I agree with you. And they are not charging a lot more for something that could be had cheaper elsewhere. You can’t get that view and atmosphere elsewhere. What would be a lot more honest would be to have the same prices for all menu items both in and outside, but charge for the tables by the minute and put that in big type on every single table. Maybe even add clocks, but the waiters could simply write the time on each order.
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That’s one of the things I really miss from living there in Naples, the fantastic and cheap coffee and a pastry.
Oh, for a sfogliatelle e caffè right now…
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Not Italian, but a regular (annual-ish) visitor, for what that’s worth.
- My understanding is that service is automatically included.
- A tip, therefore, is not normal, beyond rounding to the nearest Euro or so.
- There’s also a cover charge, which I believe to be illegal in some regions, as it’s effectively double-charging for service. I’ve certainly encountered service + cover charge in Venice within the last year.
Me too, but in the other direction, as a Brit arriving in New York…
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99.9% the the time I am on the side of caveat emptor. The small window that I’ll grant here is that when you just stop for a coffee or bottle of water, it’s easy not to bother looking at the prices, because those are usually small ticket items that even if one mentally throws in some extra for touristy spots, you’d never expect it to be that outrageously high. I’ll confess I don’t think I’ve looked at a menu for coffee prices, pretty much ever.
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You know what? Sometimes, yes.
When someone jumps into a fucking lion enclosure despite the signs saying “DANGER, LIONS!” and gets eaten? I blame them.
When someone makes some dumbshit racist remark and gets fired? I blame them.
When someone literally goes to a foreign country, presumably converting some of their own money into local currency, and somehow still doesn’t know the exchange rate? Yeah, I’d blame them too.
But that’s a really fucking weird example you constructed there, especially since literally none of the people complaining about this restaurant appear to have actually been in that situation, and it’s absurd that you keep trying to defend it. You keep bringing out these pathetic strawmen to misrepresent what other people are saying, and it’s bizarre.
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So France and Italy is “all over Europe”?
Like “outercourse”?
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The only rooftop bar that I’ve come across which isn’t inflated is at the La Quinta hotel on 32nd street in K-Town. Nice view of the Empire State Buildng too.
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pretty sure that was a lame attempt at sarcasm.
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On my recent trip to Italy, that’s a common experience, getting charged vastly different prices to sit inside vs outside vs take away vs at the bar. The first time you get screwed, and then after that you learn to be careful. And soon after that, you learn not to eat in tourist traps. I have a little sympathy for this guy, but only a little. I have no sympathy for the owner of the bar.
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The staff refer to outside seating as “Ride of the Valkyries.”
Italian guy here.
Like Ministry said: service is included (deal with it: it’s the US that’s weird about that, with its assumption that waiters should rely on tips to survive instead of being properly paid for their work); cover charge (about 2-3 euros) is common but frowned upon by everyone; tips are totally voluntary and supposedly for extraordinary service only.
Also: no mentally healthy Italian would ever go to a Venice restaurant, bar or hotel - precisely because the whole city, while beautiful, is an absurdly overpriced tourist trap. Hell, even Venetians themselves mostly don’t live in the city anymore but in nearby Mestre!
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Former US server here.
We’re well aware that the system is totally fucked up; but sadly, TPTB are deeply entrenched and accustomed to their over-privilege, at the expense of everyone who isn’t wealthy.
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“I only tip waiters who do not stand over me, glare at me and demand a tip.”
Oh, THAT Venice. The one in Europe.
Draußen gibt’s nur Kännchen.
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The caffè may cost a lot less inside, but there is a lot more to see outside.
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In France they must (and do) post the prices for coffees and other standard bar drinks in a visible place by the bar. There are generally two columns, one for the bar and the other for a table. So even if you know no French you can point and complain if it happens.
It expressly says that the prices are for drinks at the bar
