'Dine and dash' couple flee waterfront restaurant without paying £115 bill after guzzling eight Cokes and enjoying seafood meal

By JOSHUA HAINING, NEWS REPORTER Published: 21:36, 3 July 2026 | Updated: 21:38, 3 July 2026 A 'dine and dash' couple have fled a waterfront restaurant without paying their £115 bill after guzzling eight Cokes and enjoying a lavish seafood meal. The couple dined at The Custom House in Penarth, South Wales, on Monday where they feasted on a £52 dover sole, a two-course set menu and calamari before they fled. CCTV footage captured the pair parking their Volvo car with the private registration 'MD11 RAN' in the eatery's carpark.  They then entered the restaurant together before having their blow-out seafood dinner. But after polishing off their food, the bald man sporting a vest and woman wearing flip flops were caught on camera leaving without paying.  The restaurant has now appealed on Facebook for the couple to return to settle their outstanding bill. The appeal read: 'A polite request to two customers who visited The Custom House today 'We'd kindly ask you to return and settle your outstanding bill. We'd much rather resolve this directly and appreciate you getting in touch with us as soon as possible. The suspected dine and dashers pictured on CCTV entering The Old Custom House in Penarth, south Wales, on Monday The couple racked up a £115 bill during their meal and were then caught leaving without paying Social media users were quick to point out the couple's ironic car registration plate 'MD11 RAN' 'We have your vehicle registration on record: MD11 RAN. Please return or contact the team to arrange payment.' Social media users were quick to voice their support for the restaurant after the dine and dash. One said: 'I love it when people are caught out and publicly shamed, well done guys.' While another added: 'Look at the state of them, you can just tell what type of people they are.' A third user commented: 'So sorry to hear this folks, hope it gets resolved.' Other users also pointed out the couple's ironic car registration.  One commented: 'They ate and RAN like their number plate' and another said: 'The irony of the number plate ending "I RAN"'. The restaurant's owner, Tanny Martinez told the BBC that the incident was 'hugely disappointing for the entire team'. 'The hospitality industry is already facing an incredibly challenging economic climate, with rising costs and pressures across the sector, without having to deal with situations like this.' The couple during their blowout meal which included a £52 dover sole, a two-course set menu, calamari and eight cokes The Custom House restaurant where the couple are suspected to have 'done and dashed' after a lavish seafood dinner He continued: 'It's incredibly frustrating when the hard work and dedication that goes into creating great experiences for our customers is not respected.' The couple's antics come after a spate of dine and dashes across the UK in recent months. A group of 'dine and dashers' allegedly fled a seafood and steak restaurant refusing to pay their £400 bill after they complained that the lobster tasted 'earthy'.  CCTV images showed the party tucking into their meal at Aegean Breeze Seafood & Steak House on Friary Walk in Worcester at about 3pm on Saturday. In Essex, a 'dine and dash' couple fled a restaurant after knocking back 14 Baby Guinness shots during their expensive steak dinner. The couple, who visited The Halfway House restaurant in Brentwood, in May racked up a £231.30 bill then ran away across the car park without paying. And a trio were hunted by police after they fled a Toby Carvery restaurant in Derbyshire without paying for their meal. South Wales Police were approached for comment.  No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.