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Fury as diners pay £1.50 per head for tablecloths and napkins at Marco Pierre White’s trendy London Steakhouse

Fury as diners pay £1.50 per head for tablecloths and napkins at Marco Pierre White’s trendy London Steakhouse

A posh London steakhouse is facing backlash over the introduction of tablecloth and napkin charges.

Diners at the London Steakhouse, which was opened by celebrity chef Marco Pierre White in 2008, are now expected to pay an extra cover charge of £1.50 per person.

The restaurant, located next to Liverpool Street station, said this would be a flat charge “to cover the cost of table linen and napkins”, with a discretionary 9.5% service charge also appearing on bills.

But industry experts warned that this could be just the beginning for restaurants looking for more “innovative” ways to get extra revenue from customers.

Amid the government’s Autumn Budget, which saw both the minimum wage and national insurance rates rise, restaurants have warned that prices must rise to pay the bill.

From April, the National Minimum Wage will rise by 6.7% to £12.21 an hour, NI Employer Tax will rise by 1.2%.

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has previously argued that the national minimum wage is detrimental to British business and told this year’s Tory conference that it was “overburdening” many small businesses.

London Steakhouse appears to be proactively reacting to its impending expense increases with both the tablecloth and napkin charges, along with a host of other charges.

Fury as diners pay £1.50 per head for tablecloths and napkins at Marco Pierre White’s trendy London Steakhouse

Marco Pierre White’s London Steakhouse (pictured) has come under fire for introducing charges for tablecloths and napkins

The London Steakhouse (pictured) has been open near Liverpool Street station since 2008

The London Steakhouse (pictured) has been open near Liverpool Street station since 2008

Diners are now expected to pay an extra £1.50 per head for tablecloths and napkins

Diners are now expected to pay an extra £1.50 per head for tablecloths and napkins

Linen charges are shown on the restaurant’s à la carte menu, with set menus seeing additional charges such as a £1 head cover charge.

A 12.5 percent service charge is also added to set-menu bills as the self-proclaimed table-linen diner apparently looks for more ways to charge customers.

The cover charge concept is one that is standard practice in many places in Europe, particularly in Italy, where the ‘coperto’ charge covers table linen and bread.

Cover charges are becoming more prevalent in the UK, Harrdos also recently jumped on the bandwagon and implemented a £1 cover charge at its London restaurants.

Other charges set out on the London Steakhouse website include a £10 charge for booking certain menus two days in advance.

This fee is not considered a deposit by the restaurant and is not credited to the final bill, but rather a fee that simply allows you to make the reservation.

Consumer expert Jane Hawkes told the Telegraph that the introduction of such charges was unfair to diners and that customers should feel valued by businesses rather than “sucked”.

A potential unintended consequence of these tax introductions is that customers will feel less compelled to pay service charges or leave tips.

Despite new legislation coming into effect in October ensuring staff receive an equal distribution of tips, industry expert Ms Hawkes says this may prove redundant if the rise in fees persists.

The London Steakhouse restaurant has been approached by MailOnline for comment.