Seven tourists who left a Siġġiewi restaurant without paying on Friday have reached out to the owner and settled the unpaid bill, saying they forgot to do so. 

The owner of Marilù's told Times of Malta that the group reached out to the restaurant and transferred the unsettled €135 payment.

“They said they discussed between them that someone would pay but then forgot. I decided not to dispute and just say thank you for getting back to us,” the owner said.  

The restaurant has since removed pictures of the group from their social media accounts.

Those images, taken from the restaurant's CCTV footage, showed the seven diners who left without settling their bill.

“They don’t realise that it really affects a small home-run business like ours," the owners wrote in a post that went viral. 

“Just a heads up to other restaurants and bars, this group of 7 French-speaking tourists had a nice lunch followed by coffee at ours and then left in twos discreetly while our servers were busy tending to other tables and the bar."

Previously, the owner of Marilù's said that the large group arrived at the restaurant and said they were in a "rush" to be served.

"We made sure that their dishes were served quickly, and we even served them coffee," she said.

"Then they began to leave slowly, first two people went downstairs and outside, and then another person went to the bar to ask for the coffee to be put in a take-away cup and then walked outside. We were very busy and didn't notice they all left, this never happened to us before."

She said the group left their €135 bill left unsettled.

The Facebook post was widely shared and many condemned the actions of the diners. 

The Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association (MHRA) even commented expressing solidarity with the restaurant. 

"Hospitality involves looking after one's guests, so hosts not only suffer a financial loss but also feel a deeper sense of betrayal when confronted with such criminal acts," MHRA said.