British tourists are being ripped off on the Greek island of Rhodes by a series of covert tactics used by pushy restaurant and bar staff, a MailOnline investigation has revealed.
Our reporter travelled to the holiday hotspot this week and visited some of its most popular venues in the heart of its bustling old town.
The town’s historic cobbled streets and famous squares are lined with an endless number of restaurants and bars, but holidaymakers blasted ‘scammer’ establishments for taking their hard-earned cash.
Speaking to MailOnline outside these restaurants, Brits warned of how sneaky ‘tricks’ used by a number of venues left them paying more than €40 for a cocktail and more than €20 for a beer.
To investigate, MailOnline visited six of the worst-rated restaurants and bars on TripAdvisor and Google to find out what methods were being used to rip off customers.
A worker at Velvet Sports and Cocktail Bar telling the reporter she cannot pay by card, before telling her to wait ‘five to six minutes’
A ‘pushy’ worker at Eat Lovers Taverna dressed as a captain standing in the square urging tourists to come to the restaurant
As our reporter stops briefly to look at the menu to the side of Polloniatissa, a waiter comes over and signals whether she wants to dine on the rooftop
MailOnline found the following ‘tricks’ were being used to fleece tourists:
- Restaurants had menus WITHOUT prices or sizes displayed
- Restaurants and bars with bad TripAdvisor scores simply changes their names to confuse tourists
- Staff would lie about the cheapest and smallest drinks options, claiming the smallest sizes were a 1L glass or a ‘fishbowl’
- Diners are told a restaurant’s card machines don’t work and are frogmarched to the ATM to get cash out
- Rip-off waiters use secret signals to communicate with each other while serving Brits drinks
- Tourists were not given bills and receipts were rarely itemised, in many cases written entirely in Greek
- Pushy staff bring out alcohol despite customers saying they did not want anything to drink
George Bar, located opposite the clock tower in the Old Town, has a low Google review rating of 1.6 stars – not exactly an good advert for holidaymakers looking for a nice drink.
But to avoid any bad press from its less than impressive online presence, owners seemingly have thought on their feet and changed the name completely.
Signs are obscured by parasols and the few that can be seen have the words ‘Velvet Sports and Cocktail Bar’ emblazoned on them.
The woman at Velvet’s reaction when the undercover reporter asked to pay by card
The ‘smallest’ draught beer option was said to be a 1L boot when the reporter visited Velvet
Brit tourists told MailOnline they were charged €66 for what they thought would be a ‘large’ cocktail and ‘large’ beer at Polloniatissa. The cocktail arrived in a fishbowl, and the beer a 2L boot
According to scathing Google reviews, the venue is constantly changing its name.
When our reporter visited, she was greeted with a warm invite, eager to sit her down in the otherwise empty pub.
And when she requested to see a menu, she was handed one filled with images of ‘boots of beer’ but with no prices displayed.
But while there were options listed including a 500ml Guinness and a 300ml local Mythos, she was told the ‘smallest’ beer available on draught was a whopping 1L boot.
To give venues the benefit of the doubt, we asked to clarify prices prior to placing orders.
Justifying the €10 price for a 1L boot, the server said ‘that is a normal price, it’s just because of the size’.
When later asking to pay, our reporter was told the card machine does not work and was asked to pay by cash.
When the reporter said she does not have cash, she was made to wait nearly 20 minutes to finally be signalled over to pay.
While one could assume this was a genuine one-off issue, online reviews indicate that it is a running ruse to get tourists to pay in cash.
And it seems the tactic isn’t reserved to just one spot.
Further in the main square sits rooftop restaurant and bar Polloniatissa.
Several of its workers stand around in the square persuading customers to come in, some even attracting unassuming couples by offering to take a picture of them, before then guilt-tripping them into dining at their venue.
When our reporter visited, she was taken up to the rooftop, and provided with a drinks and food menu upon request.
A worker at Lindos Bar signalling to the reporter to take a seat while serving another customer. The bar brought out a fishbowl and insisted it was the smallest cocktail option
Another worker at Eat Lovers Taverna standing out front of the restaurant trying to get tourists to come in. The woman shakes her head and continues to walk off
A worker at Polloniatissa who, when the reporter tells him she has waited half an hour to pay, asks if she can ‘go to an ATM?’
One of many cocktail menus that did not have any price or size indications besides pictures of fishbowls with different flags
There were at least four ATMs in the fairly small Hippocrates Square which is filled with busy restaurants and bars
Here, the menu did for a change, have prices displayed. A small cocktail would cost €10, a medium €20, and a large €46.
And when asked for clarification on sizes, the waiter, in a refreshing wave of honestly answered ‘small is like a glass, medium is like three cocktails and large is massive’.
This sounded promising.
But Brit tourists just outside had told us of how cocktail prices and sizes were kept secret before a huge fishbowl was slapped on the table with a €46 bill following after.
While they had stuck to the agreed small €10 cocktail when our reporter’s bill came, the waiter had charged an extra €8 for tzatiki and bread which was not disclosed as an additional cost, when offered with the order of a chicken souvlaki.
The waiter insisted the bread and dip had been served ‘as a starter’.
And in a similar instance to Velvet, or George Bar, whichever you could say their official name is, the reporter was again told the card machine was ‘giving problems’.
The waiter then turned away and began serving other customers without any explanation of what to do next.
After 10 minutes of waiting, when the reporter again asked to pay, she was told the machine was still not working and was instructed to go down to the square and go to an ATM if ‘that is easier’.
Down in the small square, there are four ATMS, one on each corner – a sign that would suggest it is a trick utilised by a number of the restaurants. Google and Tripadvisor reviews would support this assertion.
When our reporter refused and said she would wait to pay by card, another 15 minutes went by at which point she complained to another staff member.
One of few receipts given that were itemised. The item however was wrong, and should have been for a cocktail and a tzatziki
From the outside during the day, there is no indication of the name of the restaurant. The very small sign is covered completely by large parasols
When the reporter walked past the venue in the late evening, it was filled with people drinking from large ‘boots’ and fishbowls. The parasols were taken down and the sign could be seen
When the reporter asked for a ‘small’ cocktail at Lindos, she was brought a fishbowl and was told it is the ‘smallest’ one
He immediately began ranting about his colleague, saying ‘I honestly cannot tell you, I cannot tell you why he has not done it’.
When she explained she was told the card machine did not work, he replied ‘yes it does not, can you go to an ATM?’
The worker then told a colleague: ‘Why don’t you take her to the ATM?’
A few seconds later the disgruntled employee told us the machine did now miraculously work and takes the payment.
Just a two-minute walk down from Hippocrates Square, where Polloniatissa sits, a man is using a flock of exotic birds to entice people to the ‘Old Town Restaurant’.
Or is it now called the ‘Eat Lovers Taverna’? Or the ‘Small Boat’?
The restaurant, after a low 1.2 star review, is seemingly embarking on a never-ending rebrand project.
Whichever it is, there is not a single clear sign on the building, which is complete with a rooftop terrace and striking pink and blue lights.
It is done, it seems, so customers have no idea where they are dining, and so cannot search up its poor reviews.
When our reporter visited and asked to sit on the rooftop for drinks, she was told it was ‘not possible’ and could only be seated upstairs if dining.
Instead, she was offered an outdoor seat. The waiter came over to take her order but she requested to see a drinks menu first.
The menu listed a Mythos 500ml for €7 and a 1L for €12.
The outside of Eat Lovers Taverna has no clear sign on the outside naming the venue
At Polloniatissa, a ‘large’ cocktail is €46 and a large Strongbow €30
The waiter convinced the reporter a 1L ‘will be nice’ as it ‘comes in a boot’.
At the end when the reporter was ready to go, she was called to the till and billed the correct €12 amount. No faulty card machine tricks, no overcharging.
However, the following day when the reporter returned to test out what happens when you do not request to see prices, the results were very different.
Waiters were excited to see a returning customer – something which seemed to indicate it was a rare instance – and led her up to the rooftop.
She was asked what she would like without being offered a menu, and the reporter asked for a ‘standard’ strawberry daiquiri and a chicken gyros.
After a few minutes of waiting, she was incorrectly brought to the table an Aperol spritz.
When she clarified this is not what she had ordered, it was taken away and replaced with the correct drink. A minor inconvenience.
However, after around half an hour of waiting, a dish was brought to her table. It had originally been taken to the neighbouring table, who had confirmed it was not what they ordered.
They then brought the dish to the reporter and offered she ate it. She said she ordered a chicken gyros and the waiter responded by suggesting she took it anyway, adding it was a ‘beef and chicken’ gyros.
She said she does not eat beef and the plate was taken away. After another long wait the correct dish finally arrived.
After finally being ready for the bill after a meal that took a lot longer than anticipated, the waiter said ‘I will bring you a limoncello or a vodka’.
When the reporter refused and asked instead for the bill, the pushy waiter continued to try and convince her.
After another ‘no thank you’, the waiter disappeared and returned with, instead of a bill, two shots of prosecco in hand and placed them in front of the reporter.
The drinks menu at Lithos Bar had no prices listed, only images of beer boots and fishbowl cocktails. The food menu however did have prices
Another ATM seen in the main Hippocrates Square. The square is bustling with people shopping at souvenir shops and dining in at the many restaurants, some of which have scathing reviews
The reporter had to continually stated she had not ordered this and did not want it, with the waiter asking ‘why?’ and adding that it was not vodka but just some prosecco.
Finally admitting defeat, the waiter turned around and left.
After walking off he was seen using a secret signal to staff downstairs to kill the extra drinks – they had clearly been planning to put it on the bill.
Still waiting for the bill, she asked another waiter, who requested she headed downstairs to pay.
Approaching the till, she was asked to pay €35, with no explanation of costs.
Asking for a breakdown, she was told the ‘medium’ cocktail was €15, apparently ‘a discount’ from the actual €20 cost, and the ‘chicken souvlaki’ was €20.
After explaining the dish was a gyros and not a souvlaki, the cost was brought down by €5.
Opposite ‘Eat Lovers Taverna’ in what is known as the Jewish Martyrs Square, sits ‘Rendez-Vous’.
Here, MailOnline sat down for a ‘seafood souvlaki’ and requested a Coke with it to drink. The menu had prices listed but did not have a specific listing for ‘Coca-Cola’ or soft drinks.
Though, there was one line which listed ‘refreshments, small 330ml €5 and large 1 liter €10’.
Having not seen this by the time the waiter came by, the reporter asked how large a ‘large Coke’ was. She was told it was the size of two cans, and assumed that would come to around a pint.
What arrived was a colossal 1L glass filled with heavily diluted Coke which was too flat to drink.
Castello sits in the place of where the lowly-rated The Gate restaurant and bar stood. The bar charged €5 for a small bottle of sparkling water
Yet another drinks menu which had no prices listed, and had only a 1.5L option
During her time at the bar, a couple came in and asked the waiter about the disposable vapes displayed near the counter.
The waiter told them that the vapes were priced at €15 each, to which the man was taken aback and asked ‘for one?’
The waiter then asked them whether they were from the UK and said it is ‘cheaper there’, to which the couple responded that the same vape would cost €5 in the UK.
Back over by the Old Town’s clocktower, next door to Velvet Sports and Cocktail Bar, sits Lithos Bar.
Again, there is very little signage to show the name of the bar. You could think it has something to do with the 1.5 star TripAdvisor reviews.
As you walk in, there is a tiny sign reading ‘Lithos Bar’ that you may be able to spot if lucky.
Our reporter was welcomed and again provided with menus upon request.
And in a recurring trend among a number of the restaurants, while the food menu had prices stuck on, the drinks menus consisted of just pictures of large fishbowls.
There is absolutely no indication of size or price.
When ordering, the man asked about what flavours the reporter liked to recommend the correct cocktail, but again left out any mention of price or size.
When our reporter asked how big the cocktails were he signalled that they were large like in the pictures.
We then asked if there were any smaller options and he confirmed he could ‘sort something’, and when asked about the price was told it would be €10.
We ordered a tzatiki to go with our drink and asked if the bread was included, which the waiter agreed there would be.
It was then a surprise when the cocktail arrived in a large fishbowl not different to those in the images.
When exclaiming ‘I’d asked for a small cocktail’, the reporter was told ‘that is the smallest we have’, with the waiter laughing at our reaction.
An ATM outside another bar, Panorama, which has 1.7 star reviews on TripAdvisor
In a sigh of relief however, the bar did stick to the original price agreed upon and only charged €10 for the fishbowl.
This was somewhat confusing as other British tourists told of having paid more than €20 for the same sized cocktail at the same bar.
As MailOnline attempted to locate ‘The Gate’, yet another apparent ‘rip-off’ restaurant with on average one and two star reviews, there seemed to have been a mistake.
Only a restaurant named Castello stood in its place.
Again, it is only through old reviews that holidaymakers are able to figure out that the restaurant and building is the same, and has just been rebranded in an attempt to confuse tourists.
Here, in yet another case, the drinks menu had nothing but colourful pictures of fruits and descriptions of the fancy cocktails and ‘slush puppies’ on offer, but no indication of the prices or sizing.
When our reporter ordered a Greek salad and some sparkling water, a small bottle of sparking water was brought out promptly.
The rather reasonable portion of salad came to only €8.50, which was clearly stated on the menu. But the €5 charged for a sparkling water came as a shock.
When the reporter questioned the price she was told ‘that is the price’ and then asked if she would like to provide a tip.
‘They’re scammers. Scammers.’
Speaking to British tourists in the cobblestoned streets of Rhodes Old Town, many expressed their shared frustration over the ‘rip-offs’ and ‘scams’.
One couple told MailOnline: ‘There’s a lot of rip-offs around here let me tell you.
‘We just got this one beer and a water from the shop, €12. How is that €12?
‘And they always try to say “oh it’s cheaper, it’s cheaper if you give me cash”.
‘There’s so many like that. I was trying to buy a bag and the woman said €20 but if you give it in cash I’ll give it for €10.
‘They’re scammers.
‘And bar this one place on the right, everywhere the gyros sound like its coming out of microwaves.
‘The one back there, we literally heard it come out the microwave, it went “PING”.
‘And they do that boot thing. You can get a 1L one, or 2L ones.
‘You know actually, we got two daiquiris around there right, it cost us like €60.
‘€60 for two daiquiris. It came out in the massive bowls.
Katherine Lombard and Kyle Watson, both of the Isle of Man, said they had paid €66 for a cocktail and a beer at Polloniatissa
‘And some of the bars they charged like €8 for a 1L boot, some of them charge like €16.
‘Actually one of them charged €16 for half a litre, an even smaller one.’
Another couple told of a similar incident, pointing towards Polloniatissa.
Katherine Lombard and Kyle Watson, both of the Isle of Man said: ‘We had two drinks there that cost us €60.
‘It was a cocktail and a boot of beer. It was like €66 euros or something.
‘The boot was €20 and the cocktail was €46. I’d only seen it the day after.
‘They bring out the big fishbowl which isn’t what we asked for, we just thought it’s a cocktail and a large beer.
‘Other than that we have kind of managed to avoid it. As soon as someone asks us to come in we sort of think to ourselves “no”.
And the ‘tourist traps’ and pushy tactics seem to be no secret, with one couple telling us they were aware of it ‘before’ they arrived and had been careful not to get caught out.
Charlotte and Ryan Squibb, from Colchester said: ‘We haven’t been caught out by any of them because I knew about it before we came.
Charlotte and Ryan Squibb, from Colchester, said they knew of the rip off tactics before they came on holiday
Mark and Ethan Williams said they had only been on the island two days and had already fallen for one of the overpriced bars, having been charged ‘€150 for one round of drinks for nine
‘They apparently say it’s cheap food but then they get you in and end up giving you huge drinks which are like ten euros a go.
‘So we haven’t gone near them, we know all about it.’
Meanwhile, Mark and Ethan Williams, 38 and 18, from Exeter, had just arrived on a big family holiday and had already been subject to the extortionate prices.
Mark said: ‘We just got charged €150 for one round of drinks for nine people.
‘They said it was €6 a pint before we went in but obviously when you go to pay you can’t really argue.
‘They get you with the boots, they brought out big 1L ones.
‘And the cocktails were like €25 each and they’re massive.
‘We probably should have known. We’re here for two weeks and only got here two days ago.
‘It just means we’ll be more wary going forward.’
Another couple, who did not wish to be named, told of their frustrations with the prices.
They said: ‘There was a place just down there we went the other night was really expensive but not good food.
‘The prices were on the menu but it was €40 for one gyros between two, a glass of wine – which was €12, a water and some pitta.
‘For that price as well you expect it to be somewhere high-end. But it wasn’t.’
