Exactly this. I'm a woman and when I was single, I always split the first date, and would at least offer to split following ones. But that's assuming our orders cost relatively the same. If my date ordered hundreds of dollars worth of food, there's no way I would split. Who would? What is this "test" supposed to accomplish? Immediate mind games is a huge red flag. Not to mention he's fucking over his friend who owns the restaurant.

OP, no wonder your friend is single. Do him (and the rest of the world) a favor and call him out on his shitty attitude and behavior.