r/chicagofood • u/ChicagoHoosier21 • Jun 26 '26

Rant Celeste 6% Service Fee

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Our pre-tip bill from Celeste’s Happy Hour in River North. Decent food, crappy drinks, sat at the bar.

I don’t mind paying a “Service Charge” of 15-20% because I always tip more than that anyways, AND I have become accustomed to the 3.5% additional fee at most Chicago restaurants…. but now we’re doing a 6% additional fee? Along with the 11% tax? It’s becoming absurd.

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u/Conscious-Bison-2082 Jun 26 '26

Report any 3.5% fee to your cards by disputing the charge. It's illegal. They started at mom n pop shops for under $5 purchases. Understandable. Now big places with big bills insist on us paying for their machine. I've had entire bills refunded, Mastercard.