A Rome restaurant has been slammed with a number of customer complaints after a pair of tourists shared their bill from the restaurant, which charged them €430 ($470) for spaghetti, fish and water.
What happened: Two Japanese diners shared a photo of their receipt from Antico Caffe di Marte restaurant, which is near Castel Sant’Angelo. It was originally posted in September but went viral again recently, CNN reports.
Prices: The bill charged the diners €430 ($470) for spaghetti, fish and water, as well as an extra €80 ($87) for a tip.
Response: The owners of the restaurant told the Italian daily newspaper Corriere della Sera (via The Local) that the “menu is clear, the reason they (the Japanese tourists) paid that price is because they not only ordered the spaghetti but also the fish that was fresh.
“The customers chose it at the counter themselves.”
Yes, but: Customers have spoken out against the restaurant since the receipt paper photo went viral.
Minh Ngoc Bui, for example, shared that a waiter suggested he order a dish of “seafood — mixed fish” that costs €6.5 per 100 grams. The group was then given a mixed fish plate that weighed about 2 kg (2,000 grams). That’s €13,000 ($14,195).
- “We were kind of surprised when we saw this dish because we didn’t expect ‘100 grams fish’ would be this big,” Bui told CNN. “But it was our last day in Italy so we told ourselves it was OK. It’s around 2 kg of fish so I agreed to pay around €130-150 for this dish of fish. We don’t want to have more drama in Italy.”
Response: TripAdvisor suspended the restaurant’s review page due to the influx of activity, according to The Independent.
- “Due to a recent event that has attracted media attention and has caused an influx of review submissions that do not describe a first-hand experience, we have temporarily suspended publishing new reviews for this listing.
- “If you’ve had a firsthand experience at this property, please check back soon – we’re looking forward to receiving your review!”