The cafés in Italy are the first stop morning spot for the community life and also the visitors. Accompanied by a sweet pastry or croissant sometime, people love to enjoy the best spots. However, there are some places in Venice where individuals especially tourists are left in shock after receiving bills which are ridiculously expensive. Many a time, restaurants and cafes in St Mark's Square, the principal public square, have been slammed by customers on Facebook and social media for charging abnormal amounts for a meal or even fresh mineral water. You read that right. In a recent case, a visitor to Caffe Lavena on the edge of Venice’s St Mark's Square was stunned to receive a bill of 43 euro (over Rs. 3,400) for two coffees and two bottles of water.

Identified as a 62-year-old Italy based political campaigner, Juan Carlos Bustamente was shocked after being presented a heavy charge. He clicked a photo of the substantial bill on Facebook and expressed his outrage. In no time, the post went viral on social media. The abnormal price was made because of an addition imposed upon the customers who are wishing to sit outside the historic café.

He was charged 10.30 euro (Over Rs. 800) for each coffee and 8.90 euro (over Rs. 700) for one 25cl bottle of water.

However, a spokesman from Caffe Lavena blamed Mr Bustamente as the café warns the customers that they will have to pay more if they want to sit outside. He was quoted in Yahoo News, “People get annoyed when the bill arrives because they do not listen when we hand them the menu even though it states clearly enough that prices are higher to sit outside. They just wave us away and if we insist they get irritated.” This is not the first time, that the overly pricey coffee institution faced criticism. According to reports, in 2013, four customers were charged 95 euro (over Rs. 7,500) for four expresso coffees with liquor.

Earlier too, there have been complaints from tourists over exorbitant pricing at restaurants in Venice, particularly in St Mark's Square corner. In January this year, a group of Japanese students were charged 1,009 euro (over Rs. 800,200) for a meal at a Venice restaurant. They ate at Osteria de Luca restaurant and were stunned receiving the bill for three steaks, fried fish and mineral water. They went to the local police to report about the restaurant.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 09, 2018 01:13 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).