When you hear the words, Karen's Diner, then you can already kinda guess what service you are likely to receive.
First starting out in Australia in 2021, Karen's has since expanded to the UK, with restaurants popping up in the likes of Birmingham and Manchester:
For those not in the know, Karen's prides itself on good food but 'terrible service' - something that certainly makes it very unique compared to the bog-standard diner.
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And the franchise has been featured quite a lot on TikTok, with many restaurant-goers posting their terrible service experience online.
While staff can be extremely rude to customers, there are some boundaries that staff, but also customers, cannot pass.
Unfortunately, some Karen's Diner customers in Birmingham have been left furious after claiming they had been turned away at the door because they could not offer allergy assurances.
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Speaking of their granddaughters alleged experience in January 2023, Raymond wrote on TripAdvisor: "My daughter booked for the granddaughters birthday on the 30th December but could not get in as my other Granddaughter has an allergy, even though they said they would sit away so her Daughter and friends could still enjoy the treat, they were told no they had to leave."
Someone else claimed that they were refused entry 'due to a friend's dairy intolerance'.
And another customer said: "Visited with a group of 10 people, pre-booked and £100 deposit paid, however we were turned away as i have a dairy intolerance.
"Food allergy is legally considered to be a disability, they wouldn’t imagine refusing entry to someone with a physical disability, but they will refuse entry to others based on a condition which is out of their control."
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Following the complaints, Karen's Diner provided a response, saying that all customers were advised of the allergy policy when pre-booking.
As per Sick Chirpse, the diner said: "This resulted in a directive not to offer any allergy assurances.
"All customers that were pre-booked were informed of this restriction, and obviously all customers were informed of this on entry.
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"The removal of the instruction depends on a random inspection by Environmental Health which unfortunately did not take place until 27 March.
"They were in fact invited to inspect weeks prior to this visiting date. After inspection, Birmingham was immediately granted a five-star rating which in turn allows them to function fully.
"The restaurant, over the last six months has served over 50,000 people and their Open Table rating review is above standard 4.4 stars."
LADbible has reached out to Karen's Diner and Birmingham City Council for further comment.
Topics: Food And Drink, UK News
Callum Jones