Over the sizzle of the grill, Gardies owner Vas Anastasiou spoke of his dismay at not being able to speak to “a real person” at Instagram while battling to regain access to the takeaway’s account.

On discovering the account had been hacked, Greta, Gardenia’s director, was quick to get in touch with Instagram and sent all the information needed to verify her identity as the rightful owner of the account.

Followers of Gardies’ account have received messages seemingly encouraging them to buy cryptocurrency.

The loss of the account has proved “very upsetting” for the team given the “hours invested” and the efforts made to “keep connected with the student population”, who they have fed on nights out for over 30 years. The account has accumulated over 1,600 followers and “was not done for advertising or run for money”.

This is not the first time the takeaway has had to deal with hackers as its Facebook was compromised only last month. However, on that occasion access to their account was restored after two days.

Gardies being a small business, Vas expressed confusion over why they are being targeted. He said they “lack the expertise” to navigate the time-consuming process of dealing with big tech giants, and would encourage anyone who can help them to reach out.