Couple livid as restaurant charges them extra for using a teaspoon

A couple was left out of pocket and out of patience after they realised a cafe in Italy charged them to use an extra teaspoon. The bonkers fee was added to their bill after they split a dessert.

They had ordered a crema catalana – a bit like a creme brûlée – to share at a pizzeria in the town of Alba. However, while usually splitting one dessert costs no extra that wasn’t the case in this situation as an added fee was put on the bill.

After getting a second spoon so they could lap up the tasty pud they realised the charge had been added The couple spotted a €1.50 (£1.30) surcharge for "due cucchiaini" or two teaspoons, reports the Telegraph.

READ MORE: Tourists fume as Italian bar charges them £1.72 for cutting a sandwich in half

Meaning that the restaurant has charged them to split their dessert. Likely for the use of the additional utensil. We wonder if it would have been free if they had shared the same spoon…. yuck.

As confusing as it might seem the restaurant isn’t the only place to have done so. A fancy bar in Italy’s stunning Lake Como area was slammed after a receipt showed they charged to slice sandwiches in half.

A fuming customer shared a snap of the bill online which added €2 (£1.72) for serving the sandwich between two people. The receipt from June 18 shows that Bar Pace added the cost for slicing their sandwich – labelled as "dives da meta" which means "divided in half".

The customer who shared the image had apparently gone to the bar in Gera Lario with their partner. They were amazed at the extra charge and said to on TripAdvisor. They wrote: "This has never happened to me in any of the places I have visited in the world."

The owner of the bar, who remains unnamed, hit out at the complaint online. They said: "If a customer asks me to make two portions of toast, I have to use two saucers, two napkins and go to the table using two hands.

"It is true that the customer is always right, but it is equally true that additional requests have a cost."

Charging for various services is not unheard of in Italy. The nation frequently adds a charge known as "coperto" in many restaurants.

This is a fee added to a bill for table service. The amount is usually set – at around €2-4 per person dining at the table.

Brits who want to avoid being charged coperto should head to cafe and ice cream counters to order and then leave without sitting down. If you do sit down at a table the staff may ask you to pay the extra sum even if you’ve already bought your drink or snack.

It is a normal part of Italian culture and to be expected especially in big cities. You might even be charged the sum if you simply stop for an Aperol Spritz.

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