London diners furious at restaurant's added charge just to pay the bill

If your planning on dining at a certain popular Italian restaurant in Shoreditch, make sure you are prepared to pay some extra dosh when you're settling your bill.

That's because disgruntled diners are being charged an extra fee to paying for the food they have eaten at the swanky eatery named 'Gloria' on Great Eastern St in London.

One customer revealed that while stumping up the cash for the grub they had devoured as well as a 13.5 percent service charge - which the restaurant's website says is optional - they had to cough up even more money just to carry out the transaction.

The anonymous bloke shared a screenshot of the digital receipt they had received following their dinner date at the Italian restaurant on Tuesday (30 March), which broke down the details of his bumped-up bill.

The subtotal came up to £193.50, before a £26.15 service charge was then thrown into the mix, which brought the fee up quite significantly to £219.65.

Underneath these calculations, there was another rogue charge listed which was described as a 'Sunday checkout fee'.

This cost the diner another £2.99, bringing the grand total for the meal at Gloria up to a whopping £222.64.

Clearly bemused by the seemingly random addition to his bill, the customer shared a snap of it on social media alongside the caption: "Is Gloria in Shoreditch the only restaurant that charges you for the privilege of paying your bill?

The Italian restaurant is in the bad books with some diners (Facebook/Gloria Trattoria)

"Anyone else had to pay a 'checkout fee' before? This isn't a service charge/tip which I'm happy with," he continued. "This is a charge for using a self-service checkout website!

"Not only do they save by not having to engage the waiter to bring the terminal to the table and print the paper receipt, but they charge you extra for it. Feels so cheap of them. What next? 50p for the toilet?

"Extra charge for actually heating your food? I really hope this doesn't become norm..."

But before you start boycotting the gaff, it turns out that the 'Sunday checkout fee' isn't a day-of-the-week specific charge at Gloria, but rather in reference to a tech firm named Sunday.

Gloria is part of the Big Mamma restaurants group - and the group of restaurateurs behind this built a hospitality app which offers 'payment solutions' for eateries.

One of the companies time-saving solutions is adding 'integrated QR codes' on tables, which allow diners to 'pay in seconds, right at their table' without having to awkwardly wave down a waiter.

Although the gizmo supposedly allows you to split the bill with a pal and tip in 'as little as 10 seconds', people are really not happy about the idea of having to pay to pay.

It seems card payments might become a thing of the past if apps like Sunday are replacing it (Getty Stock Image)

One claimed that it 'actually borders tacky', adding: "Would put it on their Google reviews, they might not be aware that it shows up like that, or that it just ruins the whole experience. They might see it and reconsider."

Another wrote: "Honestly. What is wrong with just paying for your actual f***ng meal?!"

While a third added: "Sadly it isn't just this restaurant. I've seen this quite a few times already."

A fourth simply chimed in saying: "Outrageous!"

The bloke, however, shared an update on the 'Sunday checkout fee' saga, explaining that Gloria's general manager had reached out to him to discuss his feedback.

"He was genuinely interested and cared about customer experience," the diner said. "He will be taking my/our feedback to the board."

Big Mamma told LADbible: "Big Mamma does propose Sunday as a payment option for clients who wish to pay faster, and the fee is part of this software which allows customers to pay via their phone, split the bill and instantly receive their receipt.

"Sunday is 100% optional. Of course the traditional ways to pay (cash and credit card) are free of charge and are used by more than 60% of your guests."