Animal rights activists were moved on by police after taking over a Michelin Star restaurant in Newcastle.
Nine members of Animal Rebellion entered House of Tides on the Quayside, which is run by chef Kenny Atkinson, at around 5.45pm on Saturday evening.
The smartly dressed protestors sat at tables in the high-end restaurant, preventing diners who had already booked from being able to take their seats. They held mock menus outlining the group's demands.
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The menus read: "This menu would spare the lives of 1.2bllion land animals and more than three million sea animals in the UK every year. This menu would eliminate 70% of food-related emissions and draw down 150 gigatons of carbon from the atmosphere.
"This menu would provide more than enough affordable, nutritious plant-based food to feed everyone."
The restaurant is understood to have phoned the police. Protesters remained at the venue for around 45 minutes before they were moved on. Pictures show officers inside the restaurant talking to protesters.
A spokesperson for Animal Rebellion said: "They entered the restaurant around quarter to six. There was nine people. They went in and explained to the host that it was a protest. They occupied the tables preventing people in the restaurant from being able to be seated. The restaurant rang the police."
Mirror Online reports how the protest was carried out during a day of action. The sit-in is the first of several expected tonight with protesters set to occupy other restaurants in London and Birmingham.
According to the group, House of Tides was targeted as it does not cater to vegans.
Protester Robert Gordon, 26, a former animal care assistant, said: "This action is the first of multiple high-end restaurant sit-ins that will be happening across England this evening. We are targeting these venues in sustained action as they are symbolic of a broken system.
"Households in the North-East have the lowest disposable income when compared to other regions in the UK. Yet House of Tides continues to profit off a wealthy minority by serving meat, dairy, and fish at the expense of our natural world.
"Instead, luxury restaurants like these should be leading by example and transitioning to serving sustainable, plant-based foods.
"A plant-based food system could eliminate the suffering of the one billion farmed animals, and many more fish, killed in the UK each year.
"This would also free-up space for crucial rewilding to draw-down carbon from the atmosphere and restore our countryside, coasts, and precious wildlife."
The action comes a month after members shut down Gordon Ramsay's three star Michelin restaurant in Chelsea, west London, when they sat at reserved tables in smart casual clothing. They held mock menus outlining the environmental costs of items served on the restaurant's menu, including steak and veal.
Chronicle Live has contacted Northumbria Police for more information.
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