An appeal on social media by a Bunbury wine bar to identify a man and a woman who allegedly left without paying a substantial bill has gone viral online.

Mojo's Restaurant posted a "wanted" advertisement on its Facebook site on Sunday, appealing for a French couple with distinctive tattoos and piercings to return to the eatery and settle their account.

"Could the young French couple who skipped paying there (sic) bill last night come back today & rectify the situation," the post read.

"You have very identifiable tattoos & nose rings & work in a nearby farm."

Mojo's owner Noel Brunning said the original post had been viewed nearly 30,000 times, and a subsequent still image of the couple taken from security vision had been seen nearly 20,000 times.

He said the couple, who had a three-course meal accompanied by a large amount of alcohol, added insult to injury by leaving an empty wallet on the table emblazoned with the words "bad mother" and an expletive.

They then ducked out for what staff thought was a cigarette break, and left the premises.

"They made a very theatrical display of advising our staff that they were popping outside to partake in a cigarette and they would leave their wallets on the table," Mr Brunning said.

"They did so, but wallet was empty and unfortunately carried a rather abusive message embossed on the underside, something I believe was from the movie Pulp Fiction."

Restaurant 'overwhelmed' by response

A subsequent post from the restaurant thanked those who had viewed the post for their "overwhelming support".

"Not ever have we had such a response to a post," it read.

"We've been astounded at the level of community support we have received from our Facebook friends.

"We haven't caught the bad guys yet who didn't pay their bill - but that doesn't matter - because knowing we live in such a caring and helpful community is rewarding enough."

Mr Brunning said he hoped the attention on social media would encourage the couple to do the right thing, though he thought it unlikely.

He said the "dine-and-dash" was not as common as people might think.

"It's not something that commonly happens, but it's sad and disappointing to the team when it does," he said.

"Some people leave without paying their bill, but some return the next day or later that afternoon when they've remembered they didn't pay."

Mr Brunning said police were investigating.

"They have a couple of leads they're following up at the moment," he said.