A CUSTOMER was left raging after an Italian restaurant added a sneaky hidden charge to his bill.

The local was dining at a city centre pizzeria in Bari, Italy where he ordered two pizzas, a bottle of water, and a beer.

But the man was left in disbelief when he saw he had been charged 42 pence for a sprinkle of pepper on his pizza.

The incident sparked outrage online with users blasting the “crazy” extra fee as “pathetic”.

The pepper is printed under the pizza on the receipt’s list of items with the 50 cent surcharge (or 43 pence) slapped next to it.

While many have slammed the fee as unfair others have defended the extra charge – deeming it natural to pay more for extra ingredients.

The controversy comes just weeks after Audrey Patisserie in Oderzo, northern Italy, charged a customer for cutting her croissant in half.

The woman had bought two coffees and a pastry to share with her mom.

It wasn’t until she got home, however, that she noticed she was billed for asking staff to split the croissant in half.

After posting about her experience online, she was flooded with responses from raging users bemoaning the restaurant’s “total lack of elegance”.

A dissatisfied customer criticized: “Charging EUR 0.10 to cut a croissant in half shows a clear disregard for customers. It’s completely lacking in elegance, refinement, and empathy.”

“They should bring hotel management students to your restaurant to show them how not to treat your customers. Pathetic.”

While another blasted the restaurant a “disgrace”.

In response to the massive public outcry, owner of the restaurant Massimiliano Viotto defended the charge as a “conscious choice”.

He claimed the extra money was to cover the use of an extra plate and napkin and for the “skill” needed to cut a pastry in half.

He said: “It’s not a scam. It is a conscious choice that we defend with pride.”

Last year, a woman in Arezzo revealed she was slapped with a £50 fee to cut her own birthday cake in a restaurant.

And it’s not the only baffling bill making headlines.

A man has told how he was left scratching his head after a local restaurant added a mysterious “S Charge” to his tab.

The 2.75 per cent extra fee — around 70 cents — appeared despite him paying in cash, meaning it couldn’t be a card surcharge.

After sharing a photo of the receipt online, he commented: “Following a meal at a local restaurant, I noticed an unfamiliar charge on the receipt, something I had never encountered before.”

“I emailed the contact listed on their website a week ago but never received a response.