With her train to London running late on the weekend of the coronation, Claire Gleave decided to cancel the restaurant table for five that she had reserved because she knew she would miss the 7pm booking. But she still ended up with a £125 bill.
The mother-of-three from the Cotswolds fell foul of reservation rules that, according to analysis by the Observer, a significant proportion of top-end restaurants have now adopted: if you cancel your booking too late or don’t show, you will be charged a fee. And that fee can be the same price as a number of courses or even a whole tasting menu.
