The menu secrets restaurants don't want you to know

Ever walked into a restaurant, sat down, browsed the menu and the ended up ordering something you totally didn't expect to?
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Well, it turns out it's probably not your fault, thanks to a handful of sneaky tricks put in place by restaurants on their menus.

The List TV spoke to chef Cody Harris about the clever ways in which restaurants get you to order what they want without even telling you.

According to Harris, the average diner only spends about one and a half minutes looking at the menu when they sit down. Here the top chef reveals the tricks restaurants employ!

1. Separate dessert menu

Have you ever wondered why restaurants put their desserts on a separate menu? It's not to decrease size or for ease of service, it's actually to trick you into ordering more! The idea is that if you have desserts on the same menu then you're more likely to plan what you want for pudding before even ordering a starter and if you see something you like you might even skip the starter or appetiser to 'leave room' for your favourite sweet.

2. No pound signs

Harris says: "The customer tends to look directly at the price rather than at the appetiser and whether they want it or not." Restaurants remove the dollar or pound signs to skirt around those customers who are picking their meals based on the size of their wallets rather than the size of their stomachs.

3. Seriously pricey meals

A lot of slightly more upmarket restaurants may break the bank by offering a £100 steak or similar, but have you ever thought about whether people actually order this extravagant meal? The reason behind placing something so expensive on the menu is that it apparently makes everything around it seem far better value. So if you're bypassing the £100 steak and landing on a £20 pizza it may seem good value comparatively, but chances are that you're still overspending.

So, next time you head out to eat, bear these tricks in mind and maybe ask to see the dessert menu at the same time as the starters and mains!