Uncovering the best of the Greek islands
In this week's TravelSmart, the Greek islands are under the spotlight, from the pretty ports and fascinating history of Crete to Zante's hilltop towns, soaring mountains and exceptionally blue waters.
Travel Correspondent Simon Calder shares some of the best bits of the popular islands of Santorini and Mykonos, while The Independent's Global Travel Editor Annabel Grossman reveals which spots will allow you to escape the tourist crowds for a more authentic experience, including Symi and Chalki.
Watch TravelSmart on Independent TV.
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Times
3 hours ago
- Times
This pervasive dining trend is set to wreck my summer holiday
I've just spent three marvellous days in Greece — sun, sea and some great friends, with whom I relished sharing precious downtime. I did not enjoy sharing my taramasalata. Each mealtime our group of six gather would around the same table — either at the hotel where we were staying or in local restaurants. As friends travelling together, of course we did. It was with a sinking heart, however, that I quickly realised we were to share our meals too, thanks to the pervasive — and frankly unwelcome — trend for 'sharing plates'. My joy at perusing each mealtime menu was tempered by the near certainty that my choice would not just be for me, but for all of us. A choice, no doubt, that my dining companions would instantly find more alluring than theirs, and which would fast disappear before my eyes, leaving me to dip into a selection of confusing and dissatisfying alternative mismatched 'bites'. The phrase 'for the table' has become the mantra of those with short-term tastebuds but is the curse of the single-minded diner; the gustatory deficit disorder that plagues our palate in the same way that the smartphone meddles with our minds. The culture of sharing plates is no longer limited to restaurants that specialise in suitable dishes — tapas, for example, or thali, where one can at least expect compatible flavours. In fact it's just one iteration of a wider trend for communal dining, a term applied to a range of set-ups, from disparate diners sharing food and tables, to restaurant guests sitting around a communal table eating individual à la carte orders. It is a veritable buffet of culinary experiences. That said, I can just about cope with starters 'for the table', when I can program my brain to accept dipping in and out of different dishes — I think of it as seated canapés. And puddings, well, I'll rarely have more than a spoonful anyway and it's often off my husband's plate. But main courses? If Iberico pork was meant to be eaten with vegetable biryani, it would come as a menu suggestion, not as carelessly deposited spoonfuls of incongruous flavours rattling around my dinner plate. Even worse, is the expectation that diners share elbow room with complete strangers along trestle tables, now common in even the most traditional of tavernas. It's all very lovely in theory. Meals out, whether on holiday or not, are often a celebratory, convivial affair. Why not share the love — and your food — with other people? Psychologists point to communal eating as a way to connect and to support mental health — the 2025 World Happiness Report ranks shared meals as one of the greatest factors in wellbeing, on a par with income and employment status. Research published in the journal of Adaptive Human Behavior and Physiology suggests that social meals stimulate endorphins and are vital to connection with other people — a time when you are more likely to open up, swap stories and discuss ideas. This may well be true, but surely this doesn't mean being forced to sit with a group of strangers and pay for the dubious pleasure? Because, please, the conversation I most want to have over the rare treat of a meal out in an equally rare moment of downtime is with my husband or friend, not small talk with someone I don't know. The sceptic in me wonders if this is a case of providence disguised as preference — after all, those hotels and restaurants that offer it are not just benefiting from the economy of space (more customers per square metre) but from the novelty value too. A straw poll of my fellow Greece guests revealed that, unlike me, most were in favour of the sharing plate, although there was less enthusiasm for communal tables. Nearly all said that they would prefer to dine with their chosen companions than be seated with strangers. So who is it that is feeding this pernicious trend? • 16 of the best quiet Greek islands Back in the London office, I'm surrounded by 'people people' who proclaim to love a shared table. 'It's a study in psychology and I love it!' says one such minded colleague. 'Watching marital breakdown over a schnitzel is my favourite pastime,' she adds. 'I can always spot the signs.' (I too can spot said signs, but prefer to do so from at least a table's distance. Still, each to their own.) There are places, I acknowledge — beyond the family meal or domestic dinner party — where it works, by and large, where every diner eats the same menu, at the same time, and often has a shared experience too. Take, for example, a safari. Here, it's essential. How else can you effectively download the wonder of your game drives and those of your fellow campers? (Or, if you're unlucky with your cohort, trade information on house prices in London, Suffolk and the Cotswolds?) Similarly, communal dining has long been a customary part of the cruise ship experience, particularly river cruises, and is something passengers are almost uniformly enthusiastic about. Here, forewarned is forearmed, and with a greater pool of people to play with (or avoid) there are ways for even the uninitiated to enhance their experience. These are, I'm reliably informed: get to dinner five minutes before the restaurant opens to occupy a seat that's near the window with a view. Prime positioning is important because you may find that people want to sit in the same place every night, but remember, it's first come, first seated. If your first night found you alongside international-level competitive travel bores intent on proving that they've been to more places than you, you are going to want to know your table rights for the next night. But, Wendy Atkin-Smith, the managing director of Viking UK, says, such lengths are rarely required, and in fact these tables are where lifelong friends are made on board. 'Our river ships offer a very intimate experience and our guests all get to know each other very quickly,' she says. 'Our communal tables are very popular and are definitely part of the whole river voyage experience — we don't have any kind of fixed seating so guests are at liberty to move around each evening to meet fellow travellers in a very relaxed and convivial setting.' But what of hotel restaurants — those rarefied centres of intimacy, of romantic dinners, of illicit encounters, and of well-deserved quality family time. Why would they want to mix it up with one big table of potentially gastronomic and social discord? Well, it turns out they are often bringing people together around a shared experience too. For some, it's nothing new. Stuart Smith, the brand home manager at Glenmorangie House, a farmhouse-turned-boutique hotel for visitors to the distillery, says communal dining has been at the heart of its Highland hospitality for 30 years. 'Our dinner party format fosters a uniquely warm and convivial atmosphere,' he says. 'We've even seen groups who first met around our table continue to reunite here every few years, a testament to the enduring bonds formed in this special setting.' Others are doing it to create connections with the past. Flore, the restaurant at De l'Europe in Amsterdam which reopened in April after a makeover, has created a communal table crafted from a single elm felled not far from the hotel. 'It creates a connection between guests and the city's natural heritage,' says chef Bas van Kranen. 'Seating has been designed to allow solo diners, couples, groups of four, and larger parties to all sit together around the same table. The communal table experience pairs diners randomly, they don't get to choose their seat — we find that this breaks down the traditional barriers of fine dining in a way that brings people together rather than isolating them.' At Killiehuntly Farmhouse in the Cairngorms, part of the Wildland conservation network, guests in the main house begin their day together over bowls of porridge with cream and fresh berries at a long, scrubbed farmhouse table. At Lundies House, 120 miles further north in Lairg, dinner is more refined, but no less social. Here communal dining is not a gimmick but a way of life, Ruth Kramer, the head of design at Wildland, says. 'In an era of individualism, there's something quietly radical about sitting down with strangers to eat a meal. It's a gentle return to something older and simpler: the table as a place of welcome, nourishment and unexpected connection.' So I guess if, like me, you don't want an unexpected connection that goes beyond the food, then research before you reserve. Leave the trestle tables and the small plates for the more caring, sharing diners out there, and raise your glass to a summer of enjoying your own dish from the comfort of your own table. Do you enjoy communal dining or would you rather eat alone? Let us know in the comments below
Daily Mail
5 hours ago
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Revealed: The sneaky tactics used by pushy restaurant staff on Greek holiday island to rip off Brits
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. TripAdvisor and Google to find out what methods were being used to rip off customers. MailOnline found the following 'tricks' were being used to fleece tourists: 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. 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. 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. 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 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 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. ADVERTISEMENT What arrived was a colossal 1L glass filled with heavily diluted Coke which was too flat to drink. 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. ADVERTISEMENT 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. 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. ADVERTISEMENT 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. '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.' ADVERTISEMENT 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. '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. ADVERTISEMENT '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.'
Daily Mail
5 hours ago
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Revealed: The sneaky tactics used by pushy bar and restaurant staff on Greek holiday island to rip off Brit holidaymakers
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. 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. 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 Polloniatissa who, when the reporter tells him she has waited half an hour to pay, asks if she can 'go to an ATM?' 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. 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 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 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. 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. 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. '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. '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.
