Woman calls friend 'embarrassing' for ordering dish he couldn't afford. AITA?
When this woman is conflicted about the dinner she had with her friends, she asks Reddit:
"AITA because my friend ordered the same dish as me and couldn’t pay for it?"
My (19F) three friends (19F, 20F, 20M) and I were going out to a restaurant, and another student (19M) from our summer study abroad program that we’ve befriended in the past three weeks asked to come. We said of course he can come.
It was a slightly upscale restaurant with a Michelin star. We all ordered our own meals. Our newer friend couldn’t really understand the menu since it wasn’t in English, and his Spanish isn’t that proficient yet, so he was Google translating. Then he gave up and just told the waiter he’ll have what I’m having.
He didn’t know the price since the menu didn’t have prices, but we all assumed if he was concerned about price, he’d ask the staff. But he did not. The table bill was about $1,100. It was $100 for the appetizers and about $200 for each person’s main course. We had all agreed before to each pay for ourselves and then split the bill for the appetizers.
Our friend was shocked that his meal was $200 and said he didn’t have enough money for that. He started talking to the waiter questioning each charge and became more distressed.
Then he demanded to know why I didn’t tell him the price. Like I tricked him. First, it wasn’t in the menu, so I didn’t know exactly, but the price was about what I expected it to be. He could’ve asked the waiter if he was worried about it, instead of just saying “I’ll have the same thing.”
I’m not sure what he expected since this is not a cheap place. He was kind of being embarrassing. He used his emergency credit card to pay and was quite upset, and he said I should’ve told him the price. My meal was no more expensive than anyone else’s at the table. I’m not sure why he didn’t just ask the waiter. AITA?
Let's do it.
fairindependence91 writes:
YTA. You should have told him the price range of the restaurant when he asked to tag along, dude just wanted to have some time with his friends and definitely did not expect the dishes to cost 100+, that is not normal and definitely not what a student can afford to pay.
He probably didn't ask for prices because he felt awkward because he doesn't know the language, and he couldn't have imagined that a single dish would have put him into debt. YTA so much op, you essentially punished this dude for trying to socialize with you.
pablossmeelypit disagrees:
OP doesn’t actually know the price range of the restaurant, he just guessed it and he got it right. It is not OP’s fault that he didn’t ask for the price of his meal. But I just feel bad for the poor dude, hopefully it will be a lesson for them both! NAH
ladie40404 writes:
Lol what? Why is she expected to sit him down and give him all this information as opposed to him just googling the name of the restaurant like a normal person? She is not his mother.
She’s a college kid and so is he. Also, why was this OP’s responsibility as opposed to anyone else in the group? I’m so confused. I’ve never invited someone to dinner by walking them through all the prices on the menu. I assume if they care about price, they will take the time to look it up themselves.