Man caught ‘plucking armpit hair’ and placing it on food to get free meal

A high-end steak restaurant in Sydney has released CCTV footage that appears to show a diner placing an armpit hair on his meal before complaining about it.

Pony Dining, located in The Rocks, alleged that a family of six demanded a refund after claiming they had found a hair in their food on Wednesday night. The group then reportedly attempted to leave without paying for their meal.

The CCTV clip shared by the restaurant appears to show a man in a white polo shirt looking around before reaching into his armpit and pulling out strands of hair, which he then appears to place on his plate.

“We don’t usually share content like this,” the restaurant wrote alongside the footage.

“This footage shows an incident which 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 restaurant said the group had ordered several high-value items, including a Tomahawk steak priced at up to £100. “Everything was very clean, they had a beautiful table,” staff told local media.

“We decided to check the CCTV after we noticed they were acting very weird. They ordered a lot of food including a Tomahawk. We tried to make them pay but he refused. We called the police however at that time we didn’t have the footage so police advised it was a civil problem and nothing they can do at that stage. So they paid for drinks then left.”

The footage has sparked widespread reaction online, with some calling for the diner to be publicly identified, while hospitality workers shared similar experiences.

“I’m a restaurant manager just next to you guys, and they did the exact same thing to me,” one person commented. “They ‘found a small rock’ in their food and created a huge scene, then left without paying the full bill.”

Pony Dining is known in Sydney for its premium Argentinian-style beef cuts and fresh seafood offerings.