A restaurant in Venice that charged a group of Japanese tourists €1,143 (£994) for four steaks Florentine, a plate of mixed grilled fish, two glasses of wine and mineral water faces fines totalling at least €20,000 (£17,400), according to local media.

The La Nuova Venezia newspaper said police and local authority checks carried out at the Osteria da Luca near St Mark’s Square uncovered breaches of health and safety and food hygiene regulations, as well commercial code infringements including issues over the accurate description of goods. “Together, the infringements – not all of which have yet been formally notified – produce total fines running into tens of thousands of euros,” the paper said. No grounds were found to shut the restaurant down, it said.

The Osteria da Luca – which has a rating of 1.5 stars on Tripadvisor, with 83% of reviews classed as “terrible” – faces further awkward questions from financial crime investigators over its failure to give the group a full receipt detailing their meal.(theguardian)…[+]