Online menu prices and delivery fees: UK rules

Most restaurants don't think of their online menu as an advert. The CMA does. Its price transparency guidance (CMA209, dated 18 November 2025) lists "a menu (including a physical menu card or a digital menu that can be accessed through the scanning of a QR code) in a restaurant" as an example of what it calls an invitation to purchase. If you want to charge menu prices without a marketplace cut, commission-free ordering on your own site is the simplest route.

This guide summarises what the guidance says for restaurants, cafés and takeaways that sell online. It is not legal advice. The CMA itself says to read the full guidance or take independent legal advice if you are in doubt.

What the law now says

The CMA's summary of CMA209 (updated 7 January 2026) puts it plainly: traders must give their total prices up front, and it is illegal to hide additional fees, taxes or other charges until later in the purchase process.

The penalties are not small. A business found to have broken the law can be fined up to 10% of its turnover or £300,000, whichever is greater, and ordered to compensate affected customers. That includes an independent takeaway with a single site.

Mandatory charges go in the price

The core test is simple. If a customer can't buy the thing without paying a charge, the charge is mandatory, and it belongs in the total price, not in a separate line that appears later.

The CMA's list of mandatory charges includes several that restaurants use:

• VAT. Prices aimed at consumers must include VAT where it applies. The rates are in VAT on takeaway food.
• Admin, booking, processing or platform fees, however they are described.
• Mandatory cover or service charges at a restaurant.
• Delivery charges where the customer can't arrange collection, with the example of ordering food for delivery from an app.

Two traps catch people out. First, the guidance says that showing a charge separately, or calling it an extra service, does not make it optional. If the customer has to pay it, it's mandatory. Second, a charge that covers your own costs, for example a fee from a third-party supplier you pass on, should be built into the price rather than shown as its own line.

A genuinely optional extra, one the customer can decline and still get their food, can be shown separately. Who the money goes to once it's paid is covered by the rules on tips and service charges. When an order goes wrong, the refund rules set out what you owe the customer.

Delivery fees

To see what a delivery costs you before you set the fee, try the free delivery cost calculator.

Delivery is where most online menus need attention, because the fee depends on the address and applies once per order.

The CMA's guidance accepts that it may not make sense to add one delivery fee to the price of every dish. Instead, it describes ways to comply, including:

• showing the delivery fee clearly next to the item prices, with a clear running total in the basket that includes the fee and updates as items go in; or
• building the delivery cost into your item prices and offering free delivery.

When the fee varies by location and you don't yet know the customer's address, you must give them enough information to work out the total, with the same prominence as the headline price. As soon as you can calculate the fee, it has to be in the total. The summary includes a food delivery basket as an example: a £12.00 cheeseburger plus a £2.49 delivery fee, shown as a total of £14.49.

If customers must choose between delivery options, the guidance says to include the lowest-priced option in the total until they choose another.

In practice, for a restaurant with zones:

1. Put your delivery fees, zone by zone, where customers can see them before they order, for example on the menu page.
2. Make sure the basket total includes the delivery fee as soon as the postcode is entered.
3. Test with a postcode in each zone and read the total at each step.

Choosing the fees themselves is a separate question, covered in how to set delivery fees and minimum orders.

Minimum orders and free delivery thresholds

The guidance says that where delivery is only available above an order value, customers should be made aware of the minimum order threshold. A rolling total with a breakdown is one way to do it.

Free delivery over a spend is allowed, but the full delivery fee stays in the total until the basket reaches the threshold. You can tell customers the fee will drop off above, say, £25. So a flyer reading "Free delivery over £25" should also say what delivery costs under £25.

Service charges and per-order fees

A flat fee added to every order, whatever it is called, is what the CMA calls a per-transaction charge.

For a restaurant that adds a compulsory service charge to online orders, or a fixed fee on every basket, the safest reading is to build it into your prices. If the charge is genuinely optional, show it as optional and let the customer leave it out.

The same logic applies to dine-in. A QR menu on the table is an invitation to purchase in its own right. If a compulsory service charge applies to the table, it should not appear for the first time on the bill.

Card surcharges

Check every place a price appears

The rule follows the price, wherever it is shown. Work through this list:

Whatever you send, check the price in it against what the customer will actually pay at checkout.

How Chefzi fits

Chefzi is the ordering site, not your legal adviser, but the settings line up with what the guidance describes:

• Delivery zones each carry their own fee, minimum order and delivery time, set by map, radius or postcode. The customer's postcode is checked at checkout, so they see whether you deliver to them.
• QR table ordering uses the same menu, so a dish price is the same online and at the table unless you change it.

Before you go live, place a test order to each delivery zone and read the basket as a customer would: item prices, the delivery fee, the minimum order and the total.

A quick checklist

• Every price aimed at customers includes VAT.
• No compulsory fee appears for the first time at checkout or on the bill.
• Delivery fees are shown before ordering and included in the total once the address is known.
• Minimum order and free-delivery thresholds are clear, with the fee below the threshold stated.
• No surcharge for paying by card.
• Flyers, emails and posts show what the customer will really pay.

For more on running the business side, see more restaurant guides.

Take orders on your own site

Plans from £9 a month per location billed annually (£12 monthly), ex VAT: Starter is your ordering website, Plus adds SMS and email marketing and card payments, Pro adds your own branded app and EPOS. 0% commission ever, no setup fee, free migration and one month free.

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Frequently asked questions

Is drip pricing illegal for UK restaurants?

Yes. Under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, the CMA says it is illegal to hide fees, taxes or other unavoidable charges until later in the purchase process.

Does my online menu have to include the delivery fee in every dish price?

Not usually. Because one delivery fee applies to the whole order, the CMA accepts other ways to show the total, such as showing the fee clearly next to the prices and keeping a running total in the basket that includes it. Once the customer's address is known, the fee must be in the total.

Can I add a service charge to online orders?

If the customer has to pay it, the CMA treats it as a mandatory charge, and its guidance names mandatory cover or service charges at a restaurant as an example. Mandatory charges belong in the price you show up front, not added at checkout. A genuinely optional charge can be shown separately.

Can I charge extra for paying by card?

What happens if a restaurant gets this wrong?

The CMA can fine a business up to 10% of its turnover or £300,000, whichever is greater, and order it to compensate affected customers. If you are unsure, read the CMA's full guidance or take independent legal advice.

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