MORE London diners than ever are doing a runner from restaurants without paying the bill, newly uncovered Metropolitan Police figures show.
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According to the statistics unearthed by The Independent newspaper, police were called to 330 eat-and-run incidents in London in 2010 compared to 249 in 2009, a rise of some 33%.
It’s the first time the 300 barrier has been broken and follows a stable period when, for five years, the figures for restaurant-bill escapees hovered around the 250 mark.
Though the real eat-and-run figure is probably much higher since many restaurants don’t bother reporting incidents, the police figures provide a guide to the general trend. Anecdotal evidence from the front line supports that conclusion.
“In 16 years of cooking in this country I had never had this happen to me,” Atul Kochhar of top Indian restaurant Benares told The Independent.
“Now it has happened twice in the past six months.”
Restaurant managers now have to tread a fine line between preventing eat-and-run crimes and spoiling a friendly atmosphere.
“We want to make their meal memorable and enjoyable. We don’t want to be patrolling their tables like MI5 agents,” said Kochhar.
One method used by some establishments is to insist diners leave a credit or debit card behind if they go to the toilet or outside for a cigarette.
“We have procedures in place,” said Fred Sirieix, manager of Galvin at Windows, a Park Lane Hilton restaurant.
“If a whole table suddenly wanted to go for a cigarette at the same time we would make sure at least one had left a card. But some restaurants can be a bit naive.”
