A tourist in Italy has to pay to cut their sandwich in half

The man from Milan had ordered a vegetarian sandwich with stuffed fries at Bar Pace in Gira Lario, at the northern end of the lake.

After sharing his steak sandwich with his friend, he is shocked to notice the extra cost on his bill.

He paid without complaint but then posted a negative review on TripAdvisor.

The disgruntled customer explained that he and his friend ordered a sandwich to share, but never asked to cut it in half.

The receipt lists the sandwich for 7.50, Coca-Cola for 3.50, water for 1.50 and espresso for 1.20, plus the controversial “diviso da meta”, or “halving”, fee of €2.20.

A confused customer gave the restaurant one star on TripAdvisor, well below the average of four and a half stars, based on more than 100 reviews.

The restaurant owner has defended the charges, according to the New York Post.

“Additional orders come at a cost,” Christina Biacci, owner of Italy’s La Repubblica, told the newspaper. “We had to use two plates instead of one and the time to wash them doubled. Not only was it a toasted sandwich, it also had French fries. It took us a long time to cut it in half.”

It also indicated that the client did not complain or question the charges against him.

The practice is almost unheard of in expensive cities and popular tourist destinations across the U.S., where frugal eaters (and those with small appetites) sometimes get hit with a joint or plate-load of joint, to make up for the lower average bill.

Some New York restaurants even ban the practice of sharing, reports the New York Post.