Outrage as restaurant in Rome charges tourists £70 for two burgers and three coffees 

Outrage as restaurant in Rome charges tourists £70 for two burgers and three coffees

  • A photograph of a receipt from Caffe Vaticano, near the Vatican, has gone viral
  • It shows two people were billed €25 for each burger and €8 for each cappuccino
  • TripAdvisor has been forced to close down comments on the restaurant’s page

Tourists are being warned to steer clear of a restaurant in Rome after a photograph of a bill totaling more than £70 for two burgers and three coffees went viral. 

The receipt posted to travel review website TripAdvisor shows that the meal at for two at Caffe Vaticano, near the Vatican, came to €81.40 (£70.62). 

The website was inundated with social media users slamming the restaurant for its ‘extortionate’ prices; which include €25 for a burger and €8 for a cappuccino.  

The receipt from May 9 2019 shows two people were billed €25 for each burger and €8 for each coffee at Caffe Vaticano in Rome

Emma Cheppy shared the image on Facebook, with a warning to expats and tourists to avoid the venue. 

‘VISITORS OF ROME BEWARE: Caffe Vaticano has been ripping off tourists for ages apparently,’ she wrote. 

‘Just skip it and find another place to eat near the Vatican. There’s tons!’ 

She also noted that the restaurant does not have any prices listed on the menu, a complaint shared by hundreds of visitors on TripAdvisor.

‘The food was average and the prices are double if not triple what you pay elsewhere is Rome. The menu without prices should have been a warning sign,’ wrote one reviewer. 

Caffe Vaticano (pictured), located near the Vatican, has been slammed for its 'extortionate' prices online

Caffe Vaticano (pictured), located near the Vatican, has been slammed for its ‘extortionate’ prices online

‘Terrible customer service and rude people. No price on the menu, they decide what they want to charge looking to the person,’ claimed another. 

Others described their experience as ‘daylight robbery’.

Caffe Vaticano is rated just 1.5 stars out of 5 on Tripadvisor, based on 1,811 reviews dating back more than a decade.

Of these, the vast majority (1,417 reviews) call it ‘terrible’ – the worst option the website offers.     

Caffe Vaticano is rated just 1.5 stars out of 5 on Tripadvisor, based on 1,811 reviews dating back more than a decade

Caffe Vaticano is rated just 1.5 stars out of 5 on Tripadvisor, based on 1,811 reviews dating back more than a decade

Tripadvisor temporarily disabled the comments on Caffe Vaticano’s page after the receipt went viral on social media, as users flocked to leave reviews. 

Some were reportedly violating the website’s policy by leaving negative comments despite never having visited.

Italian restaurants have long faced accusations of ripping off tourists. 

In January 2018, a group of Japanese students were charged almost £1,000 for four steaks and a plate of fish and mineral water in a Venice restaurant. 

The group four students had eaten at Osteria de Luca restaurant close to St Mark’s Square when they were handed a €1,145 bill. 

And in November 2017 Luke Tang, a university lecturer from Birmingham, complained to Venice’s mayor after being charged £463 for lunch at Trattoria Casanova.   

Tripadvisor temporarily disabled the comments on Caffe Vaticano's page after the receipt went viral on social media

Tripadvisor temporarily disabled the comments on Caffe Vaticano’s page after the receipt went viral on social media

Mr Tang, who dined with his 70-year-old parents, wrote to mayor Luigi Brugnaro pointing out that there was no price on the menu for the platter of fish he ordered.   

But in an interview on Italian television, Mr Brugnaro said: ‘They’re cheapskates. Someone eats and drinks in a restaurant, then says they cannot understand the language? 

‘If you come to Italy you need to learn Italian, maybe even a few words of Venetian would be good too.’

‘They ate lobster. They left nothing on their plates. They didn’t even leave a tip. If you come to Venice, you need to shell out a bit. You’re welcome, but you need to spend.’

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk