Restaurants in Turkey, Sochi, and Europe Add New Fees—Here’s What Travelers Need to Know

Dining out is getting more expensive in popular vacation spots, as restaurants introduce a range of extra charges that can catch tourists off guard. According to travel portal Tourprom, new fees are now in effect in Turkey, Austria, Italy, and Russian resort cities like Sochi.

In Bodrum, Turkey, a group of three ordering a single pizza might be charged an extra 20 percent of the dish’s price just for using extra plates. Austria and Italy have taken a legislative approach: restaurants can legally add up to 11 euros for serving a shared order on multiple plates. One café in Vienna even charges 1.20 pounds for presenting dessert in a glass dish.

Turkish resorts, including Bodrum and Çeşme, have introduced a “table setting” fee of up to 500 Turkish lira per person. Meanwhile, in Sochi, restaurants are skirting inspections by printing a “service charge” of 10 to 15 percent in fine print on checks and imposing a minimum bill per person of 3,000 to 5,000 rubles. Some establishments now also charge for bringing your own drinks or baby food—a fee they call “servicing outside products.”

Earlier reports noted that four Russian cities—Kursk, Nizhny Novgorod, Tyumen, and Samara—will impose a tourist tax on hotels starting January 1, 2026. For now, vacationers should check their bills carefully and ask about hidden fees before ordering.