How does BYO work at a restaurant?
You bring your own bottle, hand it to the staff when you sit down, and they open it, bring glasses and serve it. A corkage fee is added to your bill, either per bottle, per person or per glass. Check before you go what the restaurant allows, because many are wine-only and some are BYO only on certain days.
Before you go
Look up the restaurant's listing: it shows whether it is BYO, what you can bring, the corkage fee and any BYO-only days. If a listing says "call ahead", the venue has not confirmed its policy recently, so a quick call saves an awkward moment at the door.
At the table
Give the bottle to the staff rather than opening it yourself. White and sparkling wines are usually kept on ice for you. It is good manners not to bring a wine that is on the restaurant's own list.
Find a BYO restaurant
Related questions
- Do I need to call ahead to BYO?
- Not usually, but it helps when a listing says the BYO policy is unconfirmed or when you are bringing more than a couple of bottles for a group.
- Can I BYO beer or spirits?
- Many BYO restaurants are wine-only. Of the 1323 BYO restaurants on findbyo, 300 also allow beer; spirits are rarely allowed.
What does BYO mean at a restaurant? What is corkage, and how much does it cost?