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An Olympic swimmer who complained about being charged extra for having cherry tomatoes removed from her pizza has received an apology from the restaurant, which says it was a simple cash register mistake.
The incident took place in Bisceglie, a town in Italy’s Puglia region famous for its whitewashed hill houses, and the receipt was shared publicly by athlete Elena Di Liddo on Sunday, 10th August.
Di Liddo, 30, said she had been dining at a city centre pizzeria when she asked for the ingredient to be left off her order.
When the bill arrived, she noticed a EUR 1.50 (GBP 1.29) surcharge marked "No cherry tomatoes".
She later posted a photo of the receipt on Instagram alongside a message describing the charge as "sad and at times shameful", questioning whether it was even legal to bill a customer for something they had not eaten.
Her post quickly went viral, drawing hundreds of comments from followers and other social media users.
In a statement on Monday, the harbourfront restaurant Mammame pizzeria said the charge was the result of a clerical error at the till and apologised to the swimmer.
They said: "The change clearly involved the removal of an ingredient, not an addition.
"It would have been sufficient to simply bring it to our attention and we would have obviously corrected it."
The owners added that all diners had been offered complimentary liqueurs and digestifs at the end of the meal, as a gesture of courtesy.
They expressed regret that the misunderstanding had created negative publicity for both the restaurant and the region, which they said they worked hard to promote.
They said: "It's unfortunate that such a minor incident has been used to cast a negative light not only on our restaurant, but also on the city of Bisceglie and Puglia."
The swimmer, who has competed in European and World Championships and has four gold medals from the Mediterranean and Universiade Games, said she felt compelled to share the incident to highlight what she sees as a worrying trend in restaurant pricing.
It came just days after a man in Bari was charged 50 cents (GBP 0.42) for a sprinkle of pepper on his pizza, and weeks after a cafe in Oderzo billed a woman 10 cents (GBP 0.08) for cutting her croissant in half, both sparking similar backlash.
(Mike Leidig / newsX)
Byline Journalist: Mike Leidig
Byline Sub editor: Simona Kitanovska
Byline Spotter: Ivica Stojanovski
Byline Commisioning Editor: Mike Leidig
Byline Senior Writer: Mike Leidig
Byline Picture Editor: Zorica Stojkovik
Byline Copychecker: Marija Stojkoska
Byline Illustrator: Marija Stojkoska
Byline News Editor: Simona Kitanovska
Geography: Bisceglie
Subject: Business, Tourism Business, Food / Drink, Restaurants, Sport
T4 Editor Story Rating: 7
T4 Editor Pic/Vid rating: 7
T4 Total rating: 7
