iStock(ROME) — A restaurant in Rome is accused of ripping off its diners by not properly listing its prices and then charging diners hundreds of dollars.
The Antico Caffe di Marte has come under fire after a slew of visitors left one-star reviews and enraged comments about their dining experience on TripAdvisor.
One diner, Minh Ngoc Bui, wrote that she visited the eatery with friends on Aug. 27 and had a “horrible experience” after paying $345 for fish.
“On the menu, they write 6.5 euro/ 100 gram of mixed fish. And when we finish our meal, we had paid 476.4 euro,” Bui wrote. “When we complained about this, the boss explained [to] us that the plate of fish was 4.8 kg. We are sure it [was] around 2kg maximum.”
Bui posted her receipt, which showed the seafood dish priced at 315 euros, or $345, as well as other items, and a photo of the food to show its size. Forty euros of service fees was also added, bringing the total before tip to 433 euros or $474.
Bui could not be reached by ABC News for comment.
TripAdvisor’s verification team said the review “does appear to be a genuine experience at the restaurant,” Brian Hoyt, a company spokesman, told ABC News.
An employee with the restaurant, who declined to give his name, told ABC News, “you pay what you eat.”
“It’s really clear on the menu. It’s 6.5 euro for 100 grams,” he said.
The employee declined to say more and hung up.
The restaurant has 48 “terrible” reviews on TripAdvisor, with others alleging that the restaurant is “a scam” and a “huge rip-off.”
TripAdvisor posted a message on the restaurant’s review page that the company has “temporarily suspended publishing new reviews for this listing” because of recent media attention and an influx of submissions that do not reflect first-hand experiences.
Antico Caffe di Marte is listed as a mid-range priced restaurant on TripAdvisor.
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