Gordon Ramsay says customers are stealing from his new restaurant, but they're not taking food or money

(NEXSTAR) – Diners at Gordon Ramsay’s newest London restaurant just can’t keep their hands off his knick-knacks.

Ramsay, 58, during the taping of an upcoming talk-show appearance on “The Jonathan Ross Show,” has reportedly revealed that customers at his Lucky Cat restaurant are stealing the cat figurines that decorate the inside of the eatery, The Guardian and the BBC reported.

The celebrity chef told Ross that 477 of the cat figurines — which are inspired by the maneki-neko figurines often seen in Japanese restaurants — were stolen in the first week of operations after Lucky Cat’s grand opening in the Bishopsgate area of London.

“They cost 4.50 pounds each,” Ramsay reportedly told Ross.

It was unclear whether Ramsay intended to beef up efforts to mitigate the theft. Ramsay’s appearance on “The Jonathan Ross Show” airs Saturday.

Lucky Cat in Bishopsgate held its grand opening on Feb. 3, according to Ramsay’s website. The restaurant concept — which already has locations in Miami, Manchester, and another in London — is said to be inspired by “Tokyo’s 1930s kissas and Shanghai drinking dens.”

“These nocturnal music clubs became the playground of the urban youth seeking all things extravagant, new and cutting edge: illegal jazz music, late night banned dancing, rare whiskeys and indulgent street food,” a description for the Miami location reads.

All of the restaurants also appear to be decorated with the maneki-neko figurines, according to photos shared with Google and Yelp reviews. Other images (like this one from Lucky Cat's Instagram, or this one from a Google review) indicate that tiny maneki-neko figurines double as rests for the diners’ chopsticks.

The figurines, also sometimes called “waving” or “beckoning cats,” are believed by some to bring good fortune, though their origin isn’t as clear, National Geographic once reported. It’s possible that their modern-day prevalence at businesses in Asian communities can be traced to a reverence for cats, and perhaps their aid in controlling pests in 15th-century Japan, according to the outlet.