Seafood restaurant is forced to bring in ‘dine and dash’ defence

A restaurant has been forced to bring in a new ‘dine and dash’ defence after  another couple were accused of scoffing oysters and fleeing without paying their £170 tab.

Customers at Relentless – Steak and Lobster House in Portsmouth, Hampshire, now have to pre-pay for their food in a bid to thwart the brazen crime.

Owner Scott Matthews, 39, felt his hand was forced after numerous incidents,  including one where a group racked up an £800 bill before making off.

Relentess had to call police in last week when two men feasted on oysters and scallops – running up a £170 bill – before scarpering.

Mr Matthews said the pair came in at lunchtime on January 29, appearing to be electricians, and started their boozy order.

He claimed they ‘deliberately outsmarted’ the pre-pay system by ordering and paying for £130 worth of food, knowing staff do not ask for payment for supplementary requests until the end of the meal.

But they then proceeded to order several more rounds of alcoholic drinks, shots, oysters, and scallops – adding up to another £170 – which they allegedly did not settle for.

Mr Matthews said that after ordering their last round the pair said they were nipping outside for a vape, before sprinting back to their van and driving away.

The owner, who started the business 20 years ago, said: ‘They ordered a double round of drinks, shots, loads of oysters and scallops.

‘The waitress noticed they had gone within about three minutes, the chef came out and as he comes out you can see them speeding off in the van. They shouldn’t have been driving at all with the alcohol involved.

‘As a business you have just got to take the knock on the chin for it but at the end of the day that is someone’s days wages.

‘As a small, independent business owner, I find this incredibly disheartening. Incidents like this don’t just affect a balance sheet – they impact real people who work hard every day.’

Mr Matthews said that this is not the first time they have been hit, with their location of Port Solent apparently having been previously called a ‘dine and dash hotspot’.

The owner believes they are targeted because they are surrounded by chain restaurants, so people often assume they must be too.

He said the highest bill that has been walked out on was £800, which triggered their new system of pre-payment.

However, Mr Matthews said that customers have not been very understanding of the policy, and it has lost them a lot of revenue.

He added: ‘We have had so many issues in the past. They were saying it was a hotspot at one point for dine and dash. It is just annoying that it happens all the time.

‘We lose so much revenue because we have to do prepayment, it is just unbelievable. No one wants to prepay but we have to protect our business.

‘It is not normal hardworking people that do this. It is a different clientele. You can’t discriminate against anyone, so we do prepayment for everyone.

‘It is damaging for us and for the customer. It is just a nightmare. It is very hard in hospitality at the moment as I’m sure everyone is aware. It is just another hit on us.’

The latest incident has been reported to police, but Mr Matthews is urging the thieves to come forward and settle their bill before matters need to be escalated.

Hampshire Constabulary said: ‘We received a report that on Thursday 29 January, two men had left a restaurant on The Boardwalk in Paulsgrove without paying.

‘An investigation has been launched and enquiries are ongoing. No arrests have been made at this time.’