Here's How Much It Costs To Vomit At Bottomless Brunch In California

Perhaps the best part about brunch is that no one bats an eye while you down alcoholic beverages with the first meal of the day. And what's brunch without ordering yet another mimosa? Then there's bottomless brunch — and the costly vomiting that can follow if you have one too many glasses of bubbly. But just how much will this tummy trouble set you back?

Throwing up after you've drank too much is a common enough brunch mistake, but you better know your limits when you go to some of California's bottomless brunch restaurants. To discourage customers from going overboard with free cocktails until they get sick, some of these restaurants have started charging $50 "vomit fees" if you throw up on restaurant property.

After learning about the $50 fine, some people seem to be relieved. "Too many seem to be abusing the privilege and ruining it for the rest of us," one Redditor wrote. "Should be a $300 fine. I don't want to see or smell that when I'm dining out," another user said. Others aren't too happy about it: "Now I can't even enjoy brunch. Great," wrote one Redditor, while another person commented, "I hope they don't start doing this in Vegas!"

While imposing a rule like this may seem a little excessive to some, it's only fair to the staff that has to clean up patrons' messes. And let's be honest, the "vomit fee" doesn't seem so bad if it means people will be mindful of how much they consume and people around them won't have to witness them spew up their breakfast.

That's exactly why some restaurants have introduced the rule. An Asian-inspired restaurant in Oakland's Rockridge district thought of it during the pandemic, when cleaning up a stranger's bodily fluids was even riskier than usual. "But this is not unique. It's there to make the customers stop and think about other people," restaurant owner Steven Choi told SFGate.

Some restaurants have found that the number of people who throw up after having one too many drinks has gone down since they introduced the "vomit charge." Chaiporn Kitsadaviseksak, a co-owner of the restaurant Kitchen Story, told SFGate, "It was really tough cleaning. People were scared with COVID. And this was happening a lot. My workers don't want to do that. It got better. Now [customers] know they have to pay. They understand."