Social media users have criticized Novikov Restaurant for displaying a live crab in its window.
The celebrity hotspot in Mayfair, which charges £1000 for a whole crab, features a water tank in its front window, which homes the sea animal presumably before it’s cooked for customers.
TikTok user Marta Kalinowska took to the platform to share footage of the setup, which has proved triggering for thousands of viewers.
The clip, which has amassed three million views, shows the crab as it looks out onto the street. ‘Novikov in London tortures alive crabs in their windows,’ Marta wrote.
She continued, ‘The tank is extremely tiny, they barely have any space to move. They are suffering until they end up on someone’s plate, they are suffocating and clearly in extreme distress.’
‘I feel powerless, please help me to blow [the] video so we can change this. You’re welcome to leave them a review about it too.’
She additionally claimed that the restaurant is deleting reviews that discuss the topic online in the caption, writing, ‘Google reviews are being deleted so you are welcome to email/ call them… Thank you so much, sending you lots of love.’
Viewers took to the comment section to share their thoughts, and many expressed their disgust with the setup.
Novikov Restaurant’s window display that features a live crab (pictured) has met criticism online
One wrote, ‘Shame on Novikov! I’ll leave review later! Poor babies…they don’t deserve it.
‘I wish I could do it with the people who [have] done it to them – at least for few months and ask them how they felt about it. I bet they wouldn’t like it.’
A second person agreed, questioning, ‘Horrifying. What is wrong with us as a species?’
A third wrote, ‘I love crabs. Why can’t they give them a bigger tank. At least let them live until they die.’
MailOnline has contacted Novikov Restaurant for comment.
However, others took a different stance and failed to see an issue with the display. One wrote, ‘Can’t imagine caring about the living conditions of a crab for a few hours before it gets eaten.’
Another added, ‘More cruel things happen to other animals people eat every single day.’
It comes after the Ritz’s long-standing chef has claimed the hotel’s two-Michelin-starred restaurant’s £221 tasting menu is the ‘best value in London’.
London-based TikTok user Marta Kalinowska shared the window display on TikTok, writing that she feels ‘powerless’
John Williams MBE, The Ritz Restaurant’s executive chef for over 20 years, curated a high-end menu using only the finest ingredients.
Despite charging £221 for the seven-course The Epicurean Journey menu or £199 for the five-course version, he ‘solemnly’ believes his cuisine is the best value in the city.
The seven-course experience allows diners to sample the best Williams MBE has to offer and includes signature plates of native lobster, duck liver, Dorset crab and pigeon.
Because the chef goes above and beyond to source the finest British ingredients and ensures his kitchen employs the ‘highest level of technique’, Williams MBE believes his prices are a steal.
‘I believe solemnly, 100 per cent, [that] I’m the best value in London, for cost of product and then selling price. Value for money is everything that I believe in,’ he told The Telegraph.
When Williams MBE started his role at The Ritz in 2004, his first change was to lower the prices of the menu du jour by £10 – which was a significant amount 21 years ago.
The tasting menus can change depending on what produce is in season and feature an array of signature dishes.
While most fine dining establishments strive for the best ingredients, Williams MBE believes he takes his produce sourcing to the next level.
‘You could interview 100 chefs, they’re all going to say that,’ he said.
‘Let me tell you there’s only about three or four of them looking for the very, very best, and capable of paying the very, very best. Some of my ingredients are extreme in price.’
Williams MBE told The Telegraph that he buys his Dublin Bay prawns for up to £9 each and the champagne and lobster sauces on his turbot dish are so precise, they are the sole responsibility of one chef.
On today’s seven-course epicurean menu, diners start with a plate of Dorset crab with crème fraiche and imperial caviar before being served a ballotine of duck liver with damson, a small plum-like fruit, and pistachio.
Third in the line-up is the Native lobster with spiced carrot and lemon verbena then the Agnolotti, a stuffed pasta, with black truffle and Parmesan.
Next is the chestnut-fed pigeon then dessert starts with grapefruit with lemon pepper and buttermilk.
There is the decadent Ritz Signature Chocolate hazelnut and fudge to finish off the meal.
The £199 five-course menu has the crab and duck liver, and Suffolk lamb as well as the famous Cornish turbot with two sauces; one made from lobster and the other from the Ritz Reserve Champagne Barons De Rothschild.
Viewers took to the comment section to share their thoughts on Novikov Restaurant’s window display
For dessert, diners are served the grapefruit and, to finish, wild strawberry with lemon verbena and lime.
To accompany the food, customers can add five or six glasses of wine selected to pair perfectly with the Epicurean Journey.
Wine packages range from £140 to £750 meaning, with the 12.5 per cent discretionary service charge, one diner could pay almost £1,000 for the entire experience.
According to The Ritz’s website, the menus are ‘fitting ways to impress a client with a corporate lunch, enjoy quality time with friends or family over a weekend lunch, or celebrate a special occasion with a memorable dinner.’
Those who can fork out the eye-watering prices will have to wear their finest attire so as to not break the Ritz’s strict dress code.
Men are required to wear a jacket and tie and ripped jeans, trainers and sportswear are explicitly forbidden.
Last week, The Ritz Restaurant was named the UK’s best at the National Restaurant Awards.
Speaking exclusively to MailOnline, Williams MBE, said, ‘With so many great restaurants across the UK, it is a true honour and privilege to receive this recognition.
‘This award is a testament to our commitment to culinary evolution and affirms that, whilst The Ritz Restaurant is part of an historic landmark, it continues to remain relevant.’
‘London’s most decadent dining room is a wonderful and memorable assault on the senses,’ the National Restaurant Awards wrote after revealing the prestigious rankings.
Alongside the restaurant’s ‘exceptional’ food, judges noted the allure of the opulent dining room settings.
