Footage shows four young males attempting to break open the door of Mexican restaurant La Chingada, in Eversholt Street, with a tool at 5.32am on Good Friday (April 18).
The owner, Walter Opitz, said that the group only gave up when a member of staff from the hotel next door heard the noise and “scared them away”.
When reviewing the CCTV footage later that morning, staff were shocked to see that the group had not bothered to wear masks – revealing their full faces to the camera.
Nothing was stolen, but Mr Opitz said it cost him £700 to repair the damage to his door.
The 45-year-old said: “Some kids tried to break into my restaurant. One of the neighbours came out because they heard some noise and scared them so they ran away.
“They damaged the door and completely cracked the glass. It is silly because there is nothing to steal in the restaurant. What were they going to do, steal the fridge?
“Everyone uses card these days so we don’t keep any cash in there. The most valuable thing they could have taken is alcohol, but how many bottles could they really carry.”
After posting the footage on social media, the owner said many other restaurants have reached out claiming that the same group has targeted them.
The video has since received over 40,000 likes, with the restaurant, which sits between Mornington Crescent and Euston, offering free beers last weekend to anyone who could prove they had shared it.
Mr Opitz said that, due to the amount of awareness, he is not worried about the gang targeting his restaurant again.
The restaurateur, who opened in 2019 and now has three outlets, added: “We shared this not to create fear, but to show how vulnerable small businesses are.”
The Metropolitan Police said they are investigating the attempted break in and urged witnesses to come forward.
A spokesperson added: “ No arrests have been made at this stage and investigations remain ongoing.
“Police are aware of a video regarding this incident and ask anyone with information to call 101 or ‘X’@METCC and quote CAD6518/18Apr.”
