Restaurant Scams in Mumbai, India
Inflated bills, hidden charges, tourist menus, and food service tricks. Below are the restaurant scams scams reported in Mumbai — how they work and how to avoid them.
For broader context, compare this scam type with nearby destinations like Kandy, Amritsar, and Kochi.
Last updated: April 7, 2026
2
Restaurant Scams Scams
18
Total in Mumbai
How it works
Some tourist-facing restaurants in Mumbai add a compulsory service charge of 5–10% without clearly disclosing it, and a few establishments add it on top of GST in a way that inflates the final bill significantly above the displayed menu price. India's Consumer Affairs Ministry ruled in 2022 that restaurants cannot levy mandatory service charges, yet enforcement is patchy and tourist areas remain higher risk. A Mumbai consumer court fined a restaurant in 2024 for exactly this practice.
How it works
At some tourist-targeted restaurants in South Mumbai, staff present the bill in Indian Rupees but then process the card payment using dynamic currency conversion (DCC) at a highly unfavourable exchange rate, or manually enter a higher foreign currency amount. Tourists have reported being charged significantly more in their home currency than the rupee amount on the bill.
See all scams in Mumbai
18 total warnings across all categories