Tourists in Italy Say They Were Charged $1 for an Extra Spoon and Somehow That's Not Even the Most Ridiculous Extra Charge This Year

What kind of TripAdvisor review would you leave?

Look, we all know that visiting touristy destinations usually means paying a premium for food and drinks. But sometimes, even the littlest surcharge can throw us right over the edge. That’s exactly what happened to one traveler who was charged an additional fee for an extra spoon so she could share a scoop of ice cream with her husband in Italy.

In late August, a traveler shared a harsh, one-star TripAdvisor review of Caffè Gelateria Serafini, a gelateria in the town of Lavis in Northern Italy. It wasn’t that the person found a hair in her scoop or that the scoop itself was bad. It was the fact that the bill came out to $1 more than they were expecting, all because they asked for an additional eating utensil.

“Bring your own spoon, fork, and knives! They charge you $1 if you need an extra,” the traveler wrote. “If you go as a couple and want to share a dessert well, then you have to rent an extra spoon for $1.”

Related: Want Bread? Extra Lemon Wedges? Drink Refills? You Should Pay for Them

This recent review wasn't the only one complaining about the surcharge either.

"...charging 1 euro for an additional teaspoon ... and if I drop my fork, do I pay extra to have another one, or is it included in the surcharge," another angry patron wrote.

"The choice to charge extra for sharing ice cream cups is absurd. It's ok to make the rules you want in your own home, but after the goodness of your choices, they will be judged by the 'visitors,'" another added. Some reviewers even added photos of their receipts for proof. The restaurant has not replied to any of the comments publicly on the user-generated service.

It seems Italian restaurants are having a field day in 2023 with these seemingly superfluous charges. In August, the New York Post reported on a couple who claimed they were charged an additional  two euros by a restaurant in Lake Como because they asked for their sandwich to be cut in half.

"Unbelievable but true," the travelers posted on their one-star TripAdvisor review. However, this time, the restaurant, Bar Pace in Gera Lario, did defend itself, telling the Italian newspaper La Repubblica, "Additional requests have a cost … We had to use two plates instead of one, and the time to wash them is doubled, and then two placemats. It wasn't a simple toasted sandwich, there were also French fries inside. It took us time to cut it in two."

But hey, at least none of these people were unwittingly charged nearly $1,000 for crab, right? 

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