A rampaging monitor lizard was caught after tearing into a restaurant in search of its dinner.

The beast charged into the building owned by chef Paethong Sinshu, 45, in Chonburi, Thailand, on May 3.

The alarmed owner called a rescue team after the lizard barged into the kitchen to hide.

Wildlife handlers arrived at the scene and found the aggressive seven-foot reptile lying on a kitchen cabinet after causing chaos.

It took the team around 20 minutes to finally snare the lizard.

Paethong said that prior to the incident, the water monitor had already attacked a litter of stray puppies born in the drain near a disused toilet close to the restaurant.

However, despite the efforts of residents, only four out of the five stray puppies could be saved.

Villagers believe that the monitor lizard was hungry and had invaded the restaurant to look for food.

Asian water monitor lizards normally live in canals, swamps, sewers and ponds in cities in Thailand. They feed on fish, snakes, frogs and scraps of food left by humans.

The reptiles are aggressive when threatened and have a mildly venomous bite which sometimes carries harmful bacteria. The Godzilla-like reptiles are also a protected species in the country so their population thrives.