A woman dining at Smith’s of Smithfield was shocked when a live rat fell from the ceiling and landed on her head as she dined in the fancy London restaurant.
The rat was only a baby, about three inches long, according to Metro . Sadly, when the baby rat hit the woman on the head, it died instantly before dropping to the table before her.
The woman, who was eating with friends, was disgusted and horrified as she screamed in shock. Immediately, she yelled for the staff to come hither and remove the rat from their table.
No other rodents were seen in the establishment. However, since the baby rat was revealed, it can be assumed that the rest of the litter and the mother were nearby.
Smith’s of Smithfield did not immediately comment on the dramatic appearance of the live baby rat but are working diligently to ensure the horrific incident does not occur again within their restaurant, according to The Sun .
‘Live rat’ lands on woman’s head in restaurant #D2 https://t.co/1OBfREmu6g pic.twitter.com/Un0cGwK4fI
— Report UK (@ReportUK) October 2, 2016
Paul Stubbs, a city worker, was dining at Smith’s of Smithfield when the incident occurred. He as alerted to the rat by the commotion at the nearby table and claims he saw the incident occur.
“All of a sudden there was a commotion and what looked like a rat fell from the ceiling. It hit somebody’s head and ended up on the table.”
Stubbs continued to report that it was a disgusting experience. Despite the dirty rat’s presence, people remained in their seats and continued to eat their food. He claims he will not return to the restaurant.
“We were disgusted. It was only a baby but still about three inches long. It had obviously fallen from a nest in the open vents. People were pretty horrified. Everybody stayed to finish, though I wouldn’t go back.”
The restaurant is known to cater to famous clients on a regular basis. When it was opened in 2000, Master chef John Torode was the owner, although he has since sold his stake in the restaurant.
In an effort to calm the woman down, the restaurant provided a U.S. dollar equivalent of a $581 discount off of the party’s bill. It is unknown if the discount covered the entire bill, or might possibly be credited to future visits to the establishment.
Diners stunned after ‘rat falls on woman at top City restaurant’ https://t.co/8tgrx0bR3Y
— Evening Standard (@standardnews) October 1, 2016
Phil Shaw, of the PLS Environmental Services examined the rodent and is confident that it was indeed a rat.
“From the head and the tail, it looks like a baby rat.”
Other visitors to the restaurant describe the rodent as a baby rat, suspecting there are most likely others in the restaurant as well.
A spokesman at Smiths of Smithfield did finally respond to the incident after it was investigated further. Although they do not claim that there are rats inside the establishment, they apologized for the incident and feel that they provided just compensation for the trouble the table experienced.
“At Smiths we pride ourselves on our hygiene and food safety management. We have investigated the matter fully and this is an isolated incident and we confirm that there is no risk to our customers. [Diners] were offered what was accepted as reasonable compensation.”
The woman that was assaulted by the falling rodent did not release a comment on the situation. It is unknown if she plans to return or if she has chosen to forgo visiting the restaurant altogether.
It is also unknown if other visitors were compensated for the unexpected rat’s intrusion.
[Featured Image by anatolypareev/Shutterstock]
