It was a wet and drizzly Friday night in Newport when I very apprehensively approached the Karen's Diner doors in Friars Walk shopping centre and I was totally unsure what to expect. Karen's Diner, the Australian dining experience where staff are rude and brutal, has made its way to Wales having opened in Newport on Friday, February 17.
First we made the mistake of showing up to the booking early. The grumpiest man to have ever welcomed me into a restaurant demanded to know what name the booking was under, bluntly told us our table wasn't ready, and then told us to f**k off.
I was so nervous at this point I failed to see the sign that said push and frantically pulled at the door trying to get out of his way. Another 20 minutes later we returned for our booking, having told myself: 'How mean can they really be?', and found ourselves in a short queue.
READ MORE: First look inside Wales' first Karen's Diner where customers are guaranteed to get insulted
The restaurant was very busy on opening night with pretty much every table full. Once at the front of the queue the same grumpy man, who still did not seem very impressed we were here, checked if we had any allergies and ran us through the house rule of a minimum spend of £15 per person.
To the people in front of us he had thrown their menus on the floor and for us when we tried to take them he gripped them so tightly we had to essentially play tug of war with them. Once we had the menu he simply barked at us we were table 29 and left us to find the table ourselves. Thankfully the tables were numbered.
Sitting at our table the first service was actually pretty quick – rude but quick. So quickly in fact we were not ready to order our drinks, receiving a dramatic eye roll and the waitress storming off. You can keep up to date with the latest What's On news by signing up to the newsletter here.
The second time around we still weren't ready but the third time we had plucked up the courage to order. This went smoothly too with the waitress taking our orderly rudely but swiftly.
A top tip for Karen's is if you don't want to be humiliated do not tell them it is your birthday. One table was shown up in front of the whole restaurant when a waiter grabbed a microphone and proceeded to tell everyone else in the restaurant to shout: "F**k off posh t**ts" at them for using a knife and fork.
While we waited for our food we were given a colouring in to do of the Karen emoji/their logo. We were actually enjoying this activity – who doesn't love colouring in? – but it came to an abrupt end when the waiter told me the colouring was "s**t" and ripped them both up. Leaving my artwork in tatters on the floor. Which he then made me pick up.
Onto the food. There were some hiccups on opening night: we ordered two thickshakes (£6 each) and two glasses of water, which had not arrived by the time our food had.
Gingerly we pointed this out and it seemed like a genuine mistake as they went and made us them straightaway. Or maybe it was just bad service?
We opted for an salted caramel and Oreo milkshake and we think we were given a chocolate milkshake instead of an Oreo one, which was still tasty. The salted caramel milkshake had an overriding flavour of milk and the salted caramel flavour that was in there was very sweet.
Food-wise we opted for The Basic Karen burger and I Want To See The Manager Karen burger as they were running off a much smaller menu-called "We want to thank British Gas" shortened menu: "For still not connecting the whole fu**king kitchen!" The Basic Karen was £13 and came with a steak beef patty, cheese, tomato, lettuce, beetroot, garlic mayo, and burger sauce.
This burger was good and the steak beef patty was very good quality, packed with flavour and really adding to the dish. The burger sauce was also very strong and complemented the burger well however I could not taste the garlic mayo.
Each burger came with chips, which were delicious. They were crispy on the outside, light and fluffy on the inside, and perfectly cooked –not over- or underdone. The chips also had a great flavour.
You got a lot on your plate and the portion sizes were very good. The I Want To See The Manger Karen came with two steak beef patties, cheese, bacon, lettuce, pickles, mustard, plus BBQ and burger sauce for £16.50.
This burger was mega – so much so my partner sheepishly got up to get a knife and fork to tackle it. Again the meat was of very good quality, including the bacon, and the cheese was good.
The burger was a bit greasy but overall not bad at all. Another thing I learnt about Karen's is that the chefs join in as they yell out abuse from the open kitchen.
At the end of our meal we had to ask for our bill twice. We were told no both times and the first time they clearly meant it before we quickly made our escape. Karen's Diner is a very fun experience and unlike anywhere I have ever eaten before. The food was good and the staff were incredible at staying in their roles and being constantly rude and unbothered. It certainly was the worst service I have ever received.
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