Bella Vita Trattoria We Were Ripped Off New York New York

This restaurant should be investigated for ripping off their customers.

I work around the block from this restaurant/pizzeria and I have eaten here for lunch with business associates during the work week. This past weekend, I was in the city with my family and I decided to bring them into Bella Vita for a quick casual lunch. We had two small children with us and it was obvious from the minute we walked in the door that they did not want to serve us. We decided to stay anyway (we sat ourselves at a table near the door) b/c we were pressed for time. The service was horrible. Nobody checked on us after the initial order, they ignored us as we tried to order additional items and they were extremely annoyed when our 1 year old baby dropped his pizza on the floor (bus boy came over and literally stared us down). The two waitresses working there also stared at us and talked about us the entire time which made me feel very uncomfortable.

While eating, I noticed a sign at the pizza counter that said that gratuity was automatically included in the bill and to let the restaurant know if you want tip amount to be adjusted. I assumed this was put in place due to the large number of tourists they receive since the restaurant is located in Times Square. A lot of tourists don't tip. When we were finished eating, the waitress came over and literally threw our check on our table and ran away. She never asked us if we wanted anything else, etc. I approached the waitress with our bill and I told her to remove the tip from the bill for horrible service. She seemed angry but brought the check back with no tip. On the way out, I told the cashier that I was appalled by the service/treatment, that I was not a tourist and that I was going to spread the word to my coworkers and never return. I had the feeling they thought we were tourists.

When I got home, I compared our bill on Saturday to a bill I had from last week (when I was there on business lunch) and I noticed that ALL the prices were higher! We were completely RIPPED OFF!!! I could not believe they raised all the prices on us!! On Saturday, they charged us $3.50 for each soft drink (one was a kid's cup). The last bill had all adult soft drinks at $2.75. The oniline menu (checked yesterday) also lists soft drinks as $2.75! We also paid $21 for a large plain pie on Saturday but I paid $17.95 for the same pizza last week. The online menu (checked yesterday) also shows the extra large pie is $21 but we ordered a large pie which should have been $17.95. We were ripped off again. They also charged us $3.50 for a side of marinara sauce for our garlic knots. Their online menu has a side of marinara sauce listed as $2.50. Ripped off again!

They should not be allowed to get away with this. I am sure that I am not the first customer that was ripped off by these people. I think that every tourist that comes in on the weekend pays elevated prices while being treated like garbage.

Shame on Bella Vita!