Would you expect to have an inedible item at a (veg/vegan) restaurant taken off the bill?

Posted by Ok-Bunch6901@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 41 comments

Me and my partner were out for their birthday meal at a very nice (pricey) vegetarian/ vegan restaurant last night. They are vegetarian and I'm veg curious.

Restaurant was busy and had a great atmosphere and the staff were friendly.

The starters and mains were excellent. Really good.

However we ordered 2 desserts. A cheese cake and a rice pudding.

Both were indedible.

The rice pudding was runny/ watery and had a very strong cinnamon flavour. The cheesecake had no flavour at all.

So we didn't eat either. On reflection both of these I'm assuming we're vegan desserts due to the consistency. (They were the only 2 deserts available apart from an affgato).

I didn't complain. But when the waitress took the plates away she asked if anything was wrong and I explained in a friendly way what I've just typed above. She acknowledged my feedback , but somewhat unexpectedly both items were still on the bill.

The bill was £125 for 2 people (including 1 bottle of wine). And the desserts were £8 each.

Because the items weren't taken off the bill I then chose not to leave a tip.

1/ was I wrong to expect the items to be taken off the bill? 2/ is it just that I'm not uses to eating vegan desserts that I found these items poor? My partner also couldn't eat them? 3/ was I wrong not to leave a tip?

[-]

nah-worries-mate@reddit

Veg curious lol

[-]

Indigo-Waterfall@reddit

I wouldn’t expect to have it taken off the bill automatically without asking. Especially as you didnt go OUT of your way to complain you just explained far their asked. So doesn’t seem like you wanted the items removed from the bill.

However, if you didn’t eat it, and complained and asked for it to be taken off the bill then yeah I think it would be normal to have it removed. But you have to ask for that and not just assume it would happen.

[-]

Ok-Bunch6901@reddit (OP)

Looks like I just missed the final step!

Although I'm now regaling the event the following day on Reddit, at the time I wasn't that fussed and I didn't want to taint the end of a nice evening

[-]

Indigo-Waterfall@reddit

Communication is key in most situations.

[-]

NowIRide@reddit

Stuff isn't removed from a bill because you don't like it.

I've ordered food from places before that I've found disgusting and haven't eaten, but that's on me for not liking it, there was nothing inherently wrong with the food.

Even the other day my wife ordered an insanely expensive cocktail, had one sip and went nope, that's gross and left the rest. We didn't for one second consider it would be removed from the bill.

In the same place another time, we found a plastic cap off a small bottle in the cabbage.. on that occasion they wiped the entire bill clean and told us to order dessert.

[-]

cowie71@reddit

I don’t think that it being a vegetarian or vegan restaurant should change anything here.

Your feedback should have included “these items were below the standard I expected and therefore can you take them off the bill”

[-]

Ok-Bunch6901@reddit (OP)

The only reason I referenced it was vegan is because as a non vegan I wasn't sure if the food was genuinely bad, or I just wasn't used to the tastes and textures of vegan desserts. Which is what made me pause when deciding to ask to have them taken off the bill or not

[-]

unsureaboutthis21@reddit

Did you tell the waitress you thought they were inedible and wanted them removed? Or did you simply say the taste wasn’t good?

[-]

Ok-Bunch6901@reddit (OP)

I didn't ask them to be removed, just highlighted they were poor. Mainly cause I didn't want to cause a fuss on what was a nice evening (I'm not passive generally, I just didn't want to taint the evening). I was more interested to see if they would take the initiative.

[-]

Jeremys_Iron_@reddit

Such a British thing to do, christ. Reminds me of that Fawlty Towers couple.

[-]

Ok-Bunch6901@reddit (OP)

Haha so true ! This made me laugh

[-]

decentlyfair@reddit

If they didn’t offer at the time of you saying they weren’t good then they wouldn’t offer to take them off the bill.

[-]

horbu@reddit

If the desserts were prepared/served correctly and other people have eaten them then yes you were wrong. You just didn’t like them, which is not the restaurants problem. You pay for them and learn your lesson.

[-]

rocketshipkiwi@reddit

I’ve lived with a vegan and while vegan meals can taste good, whenever they tried to make a vegan version of a meal which was fundamentally non-vegan it didn’t taste good.

I can understand rice pudding but, how can you have a cheese cake without cheese and eggs? Why would someone even try to do that.

[-]

Alone_Clothes2329@reddit

I believe the policy is that you need to alert the server immediately. However by the sounds of it, it just sounds like standard vegan deserts tbh so I don't think unless it had been prepared incorrectly then you couldn't have had it removed from the bill. It seems you put the server in a bit of an awkward spot but I personally think she did the correct thing in billing you

[-]

Ok-Bunch6901@reddit (OP)

I agree with all this, and I think this is where I landed. At the time I was unsure if the food was poor, or it was just because I wasn't used to vegan desserts, which will inevitably taste different and have different textures

[-]

SwordTaster@reddit

Just because you didn't like an item doesn't mean it should come off the bill (though I can't say if this is how these desserts are supposed to be, it would make sense though because vegan creams tend not to be perfect substitutions for dairy), and I question why you seem to believe the wait staff had anything to do with the construction of the dish, being as it is them who would be receiving a tip had you left one. A tip is supposed to reflect the service given by the waiters, not the quality of the food

[-]

Ok-Bunch6901@reddit (OP)

Totally agree with your first point, and this is where I was unsure. Was the food actually excellent but I just wasn't used to it being vegan. Maybe.

Disagree on the second point. I tip based on the quality of the overall experience, very much including the quality of the food.

[-]

Nice_Back_9977@reddit

I’d have asked to have them taken off the bill, why didn’t you?

[-]

Ok-Bunch6901@reddit (OP)

Mainly cause I didn't want to cause a fuss / taint the end of a nice evening. And also, because I was unsure if it was just my non vegan taste buds causing the dislike

[-]

decentlyfair@reddit

Possible as sometimes my non vegan husband likes vegan food and sometimes not but equally as a vegan same goes for me. It could just be that the desserts weren’t good and nothing to do with the fact they were vegan.

[-]

Nice_Back_9977@reddit

This was excessively British of you. It’s perfectly fine to say ‘these weren’t edible I’m afraid so we would like them taken off the bill’ and it doesn’t taint the evening if you can laugh about how bad they were!

[-]

beaches511@reddit

Was the cheesecake inedible or just lacked a strong flavour? Cheesecake isn't particularly flavour full at the best of times.

[-]

newonecus@reddit

You didn’t ask, they supposed to read your mind?

[-]

StrengthForeign3512@reddit

I wouldn’t expect them to be taken off the bill unless you asked for them to be.

Vegan desserts cans and should be just as delicious as non-vegan desserts.

[-]

whatisthisinmygarden@reddit

Yeah, the whole vegan/vegetarian part of this story is irrelevant.

[-]

Ok-Bunch6901@reddit (OP)

The reason I added that is because I was unsure if a vegan would have enjoyed them , and the reason I didn't was because I'm not used to vegan desserts which will inevitably have a different taste and texture to their non vegan equivalent.

[-]

Scottish_squirrel@reddit

You ordered. I assumed tried and didn't eat. They don't automatically remove them from the menu. You need to use your words. It's not the waitress fault you felt that way but at the end of the day you punished them for it.

[-]

WowzersTrousers0@reddit

I didn't complain....She acknowledged my feedback , but somewhat unexpectedly both items were still on the bill.

Well, you didn't ask for them to be removed from the bill, then?

You don't ask, you don't get.

[-]

Ok-Bunch6901@reddit (OP)

No. I was unsure if the reason we didn't like them was just because they were vegan and I'm not uses to eating vegan desserts which will inevitably have a different taste / texture to normal rice pudding / cheesecake.

I should have (and normally would have ) been more assertive but I didn't want to cause a fuss at what was the end of a nice evening.

[-]

HollyGoLately@reddit

If you wanted them taken off the bill you should have asked to have them taken off the bill. You chose not to leave a tip because the waitress isn’t a mind reader.

[-]

Wonderful-Cow-9664@reddit

Im confused…

You didn’t complain and received a bill for the full meal-and you’re surprised by this?

Do you imagine that vegan restaurants employ psychic staff?

[-]

pullingteeths@reddit

You should have complained and been more direct

[-]

SheepishSwan@reddit

Why did you expect them to be taken off the bill?

Also £125 is a lot for a single meal, don't expect any sympathy.

[-]

ahfckicntblvuvdnths@reddit

If you don't ask, you don't get. You have to advocate for yourself, that doesn't mean being confrontational, but you should be able to clearly and calmly state your desired outcome.

[-]

WatercressCrafty3350@reddit

I’d ask for it to be taken off the bill

[-]

becca413g@reddit

I’d not expect them to be taken off the bill unless I said I didn’t want to pay for them. While you said it was inedible it didn’t sound like it was cremated or a contaminated somehow under those circumstances I’d expect either a replacement or a refund.

A tip is optional. Staff should be being paid fair wages and if you feel the service didn’t deserve a tip that’s totally fine.

[-]

Midnightraven3@reddit

I would still have tipped the waitress, the poor quality of dessert wasnt down to her, and you didnt communicate you wanted it taken from the bill (which I would want done in your shoes)

I would leave a factual review though

[-]

When replying to submission/post please make genuine efforts to answer the question given. Please no jokes, judgements, etc.
Don't be a dick to each other. If getting heated, just block and move on.
This is a strictly no-politics subreddit!

Please help us by reporting comments that break these rules.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.