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Gordon Ramsay's latest high-end restaurant in London is already making headlines—but not just for its culinary offerings. The newly opened Lucky Cat has been plagued by an unusual crime spree: the disappearance of nearly 500 decorative cat figurines, known as maneki-neko, believed to bring good luck.
The celebrity chef, renowned for his fiery temper and no-nonsense attitude, recently expressed his disbelief over the thefts. Appearing on The Jonathan Ross Show, Ramsay revealed that diners have been swiping the restaurant's signature maneki-neko figurines. "The cats are getting stolen. There were 477 stolen last week—they cost $5.67 each!" Ramsay exclaimed. The total loss? A staggering $2,707 in missing lucky cats.
Oddly enough, despite the significant number of missing figurines, the City of London Police has not received any official reports of theft from the restaurant. It's unclear whether Ramsay is handling the situation internally or choosing to accept the losses as part of the restaurant's quirky appeal.
This isn't the only unexpected challenge Lucky Cat has faced since opening its doors on the 60th floor of 22 Bishopsgate, one of London's tallest skyscrapers. Ramsay also noted another peculiar issue: couples sneaking into the bathrooms together. While he didn't elaborate, it seems some patrons have taken the restaurant's name a little too literally, believing it to be a lucky spot for more than just dining.
The Lucky Cat brand, which serves "Asian-inspired" cuisine, first launched in London's Mayfair before expanding to this new high-rise location. The restaurant's name and aesthetic pay homage to traditional Japanese culture, making the mass theft of the maneki-neko all the more ironic.
Beyond the restaurant drama, Ramsay also touched on a more sentimental topic during his interview—the upcoming nuptials of his daughter Holly to Olympic swimmer Adam Peaty. The chef described Peaty as a "focused and disciplined" future son-in-law, recalling how the athlete respectfully asked for his blessing. "As a future son-in-law, we couldn't ask for anyone better," Ramsay said.
While wedding bells may soon ring in the Ramsay household, the mystery of the disappearing lucky cats remains unsolved. Will diners return the stolen figurines, or will Lucky Cat need to bolster its security measures? Only time will tell.
