Ever felt like you’ve paid far too much for a meal on holiday? You might have been the victim of a tourist trap restaurant.
Restaurants that are designed to attract tourists may be very expensive and the food might not be authentic local cuisine.
However, sometimes they can be very hard to spot, especially if you’re new to the city and can’t speak the language.
Frequent travellers have shared their top tips to avoid tourist trap restaurants and luckily there are a few simple ways to spot them.
Reddit user ‘spaghetticola’ said: “The tourist trap restaurants (overpriced with mediocre food) are easy to spot a mile away.
“Like someone else commented, they’ll be around the main tourist attractions and often have vast outdoor seating.
“Location alone can’t dictate a tourist trap, but there are two big tells. One is a promoter outside, a waiter standing next to the menu and speaking English attracting people over to take a look.
“These people are basically salesmen dressed as waiters and you’d be best off politely declining or not making eye contact in the first place.”
Promoters may try to attract tourists to eat at a restaurant but guests may not be shown the prices before taking a seat.
The person added: “If there are pictures of the food on some big laminated menu where everything is in English, get out!”
Another traveller said: “Avoid restaurants too close to tourist attractions and take pictures of the menus outside the restaurant.
“Some of them may try to charge you more once inside. Also try to get to the average price of common things.”
If you’re struggling to find a suitable restaurant, try asking hotel staff for their recommendations.
Restaurants that are further away from busy tourist areas will often be cheaper and may have more local visitors.
