Man left with eye-watering Valentine’s Day bill after misreading wine list

A man who admitted his “brain misfired“ while ordering wine for his Valentine’s Day meal was landed with an unexpectedly large bill - but says he took it in his stride.

He booked a Valentine’s Day meal for him and his girlfriend, who he met after living in Japan for the last two years, and admits that he doesn’t usually splurge

He says he asked the waiter for advice on what wine they should enjoy but eventually chose a 2013 bottle of Amuse Bouche, thinking the options suggested were too expensive.

The pair were already stuck into the wine, which he thought cost about Sh9,100 (£60), when the true price was revealed, which is closer to Sh91,000 (£600).

Whoops.

Luckily he took it in his stride - and the pair really enjoyed the bottle.

He shared the tale on Reddit, writing: "So I’ve been living in Japan for almost two years now and have been seeing a girl for about six months.

"Today being Valentine’s Day, I made reservations for a course meal at a hotel restaurant.

"Admittedly, it’s not my usual style; I’m perfectly happy going to cheap izakayas and that kind of thing, but variety is the spice of life and we both decided it would be nice to dress up a little and have a fancy meal.

"Two course meals were already going to set me back a pretty penny, but the f*** up was when it came time to order drinks.

"As befits a romantic dinner, we decided on a bottle of wine.

"I have long since decided not to pretend to be a wine expert and to just ask the servers for their recommendation when it comes to this kind of thing.

"Our waiter went for the drink menu, came back with a tablet, and made a few suggestions, all around the Sh16,500 (¥16,000) price range.

"Of course I tried not to let it show, but I thought that was a bit on the expensive side and swiped to an Sh8,700 ($80) alternative. I asked him if it’s a good wine.

“Oh, that’s a very good wine, sir.”

"I told him we’d go with that one, and he politely took the order and left."

It turns out he had misunderstood the waiter slightly, and the bottle was actually much more expensive.

He said: "My girlfriend spent the next 10 minutes or so joking about the wine ordering process, and I thought she was making fun of me for going with a cheaper wine. Fair enough.

"The wine was served to us and we both agreed it was really good.

"She kept going with the joking, though, and it was when she said that she hoped that it was 80,000 yen and not 80,000 dollars that it finally hit me.

"Somehow, even after living here for as long as I have, my brain misfired and I equated 80,000 yen with $80 when it’s actually more like Sh87,500 ($800).

"By that point, we were well into the bottle and there was no going back."

Owning up to the mistake and even managing to find it funny, he continued: "Needless to say, that was a shocker, but I did my best to take it in stride and just enjoy it.

"She was pretty cool about it too, laughing about it but also showing concern about the (for us) outrageous price.

"I’m fortunate enough to not have to worry about it, and I’m thankful for that, but my bank account definitely took a hit tonight.

"I had to mentally prepare myself for when the bill arrived.

"Anyway, as I told her, we’ll just be drinking tap water for the next 10 Valentine’s Days."

After sharing the experience on Reddit, one person commented to say: "At least it tasted good! And you won’t be making the same mistake twice!!

Another added: "And noticing the mistake early and being able to savor the expensive treat a bit instead of being surprised by the bill!"