A 'slimeball' has been caught on camera dining and dashing after enjoying a dinner of steak and lobster at a Northern California restaurant.

Employees at the House of Beef in Oakdale say the unidentified man came into the restaurant on Tuesday and claimed he was waiting for a number of other people to join him for dinner.

After about an hour, he decided to dine alone and proceeded to order a 20-ounce porterhouse and a lobster tail.

A man was caught on surveillance footage sitting in front of a porterhouse steak, a lobster tail and a 20-ounce beer before. Here he can be seen pickup up the steak and letting the juice drip

The man then places the slab of meat into a black linen napkin before deciding what to do next

The man was captured on surveillance footage enjoying his meal as he ate part of the lobster, but instead of tucking into his steak he could be seen wrapping it up into a napkin that he had taken from the bread basket.

Cameras then captured the man 'looking very nervous and looking around making sure no one was watching him' according to Christina Ingram, a server who shared the surveillance footage to Facebook.

Video then shows the man getting up from his seat and walking out of the place without paying.

'What type of person will take a steak and watch the juice drip off and then wrap it in a linen napkin?' asked server Denise Loya in an interview with Fox 40.

Here, surveillance footage gives viewers a close-up view of the man's face

The man continues to eat for a little longer before deciding to make a run for it

The diner gets up from his table still holding his steak and heads quickly towards the door

No members of staff were around to stop the man from walking out with his steak and without paying his $56 bill

Loya also noted that the man who came in wearing a suit, looked like a 'used-car salesman, or a bad real estate agent. A slimeball!' she said.

In total, the diner walked out on a $56 meal - a $26.95 steak and $16.95 lobster tail together with a 20-ounce beer.

Restaurant owner Steve Medlen has filed a police report and says he would like the diner to come back and pay his bill.

Server Loya added that it would be nice if the man confessed but doesn't think it likely.

'It would be great if he would come in and pay his bill and apologize, but I highly doubt that's going to happen,' she said.

Anyone with information as to the diner's identity is encouraged to contact Oakdale police.