The Shady Way Restaurants Trick Diners Into Ordering Specific Menu Items

Like it or not, every restaurant is a business, and at the end of the day, they exist to make a profit. Unfortunately, the lure of the almighty dollar occasionally leads some restaurateurs to employ shady practices that entice customers to order menu items with the best margins. It's not just restaurants. Grocery stores get customers to spend more with a few tricks up their sleeves as well. The Takeout spoke with American restaurateur, entrepreneur, and founder of Mira Mediterranean, Hakki Akdeniz, about menu mislabeling, and he had some advice about buzzwords to look out for that may not be the most authentic way to describe a menu item.

It's often said that people eat with their eyes, but they also eat with their hearts. Take something you might see in a diner, such as "Grandma's Apple Pie." "Emotion is food," Akdeniz said, adding, "Even if the ingredients aren't valuable, a word like 'grandma's' reminds people of home, family, and comfort." For all you know, that dessert was made with bruised and beaten marked-down produce and a store-bought pie crust — and you can bet the farm no "grandma" made it. But because of duplicitous mislabeling, your mind naturally goes to that childhood memory of catching a whiff of Gam-Gam's famous specialty from across the room.

Still, Akdeniz doesn't necessarily think his clientele would be naive enough to order his dishes simply because of an alluring title. "Words like 'local' or 'truffle' are popular, but today's visitors are too intelligent to be duped," he said. However, plenty of folks still get scammed by overpriced truffle fries simply because "truffle" sounds gourmet. "Nevertheless, the appropriate phrase can undoubtedly persuade someone to try something they might not have otherwise ordered," Akdeniz acknowledged.

It's worth noting that just because Hakki Akdeniz knows the tricks of the trade doesn't mean he practices them. "Whether it's a recipe with a familial twist or a dish that goes well with the lounge atmosphere, we at Mira Mediterranean emphasize the meals that best reflect our narrative," he said. Yet, Akdeniz is aware that some establishments are just out to make a buck, and he thinks there are certain things you should be hearing from the staff to determine whether or not something is worth ordering.

He said, "You're selling an experience, not just food, if you can tell me where the seafood was caught, why the spice mix matters, or who taught you the recipe." Back to "Grandma's Apple Pie." If the chef's actual grandmother taught them how to make it, and they take pride in studiously following her tutelage, then it isn't exactly mislabeled.

"Organic" is another popular buzzword restaurants often use to convey fresh and healthy vibes. While you can assume organic foods will be free of pesticides and GMOs and that they may be pricier for the restaurant to purchase, it doesn't necessarily guarantee superior quality or taste. It does mean a restaurant can justify charging you an arm and a leg for expensive produce when you order the organic house salad.

But again, this isn't the way Akdeniz operates. "Making sure the meals we highlight truly provide an experience worth returning for is more important than positioning, style, and where the eye lands on a menu," he said. If you notice a restaurant's menu is full of words that tug on the heartstrings or otherwise shady "gourmet" nomenclature, it's a good idea to ask the staff about those items to see if there is any merit to the label.