A tourist has described her horror after she was charged $A800 for four drinks and a snack at a notorious Mykonos beach restaurant.
US lawyer Theodora McCormick was holidaying on the Greek island with her husband when the couple stopped at DK Oyster Bar to grab a drink.
After ordering two beers, two cocktails and some seafood, the pair were stunned to be handed the exorbitant bill, The Sun reports.
When they tried to complain, they said they were squared up to by hulking waiters.
DK Oyster Bar has previously been at the center of similar controversy and has a reputation for staggering prices.
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It has been accused of scamming tourists – allegations it always furiously denies as it defends its high prices.
Speaking from her home in New Jersey, Theodora, 50, said they had been in the beachside resort of Platis Gialos last month when they stopped at DK Oyster.
They were looking to order a taxi back to their hotel when they saw the sign outside DK Oyster which said that taxis could be ordered from inside.
“I told my husband, ‘Oh, why don’t we call a taxi and grab a drink,’” she said.
“That was my big mistake.”
When the waiter came over, Theodora said she asked for a cocktail menu, but instead of bringing one over, he rattled off a list of options.
They ordered two martinis and two beers, which they were stunned to see arrived in giant glass boots – estimated to be around three pints.
The waiter also pestered them to order some seafood and so the couple ordered a dozen oysters.
Before ordering the bill, Theodora and her husband were bracing themselves for a hefty tab – but when they received it their jaws dropped.
“It was Mykonos, we knew it was going to be ridiculous,” she said, but she expected a bill around “250-odd euros – that’s what we were thinking”.
“But when we got the bill… it was around €500 ($A800).
“My husband was like, ‘There’s got to be a mistake.”
When they tried to complain about the bill, Theodora said they were immediately surrounded by the waiters, “a group of big, hulking men.”
She went on: “They have no female waiters.”
As it was a day before they were scheduled to fly home, they felt they had no choice but to back down and pay.
She said: “I told my husband, ‘We’re in a foreign country. It’s ridiculous, but it’s obviously some sort of scam. We’ll pay up and try to deal with our credit card company later.’”
Describing the “weird experience,” Theodora said it was only when they got back to their hotel and looked at the DK Oyster Bar’s hundreds of negative reviews on TripAdvisor that they realized they weren’t alone.
“I feel foolish,” she said. “It was just a spur-of-the-moment thing. We weren’t planning on eating there, but we saw the sign.”
She added: “They’re never going to have any repeat business, but I suppose they get enough people from around the world that there’s always a supply of fresh meat.”
Theodora said that they had visited a number of the Greek islands as well as Mykonos, and that most of their meals were “extremely reasonable,” and that they were often able to enjoy great meals for just €40 ($A60).
Her experience is echoed by hundreds of other customers, with DK Oyster having a 2.5 star rating on TripAdvisor from 1532 reviews as of publication.
The bar has 635 one-star, 33 two-star, 19 three-star, 52 four-star, and 339 five-star reviews.
Furious customers blasted the restaurant as the “worst experience ever”.
However, other customers were more positive, praising the restaurant’s setting and saying “prices are good for the high class restaurant it is”.
DK Oyster has a reputation for high prices and was recently fined $A43,000 after an audit by Cyclades Regional Tourism Agency, reports Prototheme and the Greek City Times.
The investigation was sparked by two Americans who claimed they were charged more than $800 for a pair of mojitos and some crab legs.
And this week, the bar’s owner Dimitrios Kalamaras issued a direct response to his critics and denied customers’ claims they don’t know the prices before they step inside.
He accused many of his reviewers on TripAdvisor of lying, and said following “dozens” of similar “false” claims, he had installed three blackboards at the entrance to the restaurant displaying his prices.
Mr Kalamaras also said that “no adult in their right mind” would order a drink without seeing how much it costs first and told customers to discuss the price with the manager before they order.
Justifying his higher-than-average prices, he said that DK Oyster’s “concept” was completely different to other restaurants.
And he accused critics of being “influencers” who were looking for a free meal.
“Unfortunately, all of us who work in the hospitality sector have been approached by notorious ‘influencers’ who instead of making their living by advertising products and services to their audience, they put pressure on certain businesses for exorbitant fees and free meals,” he said.
“In DK Oyster, we have advertised in the ways we consider suitable for our restaurant and we will not succumb to the influencers who have been attracted to the beautiful island of Mykonos.”
Previously, a British tourist revealed how he was charged £360 ($A600) for four drinks and a snack at the restaurant.
Londoner Jak Kypri was visiting the Greek island – and thought that he wouldn’t be ripped off because he spoke Greek.
“I thought if they try to scam me I’ll tell them to p**s off and give me the real price.”
But when he walked in, Jak said that waiters didn’t offer him a menu, instead telling him what they had.
Jak ordered two tequilas, two beers, and some shrimp which, when it arrived, was just “six prawns.”
To his horror, when the bill arrived, Jak was handed a receipt for an eye-watering €425 ($A600).
Meanwhile another UK tourist claimed she was charged £50 ($A90) for lemonade that she said was so bitter it was undrinkable.
And a dad lashed out at the restaurant after his daughter was allegedly charged nearly £300 ($A500) for a single meal.
The Sun Online has approached DK Oyster Bar for comment.
This story originally appeared on The Sun and is republished here with permission
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