This is the moment a giant rat is seen munching on the leftovers on a table in a restaurant.

The creature was recorded through the glass by a passerby after it climbed onto the white tablecloth in the Guimanlong Tianshu restaurant in the city of Nanjing, in Jiangsu, China, on April 12.

Officials from the Nanjing Market Supervision Department confirmed the incident.

They said that the tables had actually been set up outside the restaurant and after the video surfaced, it had been closed for further tests to be made on rodent infestation.

When contacted by local media, a spokesman for the restaurant apologised for the distress caused to customers and confirmed that it was an external table located on the second floor of the building.

They added that there was a glass between the restaurant and the tables so that the red would not have been able to get into the restaurant.

After the video surfaced, the restaurant also carried out a complete disinfecting of the entire property inside and out, including all the utensils and furniture.