Man changes mind about splitting bill after friend orders more food, friend is furious.

Going out to a fancy dinner with a friend is supposed to be a feel-good time where you dress up and feel elegant for a night.

However, when the bill hits the table, the feel-good vibes can quickly transform into a stressful negotiation over who pays what. If you're going to split it down the middle, it's best to stay mindful of what you're ordering so your friend isn't left footing a hefty chunk they didn't eat. But sadly, not all people are this thoughtful in the moment.

In a popular post on the AITA subreddit, a man asked if he was wrong for suggesting they pay separate after their friend ordered lots of food.

He wrote:

AITA for not wanting to pay for my friend's expensive taste in food?

I recently went out to dinner with my friend at a high-end restaurant. When the bill came, I was shocked to see that my friend had ordered several expensive dishes and drinks, which ended up costing much more than I had anticipated. I had assumed that we would be splitting the bill evenly, but now I'm not so sure.

I don't mind treating my friend to a nice meal every once in a while, but I feel like they took advantage of my generosity by ordering so much. I'm on a tight budget and can't afford to spend that much money on one meal, so I suggested that I just pay for my own food and he pays his. After that, he got upset and accused me of being a liar and threw a hissy fit.

Once the situation got to the point where other tables were looking for us, I left the amount of money to cover my food and left the restaurant. Am I the a**hole for wanting not to split the bill evenly, or should I just suck it up and pay for my friend's expensive taste in food?'

People had strong thoughts about this whole scenario.

Bigrobbo wrote:

NTA.

I hate people who take advantage of a split bill to get the expensive stuff.

oksccrlvr wrote:

Can someone explain to my why you would EVER split the bill evenly? I have absolutely never done that. If I want to treat someone, I pay the entire bill. If we're both paying, we just pay for what we ordered/consumed. No, NTA.

jrm1102 wrote:

NTA - His portion was disproportionate. It made sense not to split it.

OkSeat4312 wrote:

NTA. Your friend’s reaction solidifies that you were being taken advantage of. I wouldn’t consider this person a “friend” anymore. A friend doesn’t react like this.

jumpypancake34 wrote:

NTA. That's not a true friend. In my experience me and my friends usually do the thing where I pay for this and they pay for the next, and vice versa. It doesn't sound like you guys do that. It's not fair to ask you to pay for that kind of stuff.

I would re-evaluate the friendship. How often do you pay for their stuff? Not just food, but like a quick thing at target or whatever store. How often do they forget their wallet? Etc.

Clearly, OP is NTA, if anything - it sounds like they might need to reevaluate their friendship.