bella italia

[farang010]

First impression of the place: I thought that IT looked like a great place to eat.
I visited Bella Italia with my wife and two children. We ordered 2 coffees and two icecreams. When the bill came, it seemed a bit high!My wife paid it and I went outside to have a look at the menu? When I totaled up the cost, it turned out that we were overcharged by 40% !!!!When I made this clear to the owner, he made me out to be in the wrong. Obvioulsy not the first time he has been confronted by another honest tourist for the same dodgy reason. The guy is a first class actor!
Imagine if I(OR YOU!)went there for a big meal with friends and family. ALCOHOL FLOWING....IMAGINE THE BILL AT THE END OF THE NIGHT?WOULD ANYONE NOTICE WITH ALL THE DRINK FLOWING????
Be very carful if you decide to eat(or drink) in this place.

[bugseda]

AND ?????????

So with the menu in hand and the prices shown on the menu, and confronting the owner with the 40% difference, are we safe to assume he refunded the difference claiming it was a mistake?

I have never eaten there as the reviews have been mixed.

Off topic: Shopped at Tesco the other day and the cashier shorted me 20 baht. As he quickly handed me my change and started checking out the next customer, I counted my change and right in the middle of me counting, he reached into his shirt pocket and handed me the 20 baht.

Mistake? I think not. Not a word was spoken between us as he handed over the 20 baht.

Again, not a life or death issue with 20 baht, but it is the principal that annoys me.

Dollars to donuts, he would never ever attempt this short change game on a Thai.

Oh !! And welcome to the forum.

[thalenoi]

Ate there once with GF because menu had one of my favs: spag puttanesca.
Got smallish plate and found just 1 (one) anchovis filet in sauce
Gf went for her preferred seafood spag. Found the sauce smelled badly.
Called the waiter who called the boss (female) she gave explanation GF thought was kee kwai (bullsh*t)
Expensive bill closed the deal.

One and only visit, bye bye

Re previous post remark: went to TOPS food court yesterday, GF changed 200B into vouchers.
Heading to a stall split the vouchers between the two of us but did not add up to 2x100.
Short handed for 20B, returned to cashier, handed vouchers over, rechecked and gave extra 20B voucher.
Might be error, might be scam but was not farang targeted!

[laphanphon]

I counted my change and right in the middle of me counting

yes, sadly that has happened to many times to myself also, and obviously not a mistake. i make a point of counting my change immediately infront of cashier before moving on or picking up purchase. as you, a roll of the eyes, and the correction is made without a word... at least 3 times, possilbe 5, and from all the majors. Ree also checks every bill at every restaurant, no exceptions, to verify no 'mistakes', and to verify no mistakes, as shown by test scores, math isn't a thai forte'.

sidenote, at market, 97 baht, give 100 baht, fast afterthought, but after she rung it up, i give her 7 baht.................................no thought what so ever, 10 baht is given to me.........no calculator, no blank stare, no panic.................i'm thinking this gal has to have a doctorate degree from the best university in thailand, or studied oversees.

yes, i apologize for this blatant uncomplimentary generalization, but sometimes, like the other day, the bill is 620, i give them 1020, and i smell smoke, the gears have locked up and panic all across the face. then in the computer, whew, that was easy, 400 baht change. it doesn't take much to throw them off, or make them break out that calculator. thankfully there are few smart cookies out there.

[jingjai]

Obvioulsy not the first time he has been confronted by another honest tourist for the same dodgy reason. The guy is a first class actor!

This is one of my first post's on Udonmap, way back in November of 2005:
http://www.udonmap.com/udonthaniforum/p ... html#p6679

I had dinner at Bella Italia during a recent visit to Udon. I was very disappointed. Basically it came down to this; my bill was 400 baht, 80 for wine, 80 for salad, 40 for garlic bread, and 200 for order of pasta. So 320 baht for the food. I live in Thailand, for the past six years, in a far more expensive area than Udon. I know the price of food, I know what it costs at the store and what I can get the same food at a restaurant for. I could have put the same food items together for about 25 baht cooking myself. If I went to my favourite Italian restaurant here in Jomtien I could have gotten the same food items for half the price; 160 baht. Now I'm not really complaining about the price, that's up to the owners, it's their restaurant they can charge whatever they want. However, the portions were tiny, more like side orders. I left the restaurant hungry. I mentioned my concern to the owners, Enrico and Promphan, they said the next time I come in to let them know and they'll make me a larger order. Enrico did pour me a free Sambuca. But, only because I voiced concern.
To end on a positive note; all of my other experiences in Udon were great! I am seriously considering relocating to Udon area.

To add insult to injury, Promphan told me the reason they served smaller portions, was because they used to give larger ones but, people complained "too much food" . Promphan said most Europeans like to eat many different small portions. Funny, I've never met that kind of European before .

Needless to say, that was my first and last visit to Bella Italia, except when Enrico had a small deli in the restaurant where I could buy imported Italian cold cuts, olives, cheese, etc., by weight. But that venture was short-lived.

[farang010]

So with the menu in hand and the prices shown on the menu, and confronting the owner with the 40% difference, are we safe to assume he refunded the difference claiming it was a mistake?

I ordered 2 icecreams and two filtered coffees. I had to ask for cream. I was told that the extra charge on the bill was for the cream. Enrico's Mrs totaled the bill up and said that I was 20 baht(it was 180 baht) overcharged. He said "are we going to argue over 20 baht?" He was drunk and made me out to be a cheap charlie. I was as sober as a judge and I can asure anybody to be aware if they do decide to visit the dodgy Italian! He's been living there to long. He's turned into a native himself! If this happened down some cheap soi in Pattaya, I would have expected it and it would never have happened. Because he is accociated with the biggest Hotel in Udon Thani, I had my guard down. I was after all, on holiday!

[ting_tong]

I would never eat there, I saw the prices on the menu and turned around, that was on my first visit to Udon.

I prefer to go to 2 hearts or one of the picolo roma outlets
2 hearts is the cheapest with the biggest portions, good too!