Featured Image Credit: Tripadvisor/viceflavio/Google Maps
Topics: Travel, World News, Food and Drink, Money
Rhiannon Ingle
Topics: Travel, World News, Food and Drink, Money
One tourist at Lake Como was left beyond stunned after being charged extra at a restaurant for cutting his sandwich in half.
Now, as we all know, holidays can get pretty pricey what with travel insurance, expensive flights and a seemingly endless forking out for Aperol Spritzes.
However, the last thing you'd expect to splash the cash on abroad is for someone slicing up your lunch.
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And that was exactly what happened to one man who had rocked up to Bar Pace in Gera Lario, a scenic part of Lake Como, Italy.
Anyone who's had the pleasure of visiting Lake Como will know it's definitely not cheap and while many will be fine paying for the most refined vino and the freshest toppings to grace their pizza - many would not be down to pay the 'unbelievable' surplus charge.
The unnamed tourist has since taken to Tripadvisor to open up on the ordeal.
He began: "There were two of us, and we asked for a toasted sandwich to share at the table."
The man also shared a snap of his receipt from the visit which listed the sandwich for €7.50 ($8.27), Coca Cola for €3.50 ($3.86), water for €1.50 ($1.65) and an espresso for €1.20 ($1.32).
All fairly reasonable, right?
Well, apart from the contentious 'diviso da meta' charge which translates from Italian to 'cutting in half' fee which came in at €2 ($2.20).
That's a whole 80 cents less than the espresso pick-me-up.
"We have to pay because the toast was cut in half?" the tourist added before leaving the eatery with a one star review amid its average of four and a half stars, based on more than 100 reviews.
The owner of Bar Pace, Cristina Biacchi, has since addressed the issue, telling Italian newspaper La Repubblica: "Additional requests have a cost."
Biacchi explained: "We had to use two plates instead of one and the time to wash them is doubled, and then two placemats.
"It wasn’t a simple toasted sandwich, there were also French fries inside. It took us time to cut it in two."
After the sandwich went viral, Tripadvisor has made the decision to put a pause on any further reviews for the restaurant.
The website currently states: "Due to a recent event that has attracted media attention and has caused an influx of review submissions that do not describe a first-hand experience, we have temporarily suspended publishing new reviews for this listing."