When you stop for food outside one of the biggest tourist attractions in the entire world, you sort of expect to pay a bit over the odds - but one family were shocked when their small meal came to over £100.
Their modest order of three hotdogs, a ham and cheese sandwich and four drinks came to a shocking €119.34 (£102). In fairness, the bill included a €20 (£17) service charge, but it definitely looks like it's a case of Rome strikes again with this one, lads.
Stopping for a bite to eat outside the Vatican - alarm bells should probably have rung at the prospect of a meal there tbh - the family of four had been sightseeing all morning. Hungry work - so they decided to eat at an unnamed bar on Via dell Conciliazione by St Peter's Square on Saturday morning (2 November).
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Speaking to Il Messaggero, the dad of the family, Leo Recchia said: "€22 [£19] for each hot dog... Almost €20 [£17] for service. To think that the night before we had gone to a restaurant behind the Pantheon: We spent the same, but for a complete dinner."
The bar manager reportedly defended the prices and said that they're on the menu. Of course, $22 for a hotdog and chips is a bit steep - but when you've seen the menu and you're sat outside the Vatican, you kind of have it coming.
He said: "We had other cases like this, other complaints, but the prices are on the menu, you can check, also we are near the Vatican, it costs."
It's not the first time the Vatican effect has shocked tourists.
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Two Japanese tourists were left shocked after being charged £380 for two plates of spaghetti and fish at a restaurant in Rome.
For £380 you'd want to be taken to the Amalfi Coast to catch the bl***y fish yourself, right?
Well, the two tourists shared a photograph to TripAdvisor that showed the receipt from their meal at Antico Caffe di Marte next to the River Tiber in Rome.
It came to a frankly absurd €429.80, with the bill also including an €80 (£70) service charge.
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This seems to be something of a regular thing at the Antico Caffe di Marte, too. From the more than 200 TripAdvisor reviews that the place has, it's got an overall rating of just two out of five stars.
Of those couple of hundred reviews, several tourists have called the place 'overpriced' and a 'rip off'. In one review another tourist explained how he was charged €476.40 (£422) for a mixed fish platter back in August.
The moral of the story - don't eat outside the Vatican, and always read the menu.
Featured Image Credit: PA/lost in rome