There is such a thing as a free lunch

Following a row with neighbours over noise levels, the only thing off the menu at a famous Mayfair restaurant this week is the bill.

Christmas has come early to the hundreds of happy diners who have ordered expensive lunches and dinners at Scott's in central London, only to be told by waiters at the end of the evening that there will be no charge for their food or drink.

"I do feel a little like Father Christmas," said Scott's manager Matthew Robb, who estimates the restaurant has lost more than £350,000 in free meals, drinks and staffing costs since it opened to the public after a long period of closure and refurbishment on Dec 5.

The fly in Scott's soup is local resident Glenys Roberts, a journalist and author who has orchestrated a campaign to keep noise levels down in the restaurant, resulting in delays with Westminster Council signing off the restaurant's trading licence.

This has meant that the luxuriously-refitted Scott's, which opened more than a week ago, has been put in the position of having to honour all its previously booked lunch and dinner reservations, although legally it is unable to charge for anything.