Catshanghai

I just posted this message on the Shanghai Expat message board after having a very bad experience at the Saleya Restaurant.

I’ve just had a crazy experience at the French restaurant, Saleya on Changle Lu.

My wife and I ordered the 3 plate set menu to share. The food was OK, but we had trouble when we asked for the bill. I expected to pay 148 RMB for 3 plates as listed on the board, but about 6 people gave us 3 bills that kept going up and down. The waitresses could not speak English and did not know what they were doing. The board did not say that one plate was an extra 88 RMB and that couples could not share their food without paying a lot more. Before, I asked the waitress whether we could share the 3 plate deal and she said we could.

First we were told to pay 298 RMB. My third bill went up from 218 to 248 RMB so I left 220 RMB on the table. At this point, an angry bald Frenchman followed me on to the street demanding that I pay the extra 30 RMB and did I know what it was like to run a restaurant? This man was very rude and quite aggressive so I paid up, but told him that he was not treating his customers with respect.

Dear Saleya, I expect you to make your prices much clearer for customers so they know how much it will cost them. Issuing three bills and chasing a customer on to the street for 30 RMB after you have overcharged them is very bad service. Your staff kept making mistakes with the bill and never said sorry. I feel you were playing some sort of crazy game, which I do not expect from a professional French restaurant in the centre of Shanghai.

Customers at Saleya need to take special care to avoid getting ripped off.