A CUSTOMER charged with attacking a waiter during a dispute about a grilled fish at an Adelaide restaurant will contest the allegations, claiming she was illegally detained and acting in self-defence.

On Wednesday, Chunping Quan, 48, appeared in the Adelaide Magistrates Court for the first time charged with failing to make payment and assault over the incident at Nice Fish Chinese Restaurant, on Gouger St, on June 20.

The court heard she would most likely plead guilty to failing to make payment but would be fighting the assault charge on the grounds she was illegally detained and acting in self-defence.

The prosecutor told Magistrate Elizabeth Sheppard the waiter followed Quan up Gouger St after she had an argument with his boss about the bill.

She said the victim grabbed Quan’s arm to stop her further fleeing when she allegedly started to bite and choke him.

“She bit into the victim’s hand which has broken the skin,” she said.

Quan, of Woodville Gardens, was dining at the restaurant with another person when a dispute between her and wait staff arose over the payment of the meal.

Following the incident, restaurant manager Olivia Zhu said the woman ordered a half serve of the steamed barramundi, which was not on the menu, before a whole fish was placed in front of her.

She said despite eating most of the fish, Quan allegedly only paid half the price before leaving the restaurant.

“At first they only asked for the half-fish and I said we don’t serve half-fish so we served them a whole fish,” she said last month.

“They nearly finished the whole fish — everything except the head and bones.

“She said they only wanted half-fish so they only want to pay half price and we did not accept this.”

It was further up Gouger St, near the Morphett St intersection, that Quan allegedly attacked a 19-year-old waiter who tried to stop her until police arrived.

She allegedly twice bit the waiter on the arm, scratched and choked him.

The victim was taken to hospital and received stitches to the bites on his arm.

Quan will reappear in court in September.