A bizarre AI Christmas mural at London riverside spot has been taken down after confusing locals and being roundly mocked online.
The image was erected above Thai restaurant, Busaba Eathai, on Kingston Riverside.
No one in the area that the Standard spoke to seemed to know who was responsible for the apparently AI-generated image depicting a strange Christmas scene with festive revellers half-submerged in icy water, surrounded by snow, sleds, and animals with mixed-up bodies.
Bizarre 'AI' Christmas mural sparks ridicule for warped faces and mutant animals https://t.co/KL4M7TH73E pic.twitter.com/ez67JVNfNH
— Standard News (@standardnews) November 19, 2025
The AI glitches have been described by locals as “horrifying.”
One dog can be seen merging into a chicken, and several of the laughing, joyous Christmas revellers appear to be missing limbs.
Kingston Riverside Walk unveiled their new Christmas mural, but all is not as it seems...
— Emily Mckenzie (@Emily_Mckenzie) November 18, 2025
🧵 pic.twitter.com/TqD2AS7k5f
Kingston Riverside, in south-west London, is an area popular with families and hosts several top restaurants including Côte Brasserie, Bill’s, and Comptoir Libainais.
So it’s no surprise that the erection of the mural drew attention and online, the image was mocked by entertained onlookers and locals alike.
“It’s s****”, one unimpressed critic commented.
They added that they suspected it might have been a private job, saying: “Nothing to do with Kingston Council apparently.”
— Emily Mckenzie (@Emily_Mckenzie) November 18, 2025
One journalist joked that the strange mural - far from being Christmassy - appeared to be demon-adjacent.
Matt Thrower said: “This mural has gone up in Kingston, ostensibly for Christmas but AI has ensured it’s actually to celebrate the return of our dark lord Cthulhu.”
The mural was taken down at 6.30am on Thursday.
According to the staff in Busaba Eathai, the owner of the mural remains a mystery, and no one in the restaurant has any idea who put it up or took it down.
“We know nothing about it,” they told us.
They said the mural had raised some eyebrows in the area from clientele, who noticed it on their way into the Thai restaurant.
“People started coming in, pointing it out, and commenting on it. Some of the comments were positive, but some were pretty negative.”
Waiting staff told the Standard that they believed the “artwork” was the doing of the landlord of the building, and none of the restaurants below had anything to do with it.
The surrounding area appears to still be under construction, with footage showing steel beams propping up the area where the mural previously stood.
Today may be a day of mourning for Kingston locals who enjoyed the jollity of the short-lived festive scene. But for discerning sophisticates, and connossieurs of the AI Christmas mural game, this moment marks a momentous win.
