Next time you order a toasted sandwich in Italy, be wary of asking it to be cut in half. A British tourist at a bar on Lake Como in northern Italy was charged €2 extra for a diviso da meta (or “cutting in half” charge) for his toasted sandwich.
The proprietor of the Bar Pace in Gera Lario, at the northern end of the beautiful Italian water, told an Italian newspaper the fee was to cover the extra cost of washing an additional plate and the extra place mat.
How common is this – and what other pitfalls await the unwary diner in Italy and elsewhere?
The Independent’s Travel Correspondent has fallen foul of many of them.
Is this ‘cutting-in-half’ charge unusual?
I would be surprised to find an extra fee for a trivial service like this. But businesses around Lake Como are, like many parts of Europe, heavily dependent on tourism. With a limited season in which to prosper, some businesses may see visitors who are clearly only passing through as people they don’t mind cheesing off.
It is fairly standard to charge slightly more than half the price for a half-sized portion. In the US this is formalised in a number of restaurants as a “split plate charge” of $5 (£4) or so. But conversely if you order a dessert to share, you would probably expect an extra spoon to be offered without any additional charge.
Is Italy particularly imaginative when it comes to hidden extras?
A “per-person” charge known as a coperto is common practice at restaurants in Italy and elsewhere. It is usually a couple of euros, and notionally covers olives and bread. That is the case at my local Italian restaurant in south London, where the £2.50 per person charge is clearly marked on the menu.
In Venice, though, you may need superhuman sight to spot the extras. A coffee in St Mark’s Square costs anything from €12 to €18 (£10-£15), with an extra €6 (£5) to pay if the band happens to strike up while you are sitting there.
“The price list is usually at the back of the cafe to avoid the risk of potential clients seeing it before ordering,” reports travel writer and guide Neil Taylor.
The highly experienced Italian travel guide, James Hill, warns of other soaring charges that tourists should know about.
“Prices, especially at the beaches, have gone ’nuclear’,” he says. “You may have heard about €500 (£433) being charged for a day on…
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