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The classic Italian restaurant, Antico Caffè di Marte, located near Castel Sant’Angelo in Rome, hit a pair of Japanese tourists up for a dinner bill of nearly $500. While we all know that eating out can be spendy, in this instance many have opined that they believe the restaurant took advantage of the tourists, who had “two plates of spaghetti and fish, accompanied by water.”
The restaurant owner responded to media with, “Everything is written in detail, just look at the prices: €16 maximum for a spaghetti with seafood. To pay that figure, the [Japanese] girls ordered not only spaghetti, but also fish. On the other hand, our fish is fresh: the client picks it at the counter, we weigh it and we cook it.”
How Antico Caffè di Marte operates
After the plight of the Japanese tourists became known (the power of social media) a number of people came forward with similar stories. The title image above was provided by Minh Ngoc Bui, a Vietnamese who lives in Germany as visited the establishment. She explained, how the waiter had “recommended” the seafood mixed fish dish, with a price of €6.5 per 100 grams ($7.3 for 3.5 ounces). What was expected and what was delivered was night and day.
A side dish of fish turned into a claimed 4.8 kg (10lbs 9ozs) order of fish which carried a hefty bill of €315. Minh disputed the bill, advising that there was no way almost 5kg of fish had been served.
Advice to travelers
We would normally say check with TripAdvisor or another review site to determine whether or not a given establishment has a positive reputation. Sadly, TripAdvisor has suspended the ability to review this restaurant and posted an advisory for all to read (see image below).
Perhaps the owner is right, and the small print allows him to operate in the margins of propriety. So let him be right, with so many restaurants to choose from in Rome (Rick Steve’s Rome Guide is full of them), we advise travelers to avoid Antico Caffè di Marte, after all when you are on vacation you shouldn’t have to worry about reading the small print.
