Trattoria da Franco is a cute little Italian restaurant at 305 S. Washington St. in Old Town Alexandria VA. They look to have a pattern of ripping off customer's credit cards. Here's a review from a traveller from Columbus OH:
"My husband and I were passing through Alexandria on our return from Mount Vernon to our hotel in Shady Grove, Maryland, when we spotted the very charming Trattoria da Franco and decided to stop for dinner. We actually had a lovely meal. We enjoyed the food and our service was fine. The bottled beer was pricey -- close to $6 for a Moretti's. We thought we had a really nice experience there until we got home from vacation and got our credit card statement, which showed a plus-$22.85 discrepancy. We had left a cash tip, and did not write in a tip on the credit card receipt. When we disputed the charge with our credit card company, they contacted the restaurant. The restaurant sent them a copy of the "original" receipt, but it clearly showed that a tip had been written in (not in my husband's handwriting) and that the total amount had been written over. Appalling! Clearly, this isn't a review of the food or atmosphere or service, which was fine, but it's a word to the wise about the way they do business at this restaurant." Submitted by Count_on-it Columbus, Ohio
It's not just the tourists who are reporting fraud. Here's another similar experience:
"We made a reservation for a midweek later dinner for 6 - which was fine then, but once we arrived at said time, the staff seemed less than thrilled we were there, and gasp! wanting to sit outside on one of the last nice evenings of the year - but we simply ignored them and went on our merry way. Nestled into our seats and ordered a round of mixed drinks and Peronis - which were slow to be served, but stiff. As the rest of the group trickled in we ordered a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc - it was crisp and delicious. Next was a bottle of red (which kind has slipped my mind), probably had a bit too much, hence my not so specific recount of the drinks and the meal to come. The waiter did a great job helping us pair options, and giving us some free pours of chianti to pass around and sniff and sip and ooh and ahh over. We forced all the boys to try the red, which they silently poured into surrounding potted plants - kidding, but two out of the three still aren't grown up enough to love it, so we had some glasses to finish off - and I was up for the challenge.
We ordered the fried calamari as an appetizer and I was hooked once I saw they included the tentacles - huge tentacle fan - no silly chewy rings for moi. Each of us were able to have a small couple of plates while chatting. For my entree I chose a combination of the calamari salad, and the tomato and mozzarella salad. Both were subpar, but I admit I did not go all out Italian for the meal, so my opinion is skewed due to my sissy salad combination - but regardless, I have had better of each. The rest of the table ordered a variety of pastas - from red sauces, to seafood filled noodles, to carbonara - which everyone raved about. No one came close to finishing any of the entrees, so i got my chance to taste them the way I secretly prefer pasta (cold the next AM right from the to-go box) and it was indeed delicious.
Franco made multiple cameos through out the meal, and we even managed to snag a photo with cut out Franco, complete with his wooden arm doing a faux grabbing my roommate's butt. she liked it.
The one main downer was a few days after the fact. We were a large group, so they tacked on gratuity. The boys added a bit extra, but I guess the staff took it upon themselves to add more once we left? Two return trips to straighten out the extra charges later, the charge still remains after assurance from manager that they would immediately remove the additional, never validated by the owner of the card, charge. My recommendation is to use cash and eat there early - otherwise, Franco and his crew may rob ya blind." Submitted by san b. of Arlington VA
This is not a cheap restaurant by any standard, so I don't know why there is a pattern of ripping off customers. Here's another review from Alexandria:
"On January 31, 2009, I was a member of a 16 person dinner party celebrating the birthday of a friend at Trattoria Da Franco (305 S. Washington St., Alexandria VA, 22314). I enjoyed the food. However, when we received the check, and everyone had chipped in for their portion of the meal, all of us were surprise that we were significantly short. The bill only provided a total and did not itemize our meals. After polling each person (which was relatively easy since most of us had ordered the same priced meal and only one person had ordered a beverage), we realized that we had been overcharged by nearly $100.
We confronted our waiter over the mistake and requested that an itemized bill be presented to us. After much discussion with the waiter, the manager became involved. The manager refused to provide an itemized bill, and explained that we had simply been charged a flat per-person rate of $24. However, most meals were only $18, and some peopled had not ordered meals at all. The rate of $24 was explained as being less expensive than we otherwise would be the case. We insisted on paying menu prices. In the end, rather than further upset the birthday celebration, we simply paid the amount they argued that we owed. I, for example, paid $65 for $33 in food.
This instance is one of the most bizarre and surreal dinning experiences that I have had. I assume that the restaurant thought we would divide the check evenly, without further thought as to why the bill was so high. I can only describe the conduct on the part of Trattoria Da Franco as flagrant and a bald faced lie.
Further, when some individuals received their card statement to sign, some were illegible or incompletely filled out (the restaurant still uses carbons rather than point of sale terminals). This was of great concern to me, because the first (and only other time) that I ate at Trattoria Da Franco, I was overcharged $40 on my credit card. I see that several reviewers on the internet have been similarly overcharged." Submitted by B J. Alexandria, VA
Well you have to guess the reason that I'm writing about this in my blog. Yes, that's right. Trattoria da Franco nailed me too. I was billed twice for the same dinner. They billed me once for the meal plus tip and again for the meal without the tip. When my wife contacted them to question they bill, they said they'd "look into it". A week later, they're still looking into it.
It's only a matter of $50 and I guess they figure that most folks will give up. I was going to call and threaten to let the world know about them ripping me off but when I learned that this wasn't an accident but rather a pattern of behaviour I knew I had to let the world know. I will be contacting the Commonwealth Attorney in Alexandria, as I have a close personal contact with one of the City's attorneys. It's important that this sort of thing is stopped because it's not only bad for the tourists and customers, it's bad for the entire City of Alexandria.
My word to Trattoria Da Franco is to watch Gran Torino. I call particular attention to the line when Clint Eastwood says, "Every now and then you run into the guy that you shouldn't have f****ed with. That guy is me."
I'll keep you posted.
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