LONDON Dungeon — an enclave of spooky corridors and shock-tactic exhibits which looks at the darker side of the history of the city — is celebrating the opening of its Rat Cafe, and with it, the chance for guests to enjoy a nice mug of “Ratuccino,” the Daily Mail reported Tuesday.

    The concept has been dreamed up in response to the current Japanese craze for “Cat Cafes” — where customers sip lunchtime drinks in the company of resident felines, the report said.

    This London version, as you might have guessed, involves not purring moggies but scampering, twitching — and very real — rodents, according to the report.

    Health and safety officials will be relieved to hear that neither food nor drink at the Rat Café includes rats as genuine ingredients — but willing guests can, if they so choose, enjoy both while the little creatures dash about the room, or even sit on their shoulders, the report said.

    Although this unusual form of catering is largely for fun, there is also a mildly serious point to it — an attempt to rehabilitate the image of a much-maligned creature, the report said.

    “Rats have been tarnished with an undeserved reputation throughout history — from the Black Death of the Middle Ages to the great stink of Victorian times,” says Hywel Mathias of London Dungeon.

    “We wanted to challenge those perceptions and show they are actually characterful and full of fun.” Eighteen rats were unleashed on cafe guests, the report said. (SD-Agencies)