Question 1

What is the "No-Menu Restaurant Overcharging" scam in Jerusalem?

Accepted Answer

Several restaurants near Jaffa Gate and along tourist routes in the Old City operate without posted menus or price lists, enabling them to charge wildly inflated prices after the meal is finished. In the most documented case, a tourist was charged 10,100 NIS (approximately $2,800) for a standard shawarma platter. A former employee revealed to Israeli television that the scam involves quoting a price in shekels verbally but charging that same number in US dollars or euros. Complimentary-seeming starters such as hummus, salads, and pita are delivered unasked and then charged separately at tourist-targeting prices. Always demand a menu with prices listed before ordering anything. If no written menu is provided, leave immediately. Confirm the currency before paying, and if a bill seems wrong, photograph the receipt and contact local consumer protection authorities or tourist police.

Question 2

What is the "Restaurant Credit Card Bill Inflation" scam in Jerusalem?

Accepted Answer

A well-documented scam in Old City restaurants and the Arab shuk involves charging significantly more to a tourist credit card than the agreed bill amount. Methods include adding a zero to the total (charging 2,500 NIS instead of 250 NIS), running the card multiple times, or presenting a handwritten receipt for the correct amount while submitting a different figure to the card terminal. One documented case involved a tourist charged $2,500 on a MasterCard for a lunch that cost approximately $20. The scam is particularly difficult to detect in the moment because terminals show amounts in NIS that tourists cannot quickly convert. Always check the card terminal display before inserting or tapping your card and verify the NIS amount matches your bill. Request an itemized printed receipt and compare it to the terminal amount. Use a credit card with zero foreign transaction liability and check your statement within 24 hours. When in doubt, pay in cash with exact change after verifying each item on the bill.

Restaurant Scams in Jerusalem

No-Menu Restaurant Overcharging

Restaurant Credit Card Bill Inflation

Experienced a scam here?