35 and the three-Michelin-starred Ledbury in Notting Hill costs £75, but it might still be worth the corkage fee.
At Ledbury, a bottle of Nyetimber 1086 Brut 2010 costs £295 on the wine list, but costs around £130 to buy online. Even with corkage, it’s still £90 cheaper.
At the cheaper end of the corkage spectrum, dine on Sundays at a Michelin-starred restaurant on Elystan Street in Chelsea and they may uncork your bottle for free.
Upmarket steakhouse chain Hawksmoor has a similar incentive to attract customers: you’ll pay just £5 if you dine on Mondays.
Corkage is on the rise, according to specialist publication The Drinks Business, with restaurants asking diners to pay between £12 and £15 if they want to bring their own bottle.
At a dinner party earlier in the week, you might enjoy a bottle of Pol Roger Vintage Brut 2008, which is selling at the Liverpool branch for £275.00 – a fraction of the cost if you brought your own bottle purchased online.
This French champagne retails at £120 at Hard to Find Wines – add in £4.99 delivery and £5 corkage and you’re still about £145 in the red.
But what if you’re celebrating a special occasion that deserves a once-in-a-lifetime harvest?
Could it be even better to shop around, find the best deal on the wine you want to drink with your meal, and then simply pay for the corkage along with your luxury drink?
Here’s a selection of fine dining restaurants where paying a lot to bring your own food still amounts to savings:
Dorian, Notting Hill
Bringing your own booze is a luxury – many upmarket restaurants charge a significant amount to uncork and serve a bottle you bring in… but it might still be worth it if you can get a bottle of expensive wine at a discount.
If you order a bottle of Dom Peringnon Rosé, which is currently listed on the wine list at £1,295You will pay £150 corkage fee.
However, there are many wine merchants offering the same bottle online, some even with additional discounts. We found a bottle for £301.
Bring your own drink £301 + £150 corkage = £451
SAVINGS: £844
FALLOW, ST. JAMES
Order a bottle of Château Margaux, Margaux 2006 to your table and you’ll pay a pretty penny. £920 at this contemporary restaurant in central London. However, online, you can get a 750ml bottle of the same wine for £470 at Frazier’s Wine Merchants: even if you’ve paid £50 corkage, you’re still out £400 more.
Bring your own drink £470 + £50 corkage
SAVINGS: £400
QUO VADIS, SOHO
Soho favorite Quo Vadis keeps a small wine list, but there are still plenty of savings to be had.
Order a bottle of 2103 Charles Heidsieck Brut and you’ll pay £180 for the pleasure of this London institution, but we found the same wine online (and at a reduced price) for just £62, which made the cost of uncorking easier to stomach.
Bring your own drink £62 + £50 corkage = £112
SAVINGS: £68
THE LEDBURY, PORTOBELLO
When you have three Michelin stars on your doorstep, you can push the price of wine up to an exorbitant figure. However, at this west London restaurant there is a bring-your-own-bottle policy, meaning you can enjoy a bottle of Nyetimber 1086 Brut 2010, which costs £295 on the wine list, for around £90 less if you search online and bring your own.
Bring your own drink £130 + £75 corkage = £205
SAVINGS: £90
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