Robert Irwin forgot to pay after taking meal from restaurant — he made up for it with the most priceless gesture

Sometimes, a seemingly big mishap can be just an honest mistake. Robert Irwin, wildlife photographer, TV presenter and actor, proved just that when he forgot to pay for his salad after eating at a restaurant during his road trip down the east coast of Australia. He had stopped at the Jetty Pavilion in Coffs Harbour and ordered a takeaway salad for dinner at a restaurant. The place was packed and many people wanted to have a photo with Irwin. In all the chaos, he forgot to pay for his meal, but then made up for it in an even better way, per a video shared on Instagram, where he goes by @robertirwinphotography.

"I have a funny story," Irwin began. He had stopped at the "beautiful" coastal town of Coffs Harbour when the incident happened. "Found a great restaurant, ordered a takeaway salad. Little did I know that this is the place to be in Coffs Harbour. It was packed. It is called The Jetty Pavilion." He added, "There were a lot of people who saw me and said 'hi' and wanted to have a photo and all that, which is good. But it was turning into a bit of a frenzy." The photographer pointed out that the restaurant staff were really nice and got his salad out really fast. Irwin greeted everyone and went off, but the next morning, he realized something important. "I never paid for my salad. I just did the old dine n' dash and I didn't even realize I had done it."

Irwin reached out to the restaurant to explain what had happened and asked them how he could pay for the salad, through credit card or Venmo. He had already left Coffs Harbour by the time realization hit him. The restaurant assured him that it was all good. "Just leave us a good review." The man decided to do something even better and gave the restaurant a shoutout on his Instagram page with over 7.6 million followers. "I have tagged them, go and support The Jetty Pavilion in Coffs Harbour, a fantastic local business. Great team, great food, amazing atmosphere, that's my review." He went on, "So please, go and support them."

He thanked the restaurant and apologised once again for the mix-up. Irwin mentioned that even though the team had told him that it was all good, he would come back to Coffs Harbour and pay the money for the salad in person. "I am so sorry. Again, I feel terrible. Guys, go and support The Jetty Pavilion." He joked, "Onto the rest of the road trip. I am not going to steal anymore salads." The caption read, "The @jettypavilioncoffs rocks! I am so sorry again and thank you for being so cool. Guys, go give them some love, let’s see how many new followers we can get these legends!" People applauded Irwin for his gesture in the comments.

@krisannaelizabeth wrote, "As a small business owner, I can confirm that you just did the absolute most WONDERFUL thing for them by doing this!! Such a kind (and life-changing) gesture." The restaurant commented, "We’re all huge fans and truly appreciate the shoutout. We can only imagine how hard it must be to enjoy a quiet meal without being bombarded, so thank you again for choosing us and no stress about missing the payment! We’d absolutely love to have you back anytime… we might even have to name a salad after you." @simphoniereads remarked, "This video made me love you more. Tough thing to do when the Irwins are literally top of my fave celeb list, but you did it." The restaurant shared an update on how Irwin came down specially to pay for his salad.

You can follow Robert Irwin (@robertirwinphotography) on Instagram for more lifestyle content.