Gen Z diners tripped up by common menu pricing abbreviation — and wind up slapped with $160 bill
Three Gen Z sisters got a not-so-tasty surprise when they ordered steak at a coastal North Carolina restaurant — only to realize too late what 'MKT' on the menu actually meant.
Spoiler: it doesn't mean 'Marked down' — it means 'market price.'
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In a TikTok video that's racked up more than 19 million views, Aribella Menold, 20, and her siblings shared their shock after ordering dinner at Moonrakers, a white-tablecloth waterfront joint in Beaufort.
'POV: You didn't know what 'mkt' meant on the steak menu and now you're paying for it,' the caption read as the camera panned to their stunned expressions and the $159.14 bill.
The sisters had unknowingly racked up a hefty tab that included two 12 oz New York strip steaks for $52 each, a $28 baby kale Caesar salad with an extra $11 for grilled chicken, a $10 kid's grilled cheese and a $3 Sprite — proving once and for all that even salads can be a financial ambush.
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Their subtotal came to $145 with a 3% credit card surcharge that added an additional $4.35 and the 6.75% sales tax tacked on another $9.79.
'We thought the price was going to be like $20-$30,' Menold told Newsweek.
Turns out, 'MKT' is restaurant shorthand for 'market price,' a cryptic code used for items that fluctuate based on availability, seasonality and ingredient cost — usually seafood or steak. In other words: if you have to ask, you probably can't afford it.
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Menold's video, originally posted to Instagram and then to TikTok, blew up overnight. Luckily for the sisters, their wallets were spared the full damage.
'Our grandpa ended up paying for it, which was so sweet of him,' Menold explained to the outlet.
The sisters unknowingly feasted their way to a fat bill totaling $160.
Aribella_Menold/TikTok
But the internet had thoughts — and no shortage of them.
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'$160 is not bad if you divide the bill by three, each person pays 53 dollars which is good,' one commenter shrugged.
Another gasped, 'That's like 53-55$ each girl is spending on dinner. That's wild tbh.'
Others zeroed in on the leafy green culprit: 'Okay but a salad being 28 dollar [s] is diabolical.'
Still, some blamed the staff for not stepping in: 'Honestly shame on your server for not informing you of the price when it's clearly not listed. One complaint and all of my old bosses would have ripped me a new one for not informing the guest and probably make me pay out of pocket for it.'
A separate TikTok user offered this sage advice: 'Unless you're rich, don't buy items off a menu if they don't have a price.'
Lesson learned: when dining out, always ask the price — or bring your grandpa.
As The Post previously reported, a whistleblowing ex-staffer at California's now-closed Automat claimed those feel-good 'living wage' fees slapped on your bill are nothing but a tip-toeing façade.
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'If you see a restaurant charging a 'cost of living,' 'equal pay' or 'mandatory service fee' like the 20% this restaurant did, be suspicious,' Jordan Smith explained in an Instagram story post shared by Eater San Francisco.
'It's possible the back-of-house teams aren't seeing much of that money,' he continued regarding the non-server crew.
Meanwhile, a ticked-off diner went viral last month after posting a receipt showing a mandatory 'living wage fee' — and the internet lost its appetite.
Turns out 'MKT' is just fancy menu-speak for 'market price' — a slippery little code used for steaks, seafood and other dishes that change with the tides and the supply chain.
nicoletaionescu – stock.adobe.com
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Tipping rules may differ coast to coast, but here in NYC, the law's pretty clear: 'Restaurants cannot charge a surcharge or other fee in addition to listed food or beverage prices,' per the city's Consumer and Worker Protection rules.
However, they can 'charge a bona fide service charge — but only if the charge is conspicuously disclosed to consumers before food is ordered.'
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