A restaurant has issued an apology after customer made a grim discovery of a dead rat in her ‘half-eaten’ salad.
On Tuesday (April 22) a disgruntled customer slammed Tatsuya West Ryde restaurant in north-west Sydney after allegedly coming across a lifeless rodent the size of a human hand in her katsudon.
Posting a picture of her gruesome discovery in a Google review, which shows the pest wrapped up in salad leaves on a napkin, the woman said that she’d ‘eaten half’ of it before realizing.
“It was absolutely revolting and completely unacceptable,” she wrote (via 9News). “What’s even more disturbing is that they kept serving food to other unsuspecting customers, when they clearly should’ve shut down right then and there.”
She went on to say, “Even giving one star feels generous. Everyone who witnessed what happened got up and walked out.”
The incident was also condemned by another nearby customer, who called it “unacceptable and disgusting.”
A friend of the woman affected left a review as well, writing, “This place doesn’t even deserve one star, considering what happened today.”
“My pregnant friend and I were having the lunch set, and in her small salad was a disgusting, feral dead rat hidden underneath the greens,” they claimed.
A man identifying himself as the woman’s husband, Daniel Kim, also shared his outrage: “My wife’s salad had a rat in it. Absolutely disgusting.”
In response, the restaurant issued a public apology on the review site, stating:
“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 every necessary step to ensure such incidents do not happen again and appreciate your understanding.”
In a follow-up statement to the news outlet, the restaurant’s owner confirmed that the establishment had self-reported the matter to local food authorities and had voluntarily closed the premises for a thorough deep clean.
“An unexpected and deeply concerning issue arose during service,” the owner said. “We acknowledge a serious lapse in our internal processes and are taking this matter extremely seriously.”
Restaurant Issues Apology and Commits to Action Following Health Incident
In a formal statement, the restaurant addressed the recent health incident, acknowledging the seriousness of the matter:
“While we prefer not to share graphic details out of respect for those affected, we fully acknowledge that this incident occurred within our operations and may have caused distress—not only to the customers involved, but also to the broader community that places its trust in us.
Regardless of speculation or online commentary, our stance is clear: the incident took place at our restaurant, and we accept full responsibility.
We are not interested in assigning blame or debating the origin. Our sole focus is on implementing corrective and preventative measures to ensure this never happens again.
We are treating this matter with the utmost seriousness.”
The restaurant confirmed that pest control services have been contacted, an internal review has been launched, and the affected ingredients have been quarantined.
“We understand that words alone are not enough,” the statement continued. “It is now our duty to take decisive action, raise our standards, and begin the process of restoring the trust this community has placed in us.
That is our commitment—openly, sincerely, and with lasting change. We offer our deepest apologies to the customer involved and to everyone impacted by this event.
At Tatsuya, we hold ourselves to high standards. When we fall short, we take responsibility—and we are committed to doing better.”
In response to the incident, Ryde City Council has confirmed that it has conducted an inspection of the restaurant and will be taking enforcement action. Additionally, all food handlers at the establishment will be required to undergo further training in food safety protocols.
