Draft — pending review
Most tables at Laughing Monk Cafe are free to reserve. Some reservations — omakase seatings, larger parties, and certain peak times — ask for a deposit or a card on file to hold the seats. The specific amounts, timing, and fees for your reservation are always shown before you confirm and repeated in your confirmation. Where a particular booking states different terms, those control. This policy is part of our Terms of Service.
1. When a deposit or card is required
Whether a deposit or card on file applies to your reservation, and how much, is shown before you book. A deposit is applied to your final bill — it is not an extra charge.
2. Your authorization to charge (card on file)
When you provide a card to secure a reservation, you authorize Laughing Monk Cafe and our payment processor, Stripe, to securely store that card and to charge it, without further action from you, for: (a) the deposit shown at booking; and (b) any no-show or late-cancellation fee described in Section 4, up to the amounts disclosed at booking. Your card is held by Stripe under PCI-DSS security standards; we do not store full card numbers on our own systems. You represent that you are authorized to use the card you provide.
3. Changing or cancelling
There are three separate windows, and the exact timing is shown when you book:
- Modify your party size, date, or time (subject to availability): free up to 24 hours before.
- Cancel for a full refund of any deposit: free up to 5:00 PM the day before.
- Prepaid seatings are refundable only up to 5:00 PM the day before; after that they are final (Section 5).
Reducing your party inside the window releases the extra seats and refunds their per-seat deposit — for example, a party of two dropping to one is refunded one seat. Refunds go back to your original payment method within 5–7 business days. Any change re-issues your confirmation with the updated details.
4. No-shows and running late
We hold your table for 15 minutes past your reservation time. A reservation is a no-show if your party doesn’t arrive, arrives more than 15 minutes late without letting us know, or cancels after the free-cancellation cutoff. In those cases the no-show fee shown at booking may be charged to the card on file. Please tell us if you’re running late — a heads-up lets us hold your table where we can. Cancelling always releases the table right away, whether or not a fee applies.
5. Omakase and prepaid seatings
Omakase and other prepaid seatings are paid in full at booking (menu, beverage where included, tax, and service). Because seats are limited, these bookings are final and non-refundable after the cancellation cutoff, except where we cancel (Section 7). They are also non-transferable and may not be resold; we may cancel any reservation we reasonably believe has been resold or transferred without our approval, without a refund. A valid government-issued photo ID is required for any seating that includes alcohol.
6. Reservation emails and texts
When you book, you agree to receive messages about your reservation — confirmations, reminders, changes, and waitlist notices — by email and, if you give us a mobile number, text message, including through automated systems. Reply STOP to opt out of texts and HELP for help. Message frequency depends on your reservations, and message and data rates may apply. Carriers are not liable for delayed or undelivered messages. These reservation messages are separate from marketing email and SMS, which you sign up for separately and can leave at any time.
7. Events beyond our control
If we have to close, cancel, or reschedule for reasons beyond our reasonable control — severe weather, loss of power or water, public-health or government orders, or similar — we’ll offer you a rebooking or a refund of amounts paid. We aren’t otherwise liable for those disruptions.
8. Billing questions
If something about a charge looks off, please contact us first — most questions are resolved quickly. Deposits and no-show or late-cancellation fees charged under Section 2 are validly authorized; disputing such a charge with your bank instead of contacting us may be treated as a breach of these terms.
9. Eligibility
You must be at least 18 to make a reservation that requires a deposit or a card on file.
10. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy. The amounts and windows that apply to your reservation are always those shown when you booked and repeated in your confirmation.
Questions about a reservation? Email hello@laughingmonkcafe.com.
This policy is provided for general information and does not constitute legal advice. We may revise it to reflect changes in our services or in applicable law.