There have been a lot of stories that are posted online recently about people eating at restaurants. Many of those stories deal with the tipping culture in the United States, but this one took a different turn.
When a large family of eight were out dining and enjoying a meal at Bella Ciao in Port Talbot in Wales, they didn’t hold back from ordering anything on the menu. They had T-bone steaks, double desserts, and almost everything in between.
By the time they were finished dining, they had eaten some $400 worth of food. That’s an interesting story, but it isn’t the most interesting part. The restaurant manager, Tyrone Reese, spoke about it.
“They were ordering the most expensive things on the menu, like T-bone steaks and the like.
“My wife said ‘Something’s not right.’ They went full-on with their order but they were also sending plates back half empty.
The mother tried to pay for the bill two times but the card was declined. She said that she was on her way to get another card and the family of eight just disappeared from the restaurant.
We do occasionally hear about people doing a ‘dine and dash’ but this is taking it to the extreme. Reese even talked about how he tried to call the family using the number they gave on the booking, but it was a fake number.
He said: “I don’t understand how they [the family] can get away with this. I’m paying my tax for police but I seem to be powerless. It annoys me to know this is happening and that they are getting away with it.”
After the story was posted online, it went viral and many people wanted to have a meal at the restaurant to support the owner. He said:
“When we opened we had 15 phone calls wanting bookings after what happened last night. I took it as a sign of solidarity. I felt fantastic, not about the money but about how people reacted positively to such a negative situation.”
The South Wales police said that investigations are ongoing to establish the full circumstances behind the incident and identify those involved. If caught, they may be facing up to two years in prison.