Restaurant hit back after customer complained about his meal costing $78 at Newark Airport

A restaurant responded to a customer who complained that their meal at an airport had been very expensive.

The age of social media has opened up a whole world of interaction for restaurants and their patrons, sometimes with messy consequences.

While it can be useful for people to be able to get a sense of an establishment before going, reviews sometimes may not offer the full picture.

Many sites offer a restaurant the chance to respond with their side of the story, and in this case the response provided some context to the customer's complaint.

It's fair to say that airport outlets can up their prices to reflect the trapped market of travellers looking for something to eat before hurtling off into the sky in a metal tube.

In 2023 the customer, who was New York Times columnist David Brooks, took to Twitter to complain that he had paid $78 for a meal at the restaurant at Newark Airport, New Jersey.

He posted a picture of a burger, fries, salad, sauces, and a cold drink.

This meal cost $78, according to David Brooks. (X/ @nytdavidbrooks)

The caption reads: "This meal just cost me $78 at Newark Airport. This is why Americans think the economy is terrible."

The columnist didn't include the name of the restaurant is his tweet, but it turn out that he didn't need to.

That's because the restaurant itself came forward and explained why the meal had cost so much.

The restaurant, called 911 Smokehouse Barbeque, took to Facebook in a response to Brooks' post.

They wrote: "Looks like someone was knocking back some serious drinks.

"Bar tab was almost 80 percent and he’s complaining about the cost of his meal keep drinking buddy - we get paid off everything."

The restaurant really went for it. (Facebook/ 1911 Smoke House Barbeque)

Not only that, but one person even took to the comments with a screenshot, as well as some links, which showed that a burger and fries at the chain restaurant would have come to around $17, not $78.

Not only that but the restaurant went on to create a meal deal which played into the incident.

A poster advertising it reads: "Super delicious burger with fries and a double shot of whiskey."

Part of the poster design even shows the price of $78 crossed out and replaced with the actual price of $17.78.

To top it off, they even called the combo the 'D Brooks Special'. Ouch.

A caption to the post reads: "Just in lol…. For real tho!"