Restaurant hit by dine and dash on launch night

Two men ate steaks and seafood before leaving without paying their £155 bill at a restaurant's opening night, the owners have said.

The Welsh House, in Carmarthen, was celebrating its launch on 25 October when the pair ate their meal and walked out.

The company, which has four restaurants across south Wales, said the incident had been "upsetting for the whole team".

Its bosses have contacted Dyfed-Powys Police and officers have begun an investigation.

Jordan Harries, the restaurant's general manager, said staff had been excited in the build up to the opening, but the "buzz" had been tainted by the dine and dash.

"We put a message out on social media as our hope was that it was a genuine oversight and that they would come forward and settle what they owe," he said.

"We do have CCTV but didn’t want to name and shame, we just wanted them to come forward so we could draw a line under it."

A copy of the bill shows the table ordered two bottles of wine, starters, steaks and Irish coffees, totalling £155.60.

Mr Harries, 27, added that unpaid bills could be the difference between a restaurant making a profit or a loss that day and thanked everyone for the supportive messages they had received.

"The response from the public and the whole town has been fantastic."