A popular restaurant in the United Kingdom told a vegan TikToker that they “don’t cater for vegans” and wouldn’t serve her. This left the TikToker speechless.
Amie-Beth Steadman, from Essex, England, had a problem with the Sheesh barbecue restaurant in Chigwell after she called to ask if they had any dishes made from plants. But she got a rude awakening when the person who answered the phone allegedly said that they “don’t know why a vegan would come here.”
The 27-year-old talked about it on TikTok to her 2,800 followers.
I’d been to Sheesh a couple of years ago, and I’m a vegan, and they didn’t actually have anything on their main menu that was vegan. But I was thinking… Maybe I could just get some sides. Some chips and rice, all of that, and like mix it all together,
she said in the three-minute video.
“Whenever I go to restaurants, I actually prefer side dishes to mains a lot of the time…Anyway [when I went to Sheesh] a couple years ago, I asked to do that, and they wouldn’t let me,
She went on to say that she had decided that this time, she would call the restaurant ahead of time to find out more about any vegan options they might have.
So the lady on the phone said ‘we don’t cater for vegans,’
she explained.
[My friend said], ‘yeah, I understand that. But I can see obviously you’ve got loads of sides. She was just wondering if maybe she could order a few of those. And have that as her main?’
The next thing the worker said shocked the two people.
I don’t even know why vegan would even want to come to our restaurant anyway,
they were told over the phone.
After the conversation, Steadman was left feeling angry and upset, and she said that “being a vegan isn’t weird.”
Like we were just asking a question like, fair enough if that’s your policy, but, saying ‘why would a vegan even want to come here?’ I just can’t believe that a restaurant that…is so well known would just be so rude,
she added.
Many people criticized the restaurant for being rude the comments, which was a relief for the 27-year-old woman.
If a restaurant doesn’t offer vegan, vegetarian or gluten free options in 2023 it’s dead! No excuse,
wrote one user.
This is so bizarre, what is the issue with ordering multiple sides instead of a main I don’t get it,
another added.
A third agreed, writing:
I’m not vegan but what actually is their issue with vegans ordering sides or spending money in their restaurant.
But not everyone was as kind. This user pointed out that it was a “meat restaurant,” which was not a very nice thing to say.
Steadman quickly shut them down by saying that it was actually a “Turkish restaurant.” She also said,
Many Turkish restaurants serve falafel. It’s not predominately meat. Saying that, I have been to steakhouses offering vegan.
