Mark S.
Yelp
My wife and I popped into Sesto on Arno for a late-night drink on our honeymoon. What an unfortunate mistake we hope others can avoid. Sure, the view is what you'd expect from the sixth or seventh floor of a building. But the service was beyond atrocious---it was exploitative.
We were shown to a table but weren't given any menus. After our patience wore out, I approached the bar to order drinks: a glass of "house" prosecco for my wife and a glass of "house" red wine for myself. When the drinks arrived, I joked to my wife that they appeared to have been measured with a thimble. Two or three sips later and they were gone, so I walked back up to the bar to order a second round. Another prosecco for wifey and another house red for myself.
It wasn't until I asked for the check that I discovered just how bad we'd been taken. Instead of charging us for their "house" prosecco and wine, the same staff that had "forgot" to give us menus had charged us for glasses of their premium top-shelf prosecco and wine. My eyes literally popped out of my head when I saw our bill: nearly 80 Euros for two glasses of so-called "house" prosecco and wine.
"There must be some mistake," I said. "No," said the staff, "you ordered premium top-shelf drinks."
"Excuse me," I sheepishly corrected, "I actually asked for 'house' prosecco and wine. Normally, that means bottom-shelf, not top-shelf. There must be some mistake."
"No," repeated the staff, "the bartender says you ordered top-shelf, and our prices are on our menu."
"I'm sorry," I responded, "that's wrong. There must be some misunderstanding. I specifically asked for 'house' drinks. And no one ever gave us menus or asked to serve us, which is why I went to the bar to order drinks. Please, is there anything you can do to help correct this mistake?"
"No," said the staff, "unless you'd like us to call the Polizia...."
*** Wow, what a racket...what a ruined honeymoon evening. Who knew The Westin was being run by the Mafia?!
If there is any good to come from this God-awful experience, I hope it's sparing our fellow travelers from a similar rip-off fiasco.