A shameless backpacker allegedly fled a restaurant without paying after polishing off a ribeye steak.

The suspect, described by staff as a tall and well-built foreign man in his 30s, had tucked into a meal of meat and black honey coffee at the Into the Forest restaurant in the popular tourist hotspot of Krabi, southern Thailand, on March 9.

He allegedly called the waitress named Khuanta to order a cake, then proceeded to walk away from his table claiming he would 'be right back'. However, he was said to have exited the restaurant and driven away in a rented car.

CCTV footage shows the visitor casually walking out of the al fresco dining area as confused staff tried to follow him.

The shop owner, Sloth Sa, said: 'The incident occurred on Sunday, March 9. The tourist came into the shop at 2:30 pm and ordered a rare Australian rib-eye steak and a black honey coffee, totaling 720 Baht (16 GBP).

'After finishing the meal at 2:55 pm, he pretended to call the staff to order a cake. During this time, he stood up to look at cake pictures on the staff member's phone and then told her, 'I'll be right back.'

'The staff member thought he was going to the restroom, which was in the same direction as the exit. However, he quickly walked out of the restaurant. The staff member ran to inform another colleague. They tried to follow him but they were too late as he had already driven away.'

Sloth said the car was a sedan with a license plate registered in Phuket province. She added the incident has been reported to the provincial police.

Authorities said an investigation was ongoing.

The Thai government implemented a visa-free scheme to boost revenue following the barren pandemic years.

However, angry locals claim the push for tourist dollars has attracted crowds of 'low-quality' visitors from Russia, India and Australia.

(1 GBP = 43.77 THB)