Indian restaurant in UK duped of £200 after family flees without paying

The owners consider releasing CCTV footage to identify diners who fled without paying, while also contacting police to recover the unpaid bill.

Representative image / Facebook/ Sai Surbhi restaurant

An Indian-origin couple who run the well-known Sai Surbhi restaurant in Greater Manchester have been left distraught after two families allegedly walked out without paying a bill worth £200 (approximately ₹23,500).

According to restaurant owners Raman Kaur and Narinder Singh Athwa, the incident occurred on Aug. 30 when two groups arrived just 15 minutes after booking a table. The families ordered a lavish spread of curries, sides, and children’s meals. However, when the time came to settle the bill, the women and children allegedly left, leaving two men behind. The men claimed they had “no way of paying” and departed shortly afterward.

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In a detailed Facebook post, the owners revealed that the customers attempted multiple card payments and promised to transfer the money later. A name and phone number were left, along with a pledge that the payment would be made by Sept. 1. That promise has not been fulfilled.

“We hate to do this but it’s our only option at this point,” the facebook post read. The couple stressed the serious financial impact of the unpaid bill. “That £200 would pay staff, or our bills, or for stock,” the post read. They further highlighted that as an independent family-run business, such losses are difficult to absorb.

An image of the receipt from the restaurant / Facebook/ Sai Surbhi restaurant

“As a local family run business and an independent times are REALLY tough at the minute and them not paying a 200 pound bill has a HUGE knock on effect for our restaurant we can’t afford this occurrence once let alone a repeat performance. What can we do? We hope you understand this was our only option to highlight this incident. That 200 pounds bill would pay staff, or pay our bills, or for stock,” they said.

Sai Surbhi is now exploring options to release CCTV footage of the families involved and to contact the police. The post has attracted widespread local support, with many community members urging the owners to report the incident as theft and share the CCTV images to warn other businesses.

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