A couple pictured leaving a restaurant without paying their hefty £329 bill have been accused of “dining and dashing” at a string of restaurants over the last year.
Staff at the Bella Ciao Italian restaurant in Port Talbot say the couple ordered expensive steaks, double desserts, and 15 bottles of drinks on Friday in a group of eight – then left without paying the £329 bill.
But allegedly, this isn’t the couple’s first offence with them targeting seven restaurants across Wales over the last year.
Staff at The Somerset Arms in Port Talbot, The Longbow Beefeater in Pontyclun, the Chilli Too Indian restaurant in Clydach, La Casona in Skewen, the Riverhouse Lounge and Restaurant in Swansea and The Yard in Cowbridge told the Mail they also believe they were targetted by the couple and their family.
It is understood the pair arrive in a blue Ford van and order the most expensive dishes before fleeing.
In February, the Mediterranean eatery La Casona in Skewen said it had reported the couple to the police after ‘robbing’ them. Two months later, the restaurant published images of the woman.
And in August, the couple allegedly targeted the River House Lounge & Restaurant in Swansea and ran up a “hefty bill” before “carefully disappearing”.
CCTV images released at the time showed the man and woman at the premises at the time of the alleged ‘dine and dash’.
Tyrone Reese, the manager of Bella Ciao, recounted to The Mirror that his wife became suspicious when the diners began returning half-eaten dishes. “They were ordering the most expensive things on the menu, like T-bone steaks and the like,” he explained.
“My wife said, ‘Something’s not right.’ They went full-on with their order but they were also sending plates back half empty.”
The saga continued as the mother attempted to settle the bill using a savings account card, which was declined twice. She then purportedly assured the staff that her son would remain as she retrieved her “other card”, but he ran out of the restaurant before she returned.
The family-run restaurant was dealt a further blow upon discovering that the contact number provided by the family was “fake”. With no alternative, he felt compelled to report the incident to the authorities.
Police are investigating “a number of reports of making off without payment from several businesses” across South Wales.
