A California woman asked an LA rooftop bar to cut her birthday cake. Then she saw the $110 charge on her receipt

A birthday celebration in Los Angeles took an unexpected turn when a customer found a $110 fee on her bill, just for having a cake cut. The woman, who goes by Justine on TikTok, shared her frustration in a video that has already gotten 402,000 views.

Justine posted the clip on TikTok showing the chocolate cake her group enjoyed at a rooftop bar. She said she simply asked the staff to cut the cake for her party, and they agreed without mentioning any extra costs.

It wasn’t until the check arrived that she saw the surprise charge. Justine held the receipt up to the camera to point out the specific line item, saying, “and then boom, $110.” Her main complaint was the lack of clear notice, as she said, “Like, at least tell us.”

Online reaction to the fee is split between support and criticism

The restaurant in question appears to be the Poza rooftop bar and restaurant, which is owned by L’Ermitage Beverly Hills. While the situation feels surprising, people online are divided on whether this is a fair business practice or not. Birthday cake moments don’t always cause friction, though, as shown by a surprise cake party for a 95-year-old customer that went viral for very different reasons.

Many commenters sided with Justine. One person wrote, “Charging as if they MADE the cake smh.” Another said, “Many places charge a fee but that’s absolutely insane. It’s usually like $20-$30.” A third commenter added, “I don’t mind the fee or even care if they tell me BUT $110 FOR CUTTING A CAKE yeah no tip after that they could’ve at least told u.”

Some viewers went further, suggesting Justine shouldn’t have paid the bill at all. One person wrote, “I hope you didn’t pay that and told them they should have mentioned that fee.” Another agreed, saying, “If they didn’t tell you there was a charge I wouldn’t pay that.”

On the other side, several commenters pointed out the realities of running a high-end venue. One person noted, “Pretty normal for high end restaurant sadly. Typically $5 per slice.” Another explained, “$110 is crazy but you are bringing outside food to a restaurant, expecting them to cut it and provide plates/forks all for something they aren’t profiting off of, If they didn’t charge a cake fee.”

This isn’t the only time recently that surprise fees have caused a stir online. Another TikTok user went viral after sharing a receipt for a $2,372.07 dinner bill. That receipt included a “house fee” of $79.51, which the restaurant said covered items like security, wage increases, music, health insurance, and taxes. Birthday celebrations have gone viral for other reasons too, including an influencer’s birthday trip that divided the internet.

That total was also a surprise to the diner, but some people felt that complaining about fees on such an expensive meal wasn’t necessary. One commenter wrote, “You knew what it was when you sat down. Next….”