Is it normal to have something added to the bill in a restaurant in Italy?
I was in a restaurant in Rome and after I got the bill I saw that beside the regular 8€ for spaghetti I ordered there was an additional position that said:
una persona 1.5€
When I asked the waiter about it he explained me that this is for the bread (indeed the menu listed it for 1.5€, but I did not order it), for the table (which sounded less convincing) and everything (that really raised my concerns). If it was for a starter, the bill should list a starter and not something that cryptic in my opinion.
Maybe I am not an expert but I have been in a few restaurants before and have always paid only for what I have ordered from the menu. After my complaints he tried to persuade me that this is a common practice which was again not convincing. The day before I had been in another restaurant and have paid only for what I have ordered.
So it is a legal practice or a pure rip-off and how to deal with it? If it is a legal practice I would like to know it in advance whether I am going to be charged additionally. Does leaving the started untouched changes anything? Or ordering a drink?
The same thing happened to me in Milan a few days later. I was charged 2€ but got no starter.
Best Answer
It is common practice in Italy to charge for the dish on top of the dinner.
It is common practice in Portugal to charge for water, bread, olives on top of the dinner.
It is common practice in the USA to charge for service and taxes on top of the dinner.
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Do they bring you the bill in Italy?
A waiter would consider it rude to bring the bill before it's requested. Leave a tip. Yes, coperto e IVA (cover and taxes) are included in the bill. Most Italians simply round up the bill, but an extra 10 to 15 percent is always welcome\u2014and ensures excellent service if you return.Do you have to ask for the bill in Italy?
You can ask for the bill in restaurants in Italy, but most likely, no one will bring it to you.How do you ask for the bill in an Italian restaurant?
"Il conto, per favore."\u2014The check, please. In Italy, you typically have to ask for the check; the waiter does not simply drop off the check in advance, as in most American restaurants. Use the above phrase when you're ready to pay.What is a cover charge in Italian restaurants?
In general terms, a restaurant cover charge, or \u201cil coperto\u201d in Italian, is a per-person charge which takes care of the basics which many diners are used to getting for free at home \u2013 things like a glass of tap water or a plate of bread. It's also sometimes called the \u201cpane e coperto,\u201d the bread and cover charge.Italian Vocabulary and Custom (bill, tipping, ecc.) at the Restaurant (subtitles)
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Answer 2
In your individual case, this could of course have been a ripoff.
However, historically, it has been quite common practice, particularly but not only, in south western Europe (Italy, Spain, Portugal), to charge a small fee for sitting down at a restaurant. In essence, you could argue this is to cover, say, the bread and butter you receive but did not ask for, but it's simply a cover charge. It's more likely this is a leftover from a time when tipping was less common while sitting down at a restaurant means not being able to 'sell' the same seat to another person for the time the seat is occupied. There's a brief but adequate explanation available near the bottom of this Wikipedia page.
Similarly, still, many southern European cafes will charge you a supplement for your drinks and food when you choose to sit down, as opposed to standing at the bar.
Answer 3
You did get ripped off in Rome, Not sure in Milan.
The practice of adding a fee for every person at the table on top of any food ordered is old, but a regional law of Latium (Lazio), which includes the city of Rome, forbade it in 2006. Unfortunately violations are widespread, particularly downtown.
I'm not sure whether the Milan area has a similar regulation and what it does say.
Answer 4
Well yes, probably, but it can be defended as a cultural thing.
I've seen places in Poland charge a per person cost for "sauces" too, something like $2.50 a head (regardless of whether or not you've actually used any of course!). In that case my waiter's defence sounds similar to the your's.. "It's standard and it's listed in the menu". He was right too, it was in the menu... down the bottom on page 12. But I guess that's warning enough.
Any business where most of their customers are tourists will be tempted to use tactics like this. Once you figure it out it's too late and you were probably never going to be a repeat customer anyway so they lose very little. (That's my theory at least.)
Caveat emptor!
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