"$13 to Shake a Margarita?" — Woman Slams Dallas Restaurant That Charges for "Drink Prep"

A woman was shocked after receiving a $530 restaurant bill after only ordering $150 worth of food (which they loved) and a few cocktails.

After looking at the charges on her receipt and asking the server why it came out so high, she was told that there were "drink prep" fees attached to each beverage she ordered.

TikToker (@blondeswhoeat) said that these prep charges were responsible for the astronomical spike in the cost of her bar tab. This included a $75 beverage.

Her video has accrued over 3.1 million views and is filled with comments from folks who were gobsmacked to hear that a restaurant implemented such a pricing practice.

"Have you ever heard of a place charging you to SHAKE YOUR DRINK??" the TikToker asks in a text overlay of her video.

She adds, "$80 worth of prep to shake our drinks on the bill lol," highlighting how the cost of preparing the drink wasn't factored into the total drink cost.

She states at the top of the video that she's not going to name the restaurant she went to in Dallas that attached the charge to her receipt because "the food was exceptional."

It seems, however, that the charges appended to her receipt were also exceptional.

The restaurant goer says that her table only ordered around $150 worth of food, so she couldn't understand how her total bill came out to $530. As it turns out, the surcharges added to her bill as a result of drink prep all added up, leaving her with such a staggering final amount.

She then goes through the different items on the receipt after asking folks if they've ever heard of charges like this being added to their bills. She states that there were four margaritas served to the table at $17 a pop with $3 worth of prep added to each beverage.

When she asked what "prep" was, the server explained that it was "the shaking of the margarita."

"You charge $3 to shake a margarita?" she asked rhetorically. But that was just the beginning of the charges.

"So then we go further down and we get to the...Fortaleza blanco, $32. K, great. It's fine...drink's $32."

While she didn't take issue with the cost of the cocktail, she did, however, have a very big problem with how much the establishment was charging her simply for the preparation of her beverage. "For that specific one, it was $13."

This brought the total cost of the cocktail up to a whopping $45.

Which means that for the cost of a to-go entree at a casual, quick-bite restaurant, or a full meal at a deli, the restaurant charged the TikToker's table that same amount "to shake the margarita."

While further analyzing the cost of the $75 drink, the TikToker says that the server's breakdown began to make even less sense once they explained why the cost of a "double shot" was more than simply double the cost of the drink.

The server said that when doubles are poured, bartenders will typically put more than double the amount of booze. The TikToker stated that the amount they were being charged for was a triple, not a double, which isn't what they asked for.

Clearly frustrated, she slams the receipt down on the counter in front of her and further lambasts the restaurant. "All this to say — what the eff. This place charges to shake your margarita."

What's even crazier is that, apparently, some tequila costs more money to shake than others. "And he was like they charge the shaking, or 'the prep' per the tequila of your choice."

Which just means that there's an added gratuity attached to your drink.

After further breaking down her bill, the TikToker reveals that of the $530 bill her table was slapped with, $400 of it was alcohol.

Commenters who saw her video expressed their shared outrage over the practice, including a bar owner. "Lifelong bartender here and bar OWNER — this is insane. Unacceptable they weren’t upfront. Hidden fees for drinks is insane."

Someone else stated that they couldn't understand the prep fee as its the bartender's job to make the drinks: "PREP?! It’s the bartender's job to make drinks….. I’m so confused."

Another said that if these fees/charges weren't displayed on the menu or any signage at the restaurant from the get go that the place of business could soon find itself in a lot of trouble: "I would 100 percent dispute those charges. Those up charges sound illegal if they are not in writing on the menu."

Which was a sentiment echoed by someone else who said: "Nope. If that isn't disclosed BEFORE you're billed it's absolutely disputable. I've NEVER paid that. A $75 margarita is insane."

While another couldn't believe that prep shaking prices changed depending on the type of tequila used: "Charging prep is crazy, but tell me why it fluctuates based on the quality of tequila? Are they shaking it differently?? What’s a $3 shake vs a $20 shake? At least do it table side."