Below is a photo of the bill from the Antico Caffè di Marte restaurant in early September. It clearly states that two guests had to pay a total of VND9 million (350 euros) for food and nearly VND2 million (80 euros) in commission.
Controversial Bill Payment
After being posted on social media, the photo has attracted the attention of many people, including those who have encountered similar situations at the Antico Caffè di Marte restaurant. Bui Minh Ngoc, a Vietnamese living in Germany, is one of many people who have left comments complaining on TripAdvisor about her bad experience at this restaurant.
Specifically, Ngoc and three other friends had lunch at Antico Caffè on August 27. The waiter suggested that her group should eat the "seafood and fish of all kinds" on the menu at 6.5 euros, or about 165,000 VND/100 grams.
"We agreed immediately because we thought that paying an extra 6.5 euros for a plate of food recommended by the restaurant itself was not a big deal," Ngoc shared. "But they offered a plate full of fish up to 2 kg."
"We were surprised when the waiter brought the dish because we didn't expect 100 grams of fish to be that much. But because it was our last day in Italy, we all told ourselves it was okay. We calculated the dish to be around 130-150 euros. And we didn't want to make this any more complicated."
But when one of Ngoc's three friends asked for the bill, he was extremely surprised to be asked to pay for 4.8 kg of assorted fish for 315 euros, or more than 8 million VND. Adding 40 euros (about 1 million VND) in service charge and 40 euros in commission, the total bill came to 476.4 euros (more than 12 million VND).
Ngoc's dining bill with three friends at Antico Caffè
"My friend complained because he thought the bill couldn't be that much. He also didn't agree to pay the service charge and the high commission as requested. They didn't make it clear that this was a rule on the menu. But the restaurant insisted that the service charge and commission were according to the rules and that we had actually eaten 4.8 kg of food," Ngoc continued. "My friend complained a lot but in the end they still forced him to pay the whole amount."
Ngoc and her 3 friends ate seafood at the restaurant.
When Ngoc discovered the real figure on the bill, she suggested to her friend to go back to the restaurant together.
"When we returned, I specifically asked the waiter for 4.8 kg of seafood for us. I insisted that this was unreasonable and they should not do that to us. But as expected, they refused to explain and said they did not have time for that," Ngoc added. The group reported the incident to the police but were advised to report it before making the payment.
After receiving a series of negative reactions, TripAdvisor has disabled the comments section on the Antico Caffè di Marte restaurant's page.
Exterior view of Antico Caffè di Marte restaurant
A restaurant representative responded to criticism by saying their menu was "clear".
"Everything is written in detail. Look at the price: 16 euros for a portion of seafood spaghetti," replied Giamoco Jin, the restaurant's owner. "To pay such a price, two Japanese women ordered not only spaghetti but also fish. On the other hand, our fish is very fresh, selected right at the counter. We weigh it clearly before processing it."
Regarding the issue of commission, Jin said that this is voluntary and customers should choose to tip 10 to 20% of the total bill.
