Bill shock in Dubrovnik

This item appears on page 21 of the December 2009 issue.

We had a surprise in Dubrovnik, Croatia, that hopefully others who read this can avoid. My husband took me out for a belated birthday dinner in May ’09 at Restaurant Nautica (Brsalje 3, 20 000 Dubrovnik, Croatia; phone +385 [0] 20 44 25 26), an excellent restaurant just outside the city walls. The view couldn’t have been better, with the dining terrace sandwiched between lit city walls and a fortress and with the blue Adriatic off to one side.

What we didn’t catch, being completely enticed by the setting, was that part of the menu was in kunas and part was in euros. Imagine our surprise when the bill came and we learned that our choice was in euros and our bill was just below $500!

We laughed it off since the meal and service were excellent and the setting priceless and it was a celebration, but not everyone would find amusement in such a surprise.

NANCY TAN

Fresno, CA