Hornsea restaurant charging upfront due to ‘dine and dash’

In one incident, Ms Nassif said four young people “just walked off”, but left a phone behind.

“We contacted them, but they just refused to pay,” she said.

In another, a group left without paying a bill of £130.

“I was surprised as they were quite old, and it was possible they genuinely forgot,” Ms Nassif said.

After posting a warning on Facebook to make other businesses aware, she said the group eventually got in touch and paid the bill, claiming they had forgotten.

“If there is something with the food you come and tell me so we can sort it, but just to leave – we’ve got staff to pay – we’ve got bills,” she added.

Ms Nassif said they had introduced the measures as part of a revamp of the restaurant, which was previously called Med-Mex.

She said they were worried initially about how customers would react, but said they had been supportive.

“Since then there haven’t been any issues,” she added.