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When Sally Tsai and her family visited one of Brisbane’s most well-known fine-dining restaurants while on a trip from Taiwan, they mostly got what they expected: small, elegant servings and a big bill.
But it wasn’t until after her trip that Tsai noticed the bill from Restaurant Dan Arnold – the two-hatted French-meets-Aussie cuisine establishment named after its chef – was even bigger than she thought.
The restaurant had charged her a $400 fee three times after she made the booking, with Dan Arnold’s name listed next to each of the charges.
“It’s not like it’s being spammed … it’s [spaced out] around 13 hours afterwards,” Tsai said.
A booking confirmation email from the restaurant to Tsai, seen by this masthead, states the restaurant does not charge booking fees.
Tsai said only one of the payments was deducted from her bill when they dined at the Fortitude Valley restaurant on July 10.
When she noticed the triple charge, Tsai wrote to the restaurant and their booking service, SevenRooms, requesting a refund.
SevenRooms wrote back to say restaurants are responsible for their own charges, but Tsai said the restaurant has not responded to her since.
“Zero word, zero response,” Tsai said.
This masthead has also spoken to another Restaurant Dan Arnold customer who said they had similar issues but eventually got their money back.
Tsai has logged a complaint with the Office of Fair Trading, which is attempting to facilitate conciliation between her and the restaurant.
Arnold said the extra payments appeared to be due to a third-party provider, and the restaurant never received extra money from an “isolated number of affected guests”.
“Upon becoming aware of the issue, we confirmed that the duplicate charges were disputed and the dispute is currently being processed through the relevant payment provider,” he said.
“While we have taken the necessary steps on our end, the final processing time is subject to the payment provider and the guest’s financial institution.
“We are aware of Ms Tsai’s inquiry and have been in communication regarding the matter.”
Arnold opened the restaurant, also known as RDA, in 2018 to critical acclaim after spending the better part of a decade in France working in Michelin-starred restaurants.
In 2022 Arnold also took over another renowned Brisbane French restaurant, La Cache a Vin, before selling his stake to co-owner Romain Maunier in 2025.
The next year, he launched Pneuma, with former GOMA Restaurant chef Matt Blackwell in the Brisbane CBD, before that closed in July 2025.
Upon his departure from Pneuma, Blackwell, who was the creative force of the restaurant, said he did not agree with the direction the business was heading.
“Day to day, it’s all going well … but the direction it’s going is not where I’m wanting to be at the moment. So it makes sense to call it now,” he said at the time.
More than a year later, Arnold finds himself in a legal matter with another Brisbane hospitality identity, Happy Boy co-owner Cameron Votan, who previously operated a restaurant in the space where Pneuma later opened and who has taken action against him.
That matter was filed in the Brisbane District Court in May, and remains unresolved.
Arnold is yet to file a defence.
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