A restaurant has found itself in the spotlight after a customer made an unsettling discovery of a dead rat in her ‘half-eaten’ salad.
On a recent Tuesday (April 22), a disappointed customer criticized Tatsuya West Ryde, located in north-west Sydney, after reportedly finding a lifeless rodent, comparable in size to a human hand, in her katsudon meal.
The woman shared a picture of her find on a Google review, showing the rodent wrapped in salad leaves on a napkin, claiming she had already ‘eaten half’ of the salad before noticing it.
“Just absolutely revolting and unacceptable,” she expressed (via 9News). “What’s even more shocking is that they continued to serve food to other customers that weren’t aware of what happened when really they should have closed immediately.”
She further mentioned, “One star is being generous,” and noted that everyone present at the time got up and left the establishment.
The occurrence was equally labeled as ‘unacceptable and disgusting’ by another diner who was seated near the woman at the Japanese eatery.
A friend of hers also commented on the review platform, stating that the restaurant doesn’t merit even a single star ‘considering what occurred today.’
“My pregnant friend and I were having their lunch set today and in her small salad was a disgusting feral dead rat that was underneath the salad,” they reported.
A man, who identified himself as the woman’s husband, Daniel Kim, remarked: “My wife’s salad had a rat in it. Absolutely disgusting.”
In reaction, the restaurant has issued an apology for the incident, responding to her review with: “We sincerely apologise for this incident. The issue originated from a delivered salad box which we are currently investigating with our supplier and local food authorities.”
“We are taking all necessary steps to prevent such incidents and appreciate your understanding,” they added.
In an additional statement to the news outlet, the restaurant owner mentioned that the situation is under investigation, having reported the incident to the local food authority and closing the premises for a thorough cleaning.
“An unexpected and deeply concerning issue arose during service, for which we acknowledge a serious lapse in our internal processes,” the owner stated.
“While we prefer not to go into graphic detail out of respect for those affected, we fully recognise that the incident occurred within our operations and may have caused distress to the customers involved, as well as to the wider community that places its trust in us.
“Regardless of rumours or online commentary, our position remains clear: the incident happened at our restaurant, and we take full responsibility.
“We are not focused on assigning blame or debating the source. Our priority is to take strong corrective and preventative actions to ensure something like this never happens again.
“We are treating this matter with the utmost seriousness.”
The restaurant announced that pest control has been contacted, an internal review initiated, and ingredients quarantined, adding: “We recognise that words alone are not enough. Our responsibility now is to act decisively, improve our standards, and rebuild the trust that this community has placed in us.”
“That is what we are committed to — openly, sincerely, and with lasting improvements. We offer our heartfelt apology to the customer involved and to everyone affected.”
“At Tatsuya, we hold ourselves to high standards. When we fall short, we take it seriously, and we are committed to doing better.”
Meanwhile, Ryde City Council confirmed that it had inspected the restaurant following the diner’s complaint and would be pursuing ‘enforcement action.’
“All food handlers at the restaurant will also be required to undertake further training in food safety matters,” the council’s statement concluded.