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A couple were left feeling ‘conned’ after receiving a restaurant bill to find they’d been charged a whopping €125 (£106) for a dish of prawns, which worked out as an eye-watering £20 apiece.
Dean and Kerry Cadywould have been heading to the same holiday hotspot for the past 10 years, but found their latest sunny trip was hit with a bit of a dampener when they decided to check out a new restaurant.
The couple had enjoyed a ‘perfect’ day driving around the island of Lanzarote when they headed out for dinner on 20 January where they were served a bread basket, five king prawns, Canarian potatoes and two drinks.
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Dean, from Leigh-on-sea, Essex, said: "We asked for the bill, they brought it over and it's for €137. My wife's face dropped.
"I said 'what's wrong?' She said, 'it's €137'. The prawns weren't worth €25 never mind €125.
"[The owner] came over and said 'Yes, I know, sorry they're expensive'.
"We got home, I put it on Facebook and someone said the price has to be displayed.
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"I went marching back there. I was that incensed, I was furious. I just felt cheated, he knew exactly what he was doing.
"It just takes advantage of tourists. We'd had an amazing day, an amazing holiday, and it 100% ruined our night."
The couple had been at seafront restaurant Casa Pedro, Playa Blanca, with Dean, 55, asking staff if they had any prawns - his wife’s favourite.
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The 55-year-old magician, who owns a balloon shop, continued: "My wife loves prawns, so I just mentioned king prawns. They went 'oh hang on, let me go to the kitchen and see if we have any'.
"They came out with these prawns and we looked at them and thought 'lovely'.
"So they bring it out [the prawns] on a silver tray, five king prawns all in their shell, about eight Canarian potatoes and a few slices of tomato and lettuce. That is it.
"My wife and me, we didn't want to cause a scene but we just sort of looked at each other with an inquisitive smile, thinking 'how does this work?'
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"[We got] two and half king prawns as our main [course] which we had to shell. There's hardly any meat.
"That's before I knew I was being ripped off.
"The whole thing was so bizarre."
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The bread and butter cost the pair €4, the drinks equalled €8, while the prawns set them back €125 - a price tag Dean claims he and Kerry were totally unaware of.
Dean paid the bill, but after growing increasingly ‘incensed’, he returned to the restaurant to complain.
He was offered a €40 refund, but doesn’t feel it was enough – saying he believes Casa Pedro is taking advantage of unassuming tourists.
However the restaurant explained that the couple enjoyed Carabineros prawns, a prized and more expensive type of prawn with flavours more akin to lobster.
"It was a super day and it just really bugged me,” Dean added.
“They were just taking the mickey.
"It wound me up. I just don't like being conned.
"[The next] morning we kind of smiled about it and put it behind us. It does rile you up though.
"My wife and I want to move out there eventually but we'd never go back there. It was so bad."
Casa Pedro, which has a 3.7 star rating on Google, has since claimed that the couple were served Carabineros red prawns, which are coveted for their size and flavour.
The prawns are known for being more expensive than regular shellfish, with the restaurant saying they are much more like red lobster.
Tyla has reached out to Casa Pedro for further comment.
Topics: Food and Drink, Travel
Jess Hardiman