Restaurant owner in Italy tracks down French dine and dash tourists and hands them the bill

Tourists enjoyed pizza and spritz before doing a runner.

Two French tourists who left a restaurant in an Italian seaside town without paying their bill were stunned when the restaurateur tracked them down the next day.

The two women had enjoyed a pizza each and several glasses of spritz at a restaurant in Civitanova Marche, on the Adriatic coast in the Marche region, running up a bill of €44.

However instead of paying, the pair decided to do a runner, walking out the front door of the Ai Due Re pizzeria.

“They arrived without a reservation” – the pizzeria’s owner Michela Malatini told newspaper Il Resto del Carlino – “They ordered two pizzas and several spritzes, four or six. When it was time to pay, they got up and walked out the front door, slowly walking away.”

It wasn’t the first time Malatini had encountered such incidents – a few days earlier her staff had foiled a similar attempt by another tourist couple to run off without paying – but this time she decided not to let it slide.

Through word of mouth with other restaurateurs in the town, she discovered where the two customers were staying.

The next morning, with permission from the owner of their guest accommodation, Malatini knocked on the door of the French tourists, showing them the video that incriminated them.

“They were sleeping” – she said – “I asked if there had been a problem with the bill and showed them the security camera footage. They didn’t say a word, but they paid.”

“It’s not so much about the amount as it is about the act” – Malatini explained – “We work hard, and seeing customers trying to leave without paying is a slap in the face for our work.”