Trendy LA restaurant slammed over mystery ‘admin’ fees, mandatory tips

There’s a fee to get fed.

A popular Los Angeles restaurant is in the hot seat after an irate diner put the trendy spot on blast over a sizable mystery “administrative” fee slapped onto his bill —  on top of the restaurant’s mandatory 20 percent gratuity and LA’s recently-raised sales tax of 10.25 percent.

The trouble began when a patron of Üca Terraza, a “Tulum-inspired” restaurant serving Mexican fare on the roof of the swanky Delphi Hotel noticed the extra 5 percent charge before paying the check — inspiring him to ask questions on a popular local message board.

“The prices were already pretty inflated for the amount of food I got. I thought it was pretty egregious to put a minimum tip amount and then charge an admin fee,” the puzzled patron wrote on Reddit.

After ordering two beers, a still water, and three meals including the tuna crudo, seared scallops, and carne asada tacos, the poster’s subtotal came out to $173.25, including the sneaky fee. With the mandatory tip and sales tax, the order set the diner back $226.36.

While the heavily-dinged diner didn’t immediately name the restaurant, sleuthing commenters quickly sussed out which spot the whistleblower was talking about — after seeing the complete receipt which showed menu items and prices that were an exact match to the chichi spot.

While the poster doesn’t appear to have seen it themselves, the restaurant’s menu does detail their tipping policies — as well as the 5 percent administrative surcharge in question.

“This is not a gratuity and is retained in its entirety by the restaurant to help defray the cost of increased wages and benefits,” the fine print reads.

The California Post reached out to Üca Terraza and the Delphi Hotel for comment as to why a restaurant would sneak in a cost-of-living up-charge — rather than just raise prices.

Reddit users — many of them clarifying that they themselves worked in the food and beverage industry — admitted they were appalled by the route the restaurant had chosen.

“What is an admin fee about at a restaurant? Did you submit paperwork to order?” one commenter joked.

“Those prices are just deeply disturbing. Insanity,” another irate reader said, after seeing the entire bill, which included an order of carne asada tacos for an astonishing $24.

“It doesn’t matter what the restaurant is. All the restaurants now barely offer decent food anymore or a meal that doesn’t feel like you’ve been swindled into and good service doesn’t make up for how egregious the prices are on top of the tipping you already have to do,” a third commenter wrote.

The restaurant has been called out previously online by other diners.

“They take advantage because they charge up the butt with gratuity fees. NOT WORTH IT,” one Google review reads.

America’s tipping culture has faced increased scrutiny in recent years, with patrons often blasting businesses for mystery fees.

In June, a restaurant in Tampa courted controversy for hitting a patron with a 3 percent surcharge they dubbed a “Venue Fee”.

In 2025, another restaurant was taken to task for charging customers an 18 percent “Living Wage Fee” — explaining that the fee goes directly to staff payroll to provide them with a living wage.

Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters