Must I function as the journalist I used to be any time I venture out to spend money by asking a multitude of probing questions just to ensure fair play? Now, I never minded a bit of Q and A when I was actually getting paid to do so, but I draw the line at dining and drinking establishments where we should be able to “assume” some basic standards, which include not being taken advantage of.

I am set to dine at a lovely Vietnamese/French restaurant in Naples, Florida where two friends and myself arrive early for our reservation and decide on a pre-dinner cocktail at the bar. I am predictable in such circumstances and order a glass of white wine. I didn’t ask the price because I was already familiar with the label. For the record, it was a reasonable $19.00. My two friends are set to order a shot of their favorite tequila. It’s usually Casamigos Blanca. But just before pulling the trigger on their selection they excitedly agree to the bartender’s recommendation of something new and delicious.

 “Bring it on,” they say joyfully. We are a festive bunch, indeed, and in great spirits – so far. Libations enjoyed and completed, I then asked for the bar bill prior to having dinner. My gasp was audible. As a matter of fact, I was confidently about to inform the bartender that he must have given us someone else’s bar tab.

Until I looked again. Yep, there was my drink. $19.00 worth. And then there was the final tally. 

$307.00. 

And that did not even include the $60.00 “suggested tip” registered by that payment contraption one is presented with at the end of a meal or, in this case, an episode of highway robbery.

“What?” my friends blurted out. 

YEP. Almost $400.00 for three casual drinks. “REALLY?” I choked out to the bartender, who then looked at me and said-not in a flippant but still irritating way.

“That tequila is expensive.”

No kidding. Maybe he could have mentioned that before he served it.

I understand the concept of buyer beware and all that but don’t you think it might have been polite to mention that these premium pours were going to cost more than a hotel room for the night?

“You got ripped off,” a bartender at a different restaurant told me later when I related our experience to him. 

We just felt bad. And taken advantage of.

Most dining items that fall into the preposterous category usually come with a warning.  

“Our wagyu beef sautéed in truffles (real truffles not just the oil) with a splash of champagne is being offered this fine evening at $1000.00 a plate,” would not have been an unexpected admission from a server who valued customer satisfaction, right? 

Full disclosure is not an uncommon accompaniment to any server’s spiel and I think the same might be expected from a bartender who offers a tantalizing but unknown product to eager but innocent clients. Yes, you might say, we probably should have asked. But maybe he just should have told?

Something like, “Ladies, just wanted to mention that-with my tip- your shots are coming in at a stunningly posh price of around $145.00 a pop.” 

Maybe he thought, as we were there at all, that we could afford anything at any price. Still, I am going to write to the restaurant and ask-not for our money back, of course- but maybe some clarification on a premium pour and the difference between good service and what qualifies as, shall we say, bamboozlement.

Honestly, the whole thing left a bit of a sour taste in our mouths, soothed only somewhat by the delicious food that followed our bad bar experience. 

As an aside, to add insult to injury, I later logged onto the internet with ambitions of writing about our tale of woe before I forgot key components of it and was informed that my storage was full. And therefore I could not write, send or receive any correspondence. Honestly, I have 3 Apple devices. I am a devotee of Apple products. Nonetheless, the company insists on nickel and diming me in order to garner an extra $1.99 a month in storage fees because maybe APPLE needs the money? There are 100 billion stars, planets and basically unlimited space in the universe and so I am shocked that Apple cannot find a way to harness a smidge more of that celestial landscape for its loyal customers. But I digress. 

“I would have expected our drinks to be-maybe- $40.00 each,” said my high flying tequila loving friends – “but not triple that,” they later said. Lesson learned, I guess.

As it was the season and I am a big fan of happy endings, I can assure you that we did have one. And a big laugh to boot when one of my dining partners generously picked up our dinner tab and announced rather delightfully, if not unsurprisingly,

“Hey, guess what? Our dinner bill was substantially less than our drinks bill!” 

Happy Ending Indeed.