The mayor of Venice has promised to investigate an incident where a group of Japanese tourists were charged almost £1,000 for four steaks Florentine, a plate of mixed grilled fish, two glasses of wine and mineral water.
Local media claims the Osteria da Luca restaurant near St Mark’s Square faces fines of at least £17,400 after police and local authority checks found breaches of health and safety and food hygiene regulations, in addition to commercial code infringements including issues over the accurate description of goods.
"Together, the infringements – not all of which have yet been formally notified – produce total fines running into tens of thousands of euros," said La Nuova Venezia newspaper.
The restaurant will also be questioned by financial crime investigators over its failure to issue the group with a full receipt itemising their meal.
The four Japanese men filed a formal complaint with police after their return to Bologna, where they are studying Italian cuisine. They provided as evidence the credit card slip, which was the only proof of what they’d been charged.
The mayor of Venice, Luigi Brugnaro, promised on Twitter that the city authorities would ‘thoroughly examine this shameful episode’ and if it was confirmed, ‘do all we can to punish those responsible. We are for justice, always!’
