Restaurant no-show fee in France: credit card guarantee, cancellation and the law

Published 29 September 2026 · By GetTable

A restaurant no-show fee in France works through a credit card guarantee: you register your card when you book, and the restaurant charges nothing if you turn up or cancel within the deadline it has set. If you cancel too late or do not come, it charges the amount stated when you booked.

Key points

• The restaurant sets its own cancellation deadline and the amount charged for a no-show, and can vary both by date (TheFork Manager, 17 April 2025).
• A sum paid in advance to a business counts as a deposit ("arrhes") unless stated otherwise: you lose it if you withdraw, and the restaurant pays back double if it withdraws (Article L214-1 of the French Consumer Code).
• A judge can reduce a contractual penalty that is "manifestly excessive" (Article 1231-5 of the French Civil Code).
• Since 16 March 2026, the French consumer authority (DGCCRF) has warned about fake booking sites that ask for your card "for verification" and sign you up to a paid service.
• Rules checked on 29 September 2026 on Légifrance, Service-Public.fr and economie.gouv.fr.

What a credit card guarantee at a French restaurant means

A credit card guarantee at a French restaurant, called "empreinte bancaire" in French, is a promise backed by your card: you enter it in the booking form, and the restaurant keeps the right to charge it if you do not keep your booking. TheFork Manager, the software many restaurants use to run their tables, describes it this way: the restaurant defines how long you have to cancel, the amount charged if you miss that deadline, and the circumstances in which the charge applies.

A guarantee is not a prepayment. With a deposit, money leaves your account when you book. With a card guarantee, nothing is taken as long as you respect the conditions.

Restaurants use it against no-shows. An empty table that was booked does not always resell on the night, especially in dining rooms that fill weeks ahead.

How much is a restaurant no-show fee in France

No scale sets the restaurant no-show fee in France: each restaurant chooses its own. TheFork Manager notes that a restaurant can set different amounts for different dates, for example a festive evening or a set menu.

The amount is normally shown when you enter your card. If you cannot see it, do not confirm: you would be accepting a condition you have not read.

Check the unit as well. A fee per person and a fee per booking give very different totals for a table of six.

Cancelling a restaurant booking with a card guarantee

Cancelling a restaurant booking with a card guarantee costs nothing as long as you respect the restaurant's deadline. After it, or if you do not come, the restaurant can charge the agreed amount.

Cancel through the same channel you booked with: the link in the confirmation email, the app or your account on the website. Keep the cancellation confirmation with its date and time. If a charge is disputed, that is the document showing you cancelled in time.

If part of your group drops out, tell the restaurant before the deadline and reread the conditions: they state whether a smaller group counts as a cancellation.

Is a restaurant no-show fee legal in France

A restaurant no-show fee in France rests on a condition you accept when booking, and French consumer law frames that condition in three ways.

Deposit by default. Under Article L214-1 of the French Consumer Code, sums paid in advance to a business are "arrhes" unless the contract says otherwise. Either side can then withdraw: you lose the deposit, and the business pays back double if it cancels. Service-Public.fr adds that the business must state in its terms of sale whether a payment is "arrhes" or a down payment ("acompte").

Penalties a judge can reduce. Article 1231-5 of the French Civil Code lets a judge, even on their own initiative, reduce a contractual penalty that is "manifestly excessive".

Unfair terms. Article L212-1 of the French Consumer Code treats as unfair any term that creates, to the consumer's detriment, a significant imbalance between the rights and obligations of the parties.

In practice, a charge that matches the conditions shown at booking is hard to dispute. A charge above the amount stated, or one taken after you cancelled in time, should be disputed with the restaurant in writing, with the screenshot of the conditions and the cancellation email.

Fake restaurant booking sites and card details

On 16 March 2026 the DGCCRF published a guide on online booking platforms. It describes a specific trap: you think you are booking on the restaurant's own website, but you are on a third-party platform that asks for your card to charge one cent "for verification". Without being clearly told, you subscribe to a concierge service, with the example of €50 taken every month.

The same guide says that more than one consumer in two has already booked a restaurant table online. It advises giving card details only after checking the terms of the commitment, and reminds readers that the restaurant can often be contacted directly through its own website or by phone.

Before you give your card to book a table

• Start from the restaurant's official website and follow its booking link, rather than a search result.
• Read the cancellation deadline and the amount before entering your card, and take a screenshot.
• Check whether the amount is per person or per booking.
• Keep the confirmation email, and the cancellation email if you cancel.
• Be wary of a one-cent "verification" charge on a site that is not the restaurant's own.

For the most sought-after restaurants, cancellation terms vary from one address to the next: our restaurants page sums up how to book each of them. GetTable watches these restaurants and tells you when a table frees up, which happens precisely when other diners cancel in time.