Venice restaurant that overcharged tourists fined more than €10,000 베니스 찾은 관광객에 바가지 씌운 레스토랑 거액 벌금 물어

Venice restaurant that overcharged tourists fined more than €10,000

news@thelocal.it

25 January 2018 17:11 CET+01:00

An expensive lunch in the heart of Venice ended up costing the restaurant dearer than the guests: the eatery that charged four tourists €1,100 for their meal has been fined more than €10,000.

Venice's tourist hotspots have been accused of ripping off visitors. Photo: Miguel Medina/AFP

edited by kcontents

베니스 찾은 관광객에 바가지 씌운 레스토랑 거액 벌금 물어

베니스를 찾는 관광객들에게 바가지를 씌운 레스토랑이 1만 유로(약 1만3천불)의 벌금을 물었다.

베네치아 산 마르코 광장 인근에 위치한 '오스테리아 다 루카(Osteria da Luca)' 식당은 최근 이곳에서 식사를 한 일본 관광객 4명이 주문한 스테이크 4개와 튀긴 생선 요리 1접시, 와인 2잔 등에 1143유로(약 151만원)의 계산서를 청구했다.  

문제의 요금을 지불하고 거주지인 볼로냐로 돌아온 유학생인 이들은 이 사실을 경찰에 신고했다. 이 식당은 논란이 불거진 뒤에도 일본 손님들에 청구한 요금에 문제가 없다고 밝혀 항의가 빗발쳤다.

 지역 신문인 라 누오바 베네치아는 베네치아 당국과 경찰이 이 식당을 상대로 식품 위생 규정을 제대로 지켰는지와 더불어 취급하는 요리에 대해 정확한 가격이 책정됐는지 조사를 벌였으며 그 과정에서 위반 사항들이 발견돼 1만 유로(약 1,320만원)의 벌금이 부과됐다고 전했다. 자료 뉴시스

*한국도 이렇게 적용하면 관광객들이 너무 좋아할텐데

황기철 콘페이퍼 에디터 큐레이터

Ki Chul Hwang, conpaper editor, curator

The incident, hich made headlines across Italy and abroad, earned the Osteria da Luca a visit from police, health officers and building inspectors, as well as an investigation by the Guardia di Finanza, Italy’s financial crime police.

The inspections have resulted in fines totalling round €14,000 so far, according to Il Gazzettino. Authorities found a number of structural and food safety irregularities, local media reports said.

The Guardia di Finanza are continuing to investigate whether the restaurant may have failed to issue other customers a receipt, as it did in the case of the four tourists.

The customers, Japanese students living in Bologna, were only able to prove the price of their lunch thanks to a credit card receipt, which showed they had paid the restaurant an eye-watering €1,143. They had ordered four steaks, a platter of fried seafood and a few drinks.

They later made a police complaint, prompting support from a Venice residents’ group, the Gruppo 25 Aprile, and a promise from Mayor Luigi Brugnaro of a full investigation.

The four students have since been invited back to Venice by the Venetian Hoteliers Association, which offered them two nights in one of the lagoon city’s luxury hotels – free of charge, naturally – in an effort to counteract the “grave damage that the episode is doing to the city’s image”.

Not every tourist overcharged in Venice is so lucky.

In November 2017, a British family complained about a €500 bill for lunch near St Mark's Square, saying waiters had taken advantage of their lack of Italian skills to bring them expensive dishes they hadn’t ordered. That came shortly after a Japanese couple was charged €120 for a plate of lobster at a central Venice trattoria, though they were able to get the bill reduced by 40 percent with the help of another customer.

At the time, Mayor Brugnaro branded the British visitors “cheapskates”.

On the same day as the latest incident, three of the students’ friends ate at another restaurant, the Trattoria Casanova, where they ended up being charged more than €300 for two first courses, one main and two bottles of water. Again, they weren’t given a receipt.

Authorities also inspected that restaurant this week, according to La Nuova Venezia, though officers didn’t find any infractions.

Price disputes are especially common around the time of the annual Venice carnival – which starts this weekend – when the city is even more packed with tourists than usual. The Guardia di Finanza usually step up their restaurant inspections in the historic centre to check whether eateries are issuing receipts, La Nuova Venezia said, resulting in fines and even temporary closures. 

Stay tuned for The Local's guide to authentic spots to eat and drink on a budget in Venice.

Venice authorities open inquiry into €1,100 restaurant bill for tourists

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