8.1.4. Price List (menu): Legal Nature When the offer made by a contracting party (the restauranteur) regarding the conclusion of restaurant catering contract in the future is not specific and does not result immediately in its acceptance by the other contracting party (the customer) at the contract conclusion, then, it concerns an invitation to begin negotiations (invitatio ad offerendum)117. The invitation does not entail liability of the inviting party if ultimately the contract is not concluded, unless their refusal to conclude the contract after they receive an offer (as positive response to the invitation) is contrary to good faith and commercial customs118. That is because, in this case the roles are reversed, and the ‘offer’ constitutes acceptance of the invitation to conclude the contract, while ‘acceptance’ constitutes the positive response of the inviting party. The above cases also cover reading and ordering through the price list, inside or outside the establishment. The conclusion of the restaurant contract comes upon acceptance of the customer’s order by the restauranteur. Before acceptance, the customer has no right to demand performance, simply because a proposal is written in the price list (menu). 8.1.5. Reservations via Internet-Page or via Platforms The case of booking via internet-page of the restaurant itself or via several platforms119 and concluding the catering contract ‘remotely’ is regulated 117 Supra n. 36, 39. Compare Stathopoulos & Karampatzos, supra n. 10, Nos. 73-34; Symeonides, supra n. 103, § 4 V C, D, E and F. 118 According to Art. 288 GCC (compare Art. 2 I-II ZGB, §§ 242 BGB, § 1295 II ABGB), Art. 197-198 GCC (compare §§ 311 II, 241 II BGB, see §§ 878, 874, 875, 932 I ABGB, Art. 1112 cc, Art. 1337-1338 CC, Art. 227 Portuguese Civil Code, Art. 5.17 Belgian Civil Code), a declaration to the public or to a (un)certain person is not an offer but an invitation for the submission of an offer (invitatio ad offerendum). The eventual binding effect has to be concluded from the nature of the contract or from the special circumstances under which it is to be concluded. Possibly the binding effect has been precluded e.g., if an offer made to the public where there is no justification for the creation of an expectation in the public that the offer is immutable and irrevocable, particularly where the public has also other scope for choice, Stathopoulos & Karampatzos, supra n. 10, No. 72. 119 Restaurant (contract) reservations, which are made via online booking platforms (online intermediary services) called table reservation platforms, allow customers to book tables online and provide restaurants with real-time management of bookings, staff, and customer data. The most popular platforms offering features like automated confirmations, waitlist management, and integration with social media and mapping services like to increase visibility and streamline operations. Compare Elana Kroon & Nezar Kadhem, The 13 Best Online Restaurant Reservation Systems (01.03.2025) [available at https://restaurant.eatapp.co/blog/online-restaurant-reservation-systems, accessed 15 July 2025]. Compare Directive 2011/83/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2011 on consumer rights, amending Council Directive 93/13/EEC and Directive 1999/44/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Council Directive 85/577/EEC and Directive 97/7/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (Text with EEA relevance)Text with EEA relevance, consolidated text (ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/ dir/2011/83/2022-05-28), Article 6a [with title: “Additional specific information requirements for contracts concluded 87 THE (RESTAURANT) CATERING CONTRACT IN TOURISM
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