Italy has recently been in the news on a few occasions that have found tourists frustrated by extra charges. In this incident, an Italian restaurant shocked customers by charging them $21 to cut a birthday cake into 20 pieces.
The family had brought in the cake with them for a celebration in Palermo, Sicily. The party-goers had asked if the cake could be sliced into 20 pieces for all the attendees but were stunned when they found they had been charged $21 for the service.
The cost was calculated as a charge of €1 or just over $1 per party guest, despite the group spending $130 on pizza, wine, beer and water. The charge was listed as “20 X Servizio Torta,” which translates as “20 X Cake Service.”
As previously mentioned, this isn’t the first time the country has made news over extra hidden prices. In a recent article, we wrote about diners at another restaurant in Italy who were surprised after waiters charged them $2 for an empty plate so their daughter could try the pasta.
Ida Germano, the owner of the Osteria del Cavolo in Finale Ligure, said that the charge was valid because more plates to clean meant more work to do. She clarified that the cost of supplying and washing extra plates so the mother could let her daughter taste the pasta would be “more work.”