Robin Sandusky found a lizard's head and arm in her kale salad on Tuesday in Manhattan. (Courtesy Robin Sandusky)

Robin Sandusky was trying to incorporate more protein into her diet, but finding a surprise critter in her salad wasn't exactly what she had in mind.

Sandusky, who works in New York City's theater industry, found the head and arm of a lizard in the kale salad she had delivered to her office on Tuesday from a restaurant called Guy & Gallard. She'd already eaten a quarter of it when she spotted the reptile in the corner of her bowl.

"I turned it over and the gore was hanging out the back of the neck," she told ABC News today, adding that the lizard had an arm and half-open eyelids. "I said, 'Oh man. I have a lizard in my salad.'"

At first, her coworker didn't believe her.

She said she called the restaurant for a refund, but didn't take them up on their offer to give her a replacement salad. She put the lizard head on the fork, closed the lid of the salad and placed it on the receptionist's desk in a bag.

But before saying goodbye to the creature for good, she got a quick photo.

"How many times are you going to have that happen in your life?" she said. "The reaction to it has been a lot more insane than the actual event. The New York Post was stalking outside my apartment waiting for me with a picture of my boyfriend and I on her phone."

Jason Jefferies, one of the managing partners at Guy & Gallard, said the restaurant chain hasn't had an issue like this in 20 years, and they're still investigating what happened.

"We keep our kitchens to the highest standards," he told ABC News. "Pretty much we're shocked at the possibility this could happen."

He said they disposed of remaining lettuce out of an abundance of caution, but so far haven't found any "proof" that it was responsible for the lizard getting in the salad.

In December, a woman found a frog in her Pret A Manger salad in Manhattan.