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How embarrassing to order a meal at a restaurant and recognise it as a product from your local budget supermarket.

It might be okay if it was a cheap fast-food shack offering convenience to passing travellers. Not so forgivable at a venue presenting itself as an upmarket restaurant with prices to match.

The kids ordered pizza. What arrived, they immediately recognised as a not-very-well cooked frozen pizza from Bim. My sister-in-law ordered a pide, which turned out to be another value frozen meal.

The rest of us ordered grilled trout, thinking it deserving of its high price. But what arrived was a nearly empty plate, featuring a small portion accompanied by half a tomato, a heap of shredded lettuce and a quarter of a lemon.

Settling the bill at the counter, the manager had no choice but to  listen to disgruntled customers offering pointed commentary on their offering. On admitting that we had caught them out on the supermarket frozen meals, he grudgingly offered us a discount.

Naturally, we understand that the 800% markup across the board covers not just the cost of ingredients but also pays the wages of staff, pays the rent, and keeps the lights on. Hospitality is a cut-throat business, after all.

But there’s covering costs, and there’s exploiting customers — many of them tourists from overseas, who wouldn’t know any better. I suppose their justification would be: “Rich Arabs!”

Better to stay off the tourist trail if you can.