Woman Goes to New York Restaurant To Celebrate Birthday. She Tries To Cut Her Own Cake—But They Won’t Let Her and Then Charge Her $45

Celebrating a birthday at a restaurant is pretty common. It’s convenient, everyone can order what they want, and of course, what birthday would it be without the cake? But for one New York woman, the Pergola rained on the festivity after they charged her to cut a cake she brought.

“We’re at Pergola and they just charged us $45 to cut a cake, OK?” TikTok creator Odette (@odetteyang) shouts inside the loud, dark restaurant. “I told them I would cut it myself and they were like, ‘No. $45.’”

Then, she unveils the results: Three giant thick slices piled messily onto a tray. “This is the cake. What the [expletive] is that?” she asks, bursting into laughter.

She concludes, “Don’t come here.”

Odette explains in the caption: “For anyone going to Pergola NYC. took out my friends bday cake (didn’t ask for them to cut it) and they charged us $45.”

Viewers Side with Pergola

Odette’s video garnered over 90,000 views, where the overwhelming majority of viewers defended the restaurant, claiming it’s a standard policy.

“It’s because you’re eating dessert in their restaurant without paying them for the [dessert]. This is normal at nicer places. Same thing with a corkage fee,” one viewer remarked.

“You’re asking to stay an extra 20 -30 mins at a restaurant and bring your own food, that’s what the cake fee is for, not for literally cutting your own cake,” another agreed.

“Yep that’s absolutely normal. You are wrong. Order their dessert next time,” a third stated.

However, the very few who sided with her condemned the dessert charge.

“Yea, I’m sorry. Normal or not charging $45 for a ‘cake cutting’ fee is insane. If it’s a thing, a fee of $5-10 is more reasonable. So crazy how we’re normalizing some of the most insane things here,” one commenter said.

“Getting charged to bring dessert is absurd even if it’s ‘normal,’” a second echoed.

In the comments section, Odette clarified she only wanted the cake to be stored, not cut.

“It was $45 for 5 girls and we didn’t even ask them to cut it. We just needed it in the fridge during dinner so it wouldn’t melt but they said they would still charge regardless, so we decided to bring it out and eat it,” she says.

Do Restaurants Like Pergola Have A Cake Fee?

Indeed, they do. If you’ve heard of the corkage fee where waitstaff open a bottle of wine you brought, this is a similar practice. Much like the corkage fee, the cakeage fee applies to customers bringing outside cake or dessert to an establishment and having staff cut and serve it, according to Mashed. Since the business is losing revenue on its desserts, this fee compensates for the cost, time, and labor. 

Although this fee blindsided Odette and her friends, this isn’t a new term or trend. In 1991, San Francisco Chronicle writer Herb Caen popularized the word to raise awareness among his readers. While Peroga charged $45, the content creator, restaurants come up with the price entirely on their own. Some may charge per person, others a flat rate, and it may be more expensive. 

To prevent being caught off guard, it’s best to call the establishment and ask about their policies.

@odetteyang

for anyone going to Pergola NYC. took out my friends bday cake (didn’t ask for them to cut it) and they charged us $45 ??

♬ Piano, waltz, Chopin style, Europe – arachang

The Mary Sue reached out to Odette via email and TikTok comment as well as Pergola via press email.

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