‘Dine and sprint’ group necked vodkas earlier than ‘threatening to smash supervisor’s face’
A ‘dine and dash’ group left a restaurant‘s owners seething after allegedly running off without paying their bill.
A group of nine people, reportedly made up of two families, allegedly scoffed food and drink worth £280 at Ciao Eatalia in Highworth, Wiltshire, on Saturday, April 20. The group is said to have argued that the bill was too high and allegedly threatened manager Gianluca La Porta and head chef Fabio Giacalone.
Then, after refusing to pay, they apparently left the restaurant laughing. The business partners refer to such practice as “biking” and claimed this is the fifth time they have fallen victim to it recently.
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(Image: Tom Wren / SWNS)
They feel the incident was not been taken seriously enough by police, who have reportedly opened an investigation.
Gianluca said: “It seems to me that anyone can go into any restaurant, eat and drink whatever they want, and then leave without paying and no one will do anything about it.”
The group are understood to have ordered around £100 worth of food, with the majority of the £280 coming from booze. They ordered double vodka and cokes and double gin and tonics, as well as beer, becoming more and more drunk as the evening wore on, Fabio said.
(Image: Tom Wren / SWNS)
They were the only group left in the building when they said the bill was “too much”, leading to an argument in which the two Italian men said they suffered threats of violence and abuse. Gianluca alleged: “One of them told me they were going to smash my face into the wall.”
Eventually, one member of the group gave £100 in cash and a card payment of £180 was taken, but was declined.
Fabio said: “It was almost like they were proud of it… If they had an issue with something, we would have replaced it or taken it off the bill, but they just said the whole thing was too expensive.
“But they knew how much everything would cost when they ordered it… To me, they knew what they were doing and I don’t see how it is any different to stealing.”
(Image: Tom Wren / SWNS)
He added: “As a local independent business and small restaurant, that is a lot of money, especially in the current cost-of-living crisis and we already try to charge as little as possible and keep our profits as little as possible because we know this.”
A Wiltshire Police officer attended that evening and took evidence, statements and CCTV footage, but the pair say they have not heard since. Wiltshire Police has been approached for comment by the Daily Star.
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