A tubby builder who was asked to leave an all-you-can-eat restaurant after scoffing his way through 14 plates of pasta has been given an apology and invited back for a free second meal – where he then ate 35 plates in one sitting.

Joao Carlos, 29, who works as a painter on construction sites, ate 14 plates of pasta at the all-you-can-eat restaurant in Sao Paulo for which he paid BRL 19.90 (GBP 2.82).

But when horrified waiting staff saw him then going for his 15th plate, the person managing the store that day came up and asked him to leave.

He posted a good-natured video on TikTok saying that his money had been refunded but confirming that he was not allowed to eat any more.

He said: “The guys told me to stop just because of this, look, I ate 14 dishes. They don’t want to serve me any more, after 14 courses, but they said they would give me my money back.”

The dirty dishes that he had eaten could be seen on the table in the background, and he then left the restaurant not thinking any more of it, and was amazed when the video went viral.

A short while later, he was contacted again by the manager who apologised, and said it was not the usual practice. They also said that business had been booming since his video went viral, and as a thank you, they invited him back and this time round, he would not have to pay anything regardless of how much he ate.

He wrote: “The staff got in touch with me and said that it was not their standard procedure, and I told them I only made the video as a joke.”

He said he had then been invited to go there for lunch on the house and eat as much as he wanted, and he then munched his way through an incredible 35 plates of pasta – again posting a video showing the empty plates this time stacked high, as there were too many to spread over the table.