Elizabeth Messman
Google
An Italian Restaurant… or a Shady Back-Alley Shakedown?
If you enjoy fine dining experiences that include rude staff, aggressive scam tactics, and a side of outright extortion, then by all means, book a table at this hellhole.
From the moment we sat down, the manager openly complained about us to the waitstaff in Portuguese—apparently unaware (or just not caring) that some people actually understand the language. Mind you, at this point, we hadn’t even ordered water. No food, no service, just instant hostility.
Before we could even glance at the menu, the manager marched over and demanded a cash tip upfront—a tip that is not legally required in Brazil and certainly not before service has even begun. I didn’t realize that extortion was the first course here, but I suppose that’s what makes the place “authentic.”
The food? Honestly, I don’t even remember. Maybe because the staff spent the evening trying to corner us into handing over more money rather than, I don’t know, doing their jobs.
The grand finale of this disaster came when we handed over a credit card to pay, only for the staff to try to isolate my friend and lead him into a small room in the back of the restaurant. Why? To demand even more cash. According to other reviews, this is a recurring scam—they separate a guest from their group, pressure them, and squeeze out more money like some kind of tourist-targeting organized crime operation that happens to have a pasta menu.
We refused to go with them, and we left feeling thoroughly scammed and disgusted. Oddly enough, we noticed that none of the other tables were treated like this. So was it because we were foreigners? Because we looked like easy targets? Who knows? What I do know is that this place is a con masquerading as a restaurant.
Save yourself the trouble. There are better places to eat that won’t treat you like an ATM they can shake down.