Trendy LA restaurant slammed over mystery fees on top of mandatory tip: Deeply disturbing

There’s a fee to get fed.A popular Los Angeles restaurant is in the hot seat after an irate diner put the trendy spot on blast over a sizable mystery “administrative” fee slapped onto his bill —  on top of the restaurant’s mandatory 20 percent gratuity and LA’s recently-raised sales tax of 10.25 percent.The trouble began when a patron of Üca Terraza, a “Tulum-inspired” restaurant serving Mexican fare on the roof of the swanky Delphi Hotel noticed the extra 5 percent charge before paying the check — inspiring him to ask questions on a popular local message board.The biggest news, opinion and culture shaping California right now.

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Never miss a story “The prices were already pretty inflated for the amount of food I got.I thought it was pretty egregious to put a minimum tip amount and then charge an admin fee,” the puzzled patron wrote on Reddit.After ordering two beers, a still water, and three meals including the tuna crudo, seared scallops, and carne asada tacos, the poster’s subtotal came out to $173.25, including the sneaky fee.

With the mandatory tip and sales tax, the order set the diner back $226.36.While the heavily-dinged diner didn’t immediately name the restaurant, sleuthing commenters quickly sussed out which spot the whistleblower was talking about — after seeing the complete receipt which showed menu items and prices that were an exact match to the chichi spot.While the poster doesn’t appear to have seen it themselves, the restaurant’s menu does detail their tipping policies — as well as the 5 percent administrative surcharge in question.

“This is not a gratuity and is retained in its entirety by the restaurant to help defray the cost of increased wages and benefits,” the fine print reads.The California Post reached out to Üca Terraza and the Delphi Hotel f...