YOU?have to give credit to Conrad Gallagher for opening a new restaurant in the middle of a recession, because he is not going to give it to you.

Customers at his cash-only restaurant Salon des Saveurs are finding themselves queuing up at a nearby Costcutters ATM after being told the restaurant does not accept credit cards.

It's the latest in a string of headaches for the former Michelin Star-winning chef, who had been accused and cleared of stealing paintings, jailed in the US, declared bankrupt in South Africa and told by Gordon Ramsey that he "couldn't run a bath".

More than four weeks after opening, staff at Gallagher's restaurant insist the lack of credit card services is down to "technical problems" and not the banks. They also insist it has nothing to do with the restaurateur's former credit history.

"Oh no, it's nothing to do with that. It's the first time I heard that," a spokeswoman said. "It is because there is still a lot of work that needs to be done. We are working on electricians cables etc, and we are doing that now.

"We tried to log them [the machines] but they weren't working and when we called the company to fix them it turns out there was a technical problem with the connection with the cables.

"We are aware that this is an inconvenience for customers and we are trying to think about them so at the moment when we get a reservation we try to tell them. It's everything that we can do now."

Indeed, try to book a table at the restaurant and you will be duly forewarned: "Just to let you know, we don't have any credit card facilities, only cash or cheque."