Italian authorities shut down restaurant that tried to rip-off Japanese tourists
Italian authorities have taken action after a Japanese couple was told to pay an outrageous 700 euros for a seafood lunch at a restaurant in Rome:
The tourists filed a fraud complaint with police after being surprised with a bill for 579.50 euros plus 115.50 euros in tip for downing pasta and lobster with wine and gelato at the Il Passetto restaurant just off the popular Piazza Navona square.
Health inspectors arrived within days to shut down the 149-year old restaurant — which has served stars ranging from Charlie Chaplin to Grace Kelly — citing hygiene reasons.
Restaurants in Rome’s center have long been notorious for overcharging or serving overcooked pasta to the millions of tourists that flock here each year, and news of the pricey lunch sparked sharp criticism from consumer groups and city officials.
“As far as I’m concerned, this restaurant should never reopen again and operating licenses should be revoked for things of this nature,” Mayor Gianni Alemanno said, adding that he had ordered police to make surprise checks to uncover such fraud.
This has not escaped the attention of people in Japan: The Japanese language version of this Reuters story was one of the most popular stories on Yahoo! News Japan yesterday.
- Akihabara News – Gadgetry from Japan (Subscribe)
- dannychoo.com – Your portal to Japan (Subscribe)
- Kirainet.com – A geek in Japan (Subscribe)
