By Eleanor Dye
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An American couple were slapped with an eye-watering $860 bill after a meal and drinks at a notorious Mykonos restaurant where the owner defends its extortionate prices.
Jessica Yarnall, 31, and Adam Hagaun, 30, from Montana, say they believed the cocktails to be $27 each when they ordered at DK Oyster bar by Platys Gialos beach in Mykonos.
However the pair say after enjoying two mojitos, four crab legs and a Greek salad, they were handed a bill for a staggering $860.
When they challenged the bill, they claim staff produced a ‘shot glass’ drink that they said was an example of the $26.80 mojito and informed them that their mojitos were different ones, at $107 per drink.
The menu made it appear like it was $40 for a crab leg but in reality it was $40 for a gram of crab leg with a minimum amount to place an order.
It is not the first time the restaurant has caught tourists unawares. Alex and Lindsey Breen, 40, from Canada, were staggered to be hit with a $410 bill after they went in for a ‘quick snack’ on their honeymoon in May.
Jessica Yarnall, 31, and Adam Hagaun, 30, were slapped with an eye-watering $860 bill after a meal and drinks at a notorious Mykonos restaurant
The couple say they believed the cocktails to be $25 each when they looked at the menu (pictured)
They ordered four crabs legs, a Greek salad and a mojito each and were shocked at the extortionate bill
The latest rip-off scandal follows an investigation by DailyMail.com last year, as the team went inside the beach bar to find that foreigners were charged $18 per oyster and hundreds for a drink.
Locals were found to pay just a fraction of the price while staff members laughed about ripping off unsuspecting tourists.
A cocktail from DK Oyster
A local shop worker who ordered in Greek was told that he could have six oysters for just $30 – and at $5 per oyster it’s nearly a quarter of the $18 per oyster foreign holidaymakers have had to pay.
Hair stylist Jessica says she was left in disbelief at the shocking sum but said staff insisted that they paid up so they settled the bill in cash and left.
Jessica and construction worker Adam had spent two years saving for the trip and travelled to Athens, Mykonos and Santorini in May 2022 before flying home to Montana, USA.
She emphasized that they had only sat down to eat because the menu made it seem like it was affordable.
Jessica said: ‘There were waiters outside trying to get people in. They asked if we wanted to eat and we said we’d get one drink.
‘I’d asked for a menu with prices to make sure it was in our price range. The menu made it seem like a really affordable place to eat.
‘We sat down and talked about whether to eat or not. They were very pushy. We thought maybe that’s how it is and we didn’t want to be rude.
‘We asked what was good and they said crab legs and a Greek salad so we said ‘ok let us think about it’ then they brought out bread rolls.
‘We told them we didn’t order anything yet and they said we had. There was a little bit of a language barrier so we think when we said we’d think about it he thought we meant yes so when we were trying to work out how much it was going to cost they started bringing out the food and they said we definitely ordered this.
‘It was a forceful moment where we didn’t want to be weird about it but we were also trying to relax. We didn’t want to get into an argument with a server.
‘When he walked away, I asked my boyfriend if he was alright eating it and he said yes, I told him it would probably be a little bit expensive and he said we should just do it.
DK Oyster bar owner Dimitrios Kalamaras (pictured) said Jessica’s account was inaccurate
Jessica and Adam (pictured) had saved for their dream trip around Greece for two years
The notorious DK Oyster Bar by Platis Gialos beach has become notorious as a tourist trap
The Greek island of Mykonos has become the playground of celebrities and the super-rich. Pictured, the popular SantAnna Beach Club
‘I thought worst case scenario it would be $300. We were expecting it to be a little more expensive but not as much as it was with the quality of the food.
‘Adam got the bill and said “it’s bad”. It was over €800 and I thought “absolutely not” so I went to the manager and said I was really confused and wanted to see an itemized bill.’
When discussing the bill, Jessica says she googled their menu and showed it said $25 for a mojito but her bill said €100.
Jessica said: ‘It looked like €38 for a crab leg, it was €38 for a gram of crab leg and there’s a minimum you have to order.
‘He came to the bar and slammed down a shot glass and said “that’s a €25 mojito, you ordered a €100 mojito” and I told him I did not and that I wasn’t given choices.
‘They charged €100 for the grossest mojito, the mint wasn’t nice. It was disgusting.
‘He said we were paying the bill. He didn’t want to have a conversation. They said we had to pay the bill.
‘We were so taken aback that we thought we’d pay the damn bill and get out of there. We were super upset.’
Mykonos is often viewed as a Greek island paradise holiday destination for rich and famous Americans.
Football stars, Hollywood A-listers, singers and models alike all flock to the party isle to spend each summer in the sun.
Stars such as Former Pussycat Doll singer Nicole Sherzinger, Leonardo DiCaprio and Paris Hilton have been known to holiday on the island.
On their website, DK Oyster beside Platys Gialos beach is described as the ‘destination of luxury and style’ in ‘one of the world’s top destinations’.
Jessica says while they were at the beach bar they saw other customers ‘freaking out’ about their own bills.
Jessica says thanks to the astronomical bill, the couple had to cut back on spending on the rest of their trip.
She claims that as well as being the most expensive meal out they had, it was also the worst.
Jessica said: ‘The Greek salad was vegetable and oil so not complicated but it wasn’t the best one we’d had, it got gross really fast. I’m no chef but think the crab legs tasted [bad], it wasn’t amazing and not even worth €100.
‘The vacation was so good apart from this experience, everything else was 11 out of ten. We saved a lot for the trip. We were saving for two years. When we go, we want to have a good experience.
‘When we got back to the hotel, anyone on the island heard from me that day. God bless my boyfriend who said we shouldn’t let the money ruin the rest of the trip but I made a TikTok video and about ten reviews then we tried to make the best of the rest of the trip.
‘We would have done some more nicer dinners and spent that money elsewhere where we had chosen. We would have splurged at other places and not been mindful of spending.’
Greek shop worker Costas, 32, carried out a test to see whether locals would be charged the same prices at the notoriously expensive bar
It is not the first time the DK Oyster bar has caught tourists unaware – with negative reviews and previous complaints
Hair stylist Jessica (left) says she was left in disbelief at the shocking sum but said staff insisted that they paid up so they settled the bill in cash and left
DK Oyster’s TripAdvisor page is flooded with one-star reviews from customers who allege they experienced similar treatment as Jessica and Adam
Last year a DailyMail.com investigation discovered that locals were paying a fraction of the prices dumped on unsuspecting tourists.
A video of journalists confronting the bar staff shows them saying ‘is it 200 dollars? Really? That’s a lot of money.’
The man behind the counter responds by repeating: ‘It was on the menu,’ before moving to cover the camera.
All the victims told how they were not informed of prices before they ordered and were intimidated by burly waiters when handed their bills. Several claimed they were lured into the bar by touts promising them free use of sunbeds if they bought just one drink each.
Greek shop worker Costas, 32, carried out a test to see whether locals would be charged the same prices at the notoriously expensive bar.
He ordered in Greek and was initially warned away by staff who said it was ‘expensive’.
He paid the equivalent of $50.80 for one cocktail by staff who told him ‘it was lucky I wasn’t a tourist, as my drink would’ve been three times the price and one of the bar staff laughed loud’.
Despite saying he wasn’t hungry, he was offered oysters at $30 for a plate of six at $5 each, instead of the $18 per oyster which the French tourists were charged.
DK Oyster became notorious in May 2019 when it charged a group of American tourists more than $800 for six plates of calamari, six beers, three chicken Caesar salad starters, two bottle of water and a glass of tomato juice.
DK Oyster’s TripAdvisor page is flooded with one-star reviews from customers who allege they experienced similar treatment as Jessica and Adam.
One reviewer wrote: ‘Don’t get fooled by their free beds by the beach. They recover the cost by charging you overpriced drinks and food! Their mojito cost $58 each and it’s not even good.’
Another states: ‘I’m not going to get hot under the collar, as I’ve been there and done that. This is an advisory notice to not enter these premises on any circumstances.
‘Unless you want to just give your money away for ridiculously overprices food and drink. Seriously beware of this money pit.’
DK Oyster bar owner Dimitrios Kalamaras said Jessica’s account was inaccurate but refused to state what was inaccurate in it – however he acknowledged that some of their fees can be ‘perceived as high prices’.
In August last year, another couple named Lindsay and Alex Breen hit headlines when they claimed to have been slapped with a staggering €400 bill for a beer, an Aperol spritz and a dozen oysters in the same restaurant.
Recruiter Lindsay said they were in ‘disbelief’ when they saw the tab, as restaurant staff had given them a drinks menu that did not list the prices.
The couple also claim that rather than presenting them with the bill at the table, carpenter Alex was taken to a back room to pay and when he asked for a breakdown, they showed him their computer screen which was all in Greek.
However, Mr Kalamaras defended his prices at the time, bragging that they are simply ‘beyond the budget’ of some of his visitors.
Mr Kalamaras said in August: ‘This false claim [made by Lindsay Breen and husband Alex] has been used so much against our restaurant by dozens of anonymous users in Trip Advisor, that we decided to place three huge blackboards by the entrance of the restaurant displaying the menu and the prices.
‘I thought that this way our guests, if the reviews were indeed written by actual customers, would at least have an idea regarding the range of our prices in order to be sure to check the menu thoroughly before ordering.
‘Every time I received such a complaint, always by anonymous users through Trip Advisor, I consulted with the personnel, reminding that it is crucial for our reputation to be sure that procedures are followed carefully.
‘They always assured me that they abide by the rules. So, I used Tripadvisor to encourage our guests to always browse carefully through the menu and the prices.
‘I cannot stop every single person entering our premises and explain the significance of such a practice. It would be ridiculous.
‘I understand that some people may find our prices beyond their budget and I totally respect their opinion even if they do not appreciate the value of our services, cuisine, concept and experience.
‘We believe that the value of the offered experience is high and we have no intention to explain why we charge more than a supermarket or a traditional taverna, which can be quite wonderful but is surely a completely different concept than ours.’
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