Party pays bill after 'dine and dash' backlash

Flavio Serra opened his Grantham seafood restaurant in May 2021

A group of diners who left a Lincolnshire restaurant without paying for their £306 meal have now settled their bill, the owner has confirmed.

Flavio Serra, who runs the Tinels Seafood & Grill in Grantham, said the customers had eaten steaks and drank alcohol before they left without paying on Friday.

Mr Serra's story was shared on social media, alongside Lincolnshire Police's investigation, which led to the "dine and dashers" paying up.

He told the BBC: "I'm happy with the result. I would like to see them named and shamed, however, I think everybody deserves a second chance and hopefully they will not do it again."

The six diners were caught on CCTV and allegedly left without paying for their meal which cost £306

Mr Serra, who is originally from Portugal, said the group had booked their meal in advance via phone and had pre-ordered some of their dishes.

He admitted the group had complained about one of the dishes but had offered a replacement which was turned down.

Later in the evening, a waitress informed Mr Serra the group had left without paying the £306 bill but had left a tip.

"I spent almost an hour cooking, preparing, marinating all the steaks they had, all the starters they had, all the food they ate," he said

"I had to pay for the product, I have to pay for the staff. And they just walk out? It's disrespectful.

"It's not nice at all, especially for a small business like we are. Every penny counts."

Mr Serra claimed he tried to contact the group via a phone number from the booking but was unsuccessful.

Lincolnshire Police later launched an investigation and appealed for witnesses.

Mr Serra told the BBC he did not get an apology from the party and believes they only paid up because people online were angry and the police were involved.

He said he was going to "think of ways" to avoid this in the future, like reintroducing deposits.

"I'm also a consumer. I like to feel that I'm trusted so I put the same trust to all of my customers," he added.

"I did lose a little bit of trust. I know that because of one bad apple, doesn't mean that everybody is a bad apple."

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