If you thought Venice was the romantic joint you always dreamed about with fancy gondolas lazily gliding through pretty canals, then think again. Tourists visiting Venice have not exactly enjoyed a good deal where many feel that all Venice cares about is money. As one person commented to an article on social media “The hotels, the shopkeepers, the restaurants, the bars, you name it. And they do try and rip you off no question about it. It’s one price and one menu for the locals and another with at least a 100% markup if not more, for everyone else. I was out there about a year ago and 2 cappuccinos in a bog standard cafe was nearly 30 Euros!!”
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To add this to this reputation was a recent incident of Japanese tourists charged 1145 Euros for a basic meal at a Venice restaurant. The diners even went to the police to claim about the exorbitant rate of a basic meal without alcohol.
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The Japanese tourists were all students from the University of Bologna visited the Osteria da Luca at St Mark’s Square where they ordered only three steaks with a serving of fried fish between the groups of them
They did not drink any alcohol and just had water accompanying the modest meal. When the group received their bill, they were shocked to see the figure of 1145 Euros staring at them.
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The head of the civil rights group Marco Gasparinetti reported that they had made a formal complaint after the students left the restaurant. Visitors who had been to the restaurant in the past mentioned that they had been charged for seafood by weight amounting to 8 Euros for 100 grams.
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Gasparinetti mentioned that this was just another tourist rip-off which is slowly becoming common place in Venice. The problem had become so bad that even the City’s mayor was forced to respond
Luigi Brugnaro the mayor of Venice tweeted that he will first verify the tourists claims and also added 'If this shameful episode is confirmed, we will do all we can to punish those responsible. We are for justice, always!'
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The restaurant owner denied the incident as it is usually won't for any restaurant owner to do for fear of loss of business. He said 'I do not remember having problems with Japanese customers these days.’’
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Earlier three members of the Japanese group of four had eaten at the Trattoria Casanova nearby which was also in the news in November for charging British tourists 463 pounds for a simple lunch. The Japanese tourists were charged 308 pounds for three dishes of pasta.
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In fact, Birmingham University lecturer Luke Tang was disgusted when he was charged exorbitantly for a meal at the Trattoria Casanova where he took his 70-year-old parents that he even wrote a complaint to the Mayor.
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In a turnabout, Mayor Brugnaro commented sarcastically in an interview against those complaining saying: 'They’re cheapskates. Someone eats and drinks in a restaurant, then says they cannot understand the language?'
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Gasparinetti said that the practice of charging tourists exorbitantly in Venice will ultimately tarnish the name of the city. According to the travel portal Trip Advisor, the Osteria de Luca is rated 1.5 out of 5 stars where one comment read: 'Rip off central, avoid at all costs.’ Others mentioned it was terrible.
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On Yelp, visitors of the Osteria Da Luca mentioned how they were charged by weight and given huge portions as one woman from Texas Rosanne H “The waiter never clarify's [sic] the prices on the menu even though he speaks near perfect English. On part of the menu, it states that a fish is 8 euros. In reality (also in fine, very fine print it says 8 euros per 100 grams). She also added that ordering fish may ultimately make it a 100 Euros per fish.
Paul H, Maryland, USA, wrote how he was charged 5 Euros for a bottle of mineral water, 8 for a beer and service charge for the number people in the group although it was a table as a whole and that is an absurd practice. His comment 'Outrageous prices.'
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One user on trip advisor whose ID read StellaTravels100c commented that the restaurant owners are nothing but ripoff artists who lured her with their “fish Special” and charged her 8 Euros for 100 gms. They also charged table fees of 2.50 euro each person.
'Surprisingly, there was no fee for breathing the air in their hole in the wall establishment. Our bill for a fish dinner, pizza and three drinks came to a whopping 123 euros.'
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Gasparinetti who heads the action group Gruppo 25 Aprille said that with carnival fast approaching they plan on publishing a visitor’s guide on how to survive in Venice that will contain details on avoiding such rip-offs in Venice. Other organizations are also planning to introduce a seal of approval for local businesses. In this way such incidents like Japanese tourists charged 1145 Euros for meals would be avoided.
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