Ella Scott
A premium Australian restaurant has hit back at a family patriarch after he was caught using his own armpit hairs to allegedly wrangle out of paying his bill.
If you’re looking for top-tier beef cuts and fresh seafood in Sydney, then you may have already come across Pony Dining.
Located in The Rocks Centre, the upscale eatery has been serving diners for 20 years, with Irish head chef Neil Nolan currently at the helm.
Last week, the establishment made headlines after it slammed a group of customers who claimed they weren’t paying for their ‘wonderful dinner’ after allegedly finding hair in their meal.
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However, it’s reported that one of the men sitting at the table ripped out some of his armpit hair and put it in his food to avoid footing the bill, which was reportedly more than $600 (£312).
According to Nolan’s interview with 10 News, the family walked out on the table, which included a 1.8kg Tomahawk steak, expensive wines, and share plates that were ‘licked clean’.
“We served them a wonderful dinner. Everything was very clean, they had a beautiful table,” the venue’s manager told news.com.au.
“We decided to check the CCTV after we noticed they were acting very weird.”
Pony Dining said they presented the footage to police, who claimed there was nothing that could be done about the situation.
“We want other restaurants to be aware about these kinds of customers,” they said.
In a social media post, the business elaborated, claiming that they hoped their loss could raise awareness for other hospitality venues operating in the area.
“We don’t usually share content like this,” they wrote.
“This footage shows an incident that occurred in our venue. After the meal was served, the guest later raised a complaint regarding a hair in their meal and declined payment for all the food.
“During the interaction, our team also experienced inappropriate and unacceptable behaviour.
“The matter has been formally reported. This video is shared to raise awareness for fellow hospitality venues.”
The outlet reported that the video attracted a comment from someone who claimed to work at a nearby restaurant.
They said that they recognised the man who allegedly pulled out his armpit hair and that he’d executed a similar trick while eating there.
"I’m a restaurant manager just next to you guys, and they did the exact same thing to me. They ‘found a small rock’ in their food and created a huge scene, then left without paying the full bill.
"On CCTV, you can clearly see him taking it out of his pocket and placing it on the plate before starting his act. He’s an absolute scam and feeds his whole family for free every time.”
The publication wrote that other Instagram users slammed the man’s alleged behaviour as ‘disrespectful and repulsive’.
Nolan added to 10 News “To get someone to come in and pull a hair from under their arm and put it on their plate? It’s next level of disgusting.”