I was appalled like the rest after reading the original post because I didn't know what Sax was, but after doing some basic Googling, I think OP is trying to shift the blame for his/her own lack of research.

It doesn't appear that Sax is a normal "restaurant", but rather a entertainment venue with burlesque shows and other dancing. These places, along with stand up comedy clubs and music venues are notorious for having minimums. Granted, $75 is steep, but that's not the issue here.

Second, you looked at the Open Table site, which is a 3rd party entity, not the official website. After 2 min on their website, I found the table minimum in the FAQ section.

OP, you are being obtuse and/or naive, and are trying to shift the blame to the restaurant unfairly.

That is seriously outrageous!

I wouldnt have paid it if it wasnt obvious.

I went to a restuarant once for lunch on a Sunday. We all ordered off the lunch menu. When the bill came it was dinner prices. When I said something the waiter said they dont serve lunch on Sundays, just dinner. I said, we were given the lunch menu, where does it say you dont serve lunch on Sundays, He admitted that there was no sign anywhere but it was their policy. I refused to pay it and spoke to the manager. He said as there was no sign and we werent told he would adjust the price.

Anonymous wrote:I would write to Tom Sietsema!

+1
Good timing - his weekly chat is tomorrow, and you can submit your question beforehand.

I would write to Tom Sietsema!

holy moly...

Was the food good at least?

What did you end up ordering to bring your bill total up?

Op here - we were a party of 4 and the print menu said no such thing!

It is pretty buried on their website. I don't see it printed on their online menu, wonder if it is on the physical copy, still not right.

Under Q&A
Do I need a resvervation?

We strongly receommend reservations to ensure availability for your party size on the desired date of attendance.

Wednesday & Thursday: We accept reservations online for parties of 6 or less with a $50 minimum per person. For reservations of parties of 7 or more, please call 202.737.0101.

Friday: We accept reservations online for parties of 6 or less with a $75 minimum per person. There is a 10% tax and 20% gratuity is added to all final checks, regardless of party size.
For reservations of parties of 7 or more, please call 202.737.0101 or reservations@saxwdc.com.

Saturday: We accept reservations online for parties of 6 or less with a $75 minimum per person. There is a 10% tax and 20% gratuity added to all final checks, regardless of party size.
For reservations of parties of 7 or more, please call 202.737.0101 or reservations@saxwdc.com.

Sunday Brunch: Reservations can be made online or call 202.737.0101. Brunch is a prix fixe price of $50 per person.

Open table shouldn't mention the price at $31-$50 because it could never be $31.

Yeah, that's insane.

Also, the lunch minimum charges are almost always a violation of the restaurants credit card terms of service (Unless you're at a huge nationla chain that can renegotiate terms with a credit card company). I usually just pay and let it go, but if you really hate them, you can say no.

WOW!

I've seen minimum charges at lunch places, but it's usually $10 or $15 per card (so they don't spend the fees on small orders). Even that has always bugged me a bit, but it's nothing like you're describing. YIKES!

Yelp review. Alert any dining columnists at local news organizations.

Unbelievable.

The only eating and drinking establishments I associate with having a minimum offer lap dances from naked people in between courses and rounds.

I would definitely be complaining about that big time.

That's insane!!!

That's awful. Yes, there should definitely be something that mentions that.

We went out to sax on saturday night after booking through open table. I read the open table site and there was no mention of a per person minimum. I was called by someone from the restaurant to confirm the reservation, again, without mention of the charge. The waitress asked if it was our first time and told us great details about dessert, but overlooked telling us there was a minimum $75/person charge. We were also made to stay at the bar for 25 minutes, and that bar tab could not be applied to our $75/person.

So, when did we hear about it? After dessert, when the waitress ran over and said "You're seventy dollars short. what are you going to take home from the menu?" It took 10 minutes of explaining before we figured it out. It was close to midnight and we were all tired and shocked/surprised, so i didn't try to find a manager just then - I thought it had been my error, to be honest, since I made the reservations. I apologized to the friends we invited out.

Then, I went home and pored over the open table site and the Sax website, and found no mention of this cover. I emailed Open table, to inform them that the price should be mentioned. They advised that I call a general manager. I emailed Sax and haven't heard back. I'll try calling sometime today, but this is something that should be mentioned up front, no?