A restaurant boss has been left “sickened” after a couple used a ‘handbag trick’ to skip paying for their meal. The team at La Dolce Vita in East Kilbride have shared CCTV footage of the brazen dine-and-dash pair.
The slippery couple racked up a £68 tab at the Italian eatery, stuffing themselves with two starters and three mains, before “nipping out for a cigarette” and running off without paying. The restaurant have now launched a hunt for the shameless duo who fleeced their family-run business on Sunday, October 20.
The Main Street diner shared CCTV images of the pair as they calmly stood outside smoking a cigarette before walking off separately. Bosses have revealed how the woman left a handbag in an attempt to trick staff into thinking they would return.
The cheap black bag was left ditched in their booth – but staff later discovered it was completely empty. Fuming co-owner Heather Scuotto, told the Record: “It’s just sickening, we’re absolutely furious.
“We’re a small family run business, we’ve been open for 10 years and moved to this new restaurant five years ago. We understand that in the current climate, people might struggle to afford a meal out, but this was pre-planned.
“They walked out and left an empty handbag just lying there. The police think it’s all part of their con. To think they would come out to a restaurant with that in mind is just horrible.”
Heather, who runs the restaurant with husband Vitale, wants to warn other businesses, after being told the same couple had hit other eateries in Lanarkshire.
She said: “When we shared the footage on Facebook, we were contacted by a restaurant in Uddingston and one in Coatbridge who said they were paid a visit by the couple. We just hope other restaurants in the area keep a look out and know the tricks these people will try and use.”
The pair helped themselves to two special bruschettas, a special pasta, a main pasta, and a pizza, and washed it all down with four soft drinks. They ordered two cakes from the dessert menu but asked for them to be brought out when they returned from their cigarette.
Heather added: “£68 isn’t loads, but to us it means a lot. Our trust is kind of lost in customers now. Staff have been left feeling guilty, but it’s not their fault at all, there is a wider impact here.”
Dine and dashers have previously hit the hospitality trade in Scotland leaving hard-working restaurants counting the cost. Last month we told how an entire group of diners including a child, all left Ravelston House in Musselburgh one by one without paying after enjoying £70 worth of food.
In July, a couple in Angus were charged after allegedly being responsible for £600 in unpaid bills at restaurants in Dundee, Perth and Arbroath. It was claimed the pair “laughed” at staff in Davie’s Cafe and Ice Cream Parlour in Dundee when they left the premises without paying.
And in 2021, a furious Edinburgh restaurant boss claimed they were fleeced iout of £1,700 in the capital during the Fringe festival.Lynn MacLeod said she had never experienced so many bill dodgers in the 20 years that she has owned Maxies Bistro near the Royal Mile.
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Around 5.45pm on Sunday, October 20, police received a report of a theft from a premises in the Main Street area of East Kilbride. Enquiries into the circumstances are at an early stage.”
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