Tourists Take Bar To Court Over £500 Bill For 'Two Drinks And A Snack'
Two American tourists are taking legal action against a bar in Mykonos after they were charged €600 (£511) for two cocktails and some crab legs.
Brenda Moulton and her daughter, 19-year-old Kaylea, claim they were 'lured' into DK Oyster bar in Platis Gialos beach, before being 'overcharged' for their food and drinks.
The pair had a mojito each, along with some crab legs, but were mortified when a bill of over €520 arrived along with an €80 mandatory tip.
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Ms Moulton told Greek newspaper θEMA: “An employee of one of the restaurants in Platis Gialos jumped in front of us and started saying persistently: 'Sit here! Sit here!'"
After the pair had finished their food and drinks, they asked for the bill.
"I went in and saw a man sitting at a table. 'Sit down,' he told me and showed me the bill. I almost fainted. At first, it was not detailed, because the paper did not show exactly what we had ordered. The guy asked me to pay almost 600 euros and I told him he could not, some mistake would be made. This account could not be ours," she added.
“He then told me, verbatim: ‘I will call the police. They will keep you here and you will not return to your homeland. We can easily find where you live'."
Ms Moulton reluctantly paid the bill, but the pair are now taking legal action against the bar, who have denied any wrongdoing.
Ms Moulton’s lawyer, Marizanna Kikiri, says that her clients suffered threatening and unfair behaviour from the restaurant.
Other TripAdvisor reviews reveal guests experiencing similar treatment.
One review states: "You are lured in with happy waiters welcoming you in and sat down with no menus and when you can see a menu there’s no prices. We ordered one cocktail apiece and 12 oysters and it was over £400. This place is a scam and needs to be investigated."
And another adds: "Big scam! They lure you in then charge some ridiculous amount for a simple appetiser and they are extremely rude! Stay away!!"
Meanwhile earlier this year, US tourist Cheryl Lamphere told the Daily Mail she had been charged $1,640 (£1,300) for two main dishes, a salad and some bread.
“Every man in the restaurant got up and surrounded us, there were at least five of them, almost blocking us in. It was a very, very scary situation because we were six women being surrounded by five men," she said.
In response to some of the negative reviews online, DK Oyster responded to say menus - and prices - are displayed at the entrance of the bar.
They also stated that they use 'top quality raw material and our chef has been chosen among the best in order to complete our concept of an experience that surpasses the ordinary standards'.
In response to the Moultons' claims, the restaurant told θEMA [translated]: "All the items we sell in our store are listed in detail in the catalog, according to the law. The catalogs are in front of our store in a prominent place. We give the lists to our customers before ordering. For all our products there are legal documents.
"The customer was charged this price because the royal crab legs are not a priced item and the costing is done according to their purchase invoice. The specific documents were checked by AADE and there was no violation. Regarding the tip, the customer always puts the amount he chooses and we have no involvement in it. It is purely the customer's choice.
"We are a third generation company, we do not swear, we do not threaten, we do not have bravos. The waiter of the table approached the cash register after he was called by the cashier to give clarifications to the customer."
LADbible has reached out to DK Oyster for comment.
Lucy Devine