Featured Image Credit: Oscars Cafe Bar
Topics: Ireland, Food And Drink
Dominic Smithers
A restaurant was forced to release an image from CCTV footage after it received a 'false and exaggerated' review online.
Staff at Oscars Cafe Bar in Dublin, Ireland, were upset when a customer claimed they had had a "disappointing experience" during a recent visit.
In a review posted on Google, the person said they had been served a 'warm' hot chocolate and 'dry' chicken, while their steak was 'not pink'.
They explained that they had been recommended Oscars by someone at the Jameson Distillery, but that it really did not live up to the hype.
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The disgruntled guest wrote: "Really disappointing experience. Wife had a hot chocolate, it was served warm and not hot. Her meal was a chicken burger. The chicken was dry to the point where she couldn't eat it.
"I had steak and eggs. Waitress asked if it should be pink or not. I said pink. Nothing pink about the steak... When the waitress asked about the food and I informed her, her response was that chicken breast is dry so it's to be expected."
They then went on to recall an exchange they had with staff at the restaurant, adding: "I know I'm not the chef, but I do cook and I said that it shouldn't be this dry, her response was, 'Maybe you should come work here'. Of course, she was joking, but that's not what I wanted to hear.
"She offered no explanation for the steak, but did confirm she told the chef pink. She said she'd tell the chef my feedback, but I just paid the bill and left after the disappointment and responses from the waitress.
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"I can excuse bad food because every chef has a bad meal once in a while, but bad service I can't accept in these circumstances."
Angry at the pretty scathing comments, the restaurant went back and had a look through its CCTV footage, to see what actually happened.
And a photo from the clip shows the guest eating their meal and returning the plates - with not a single scrap left.
Sharing the image on social media, Oscars said: "Before we get attacked for 'shaming our customers', all we are doing is defending our reputation.
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"A false and exaggerated review such as this causes a lot of upset to our entire team, from the kitchen to servers to management."
In response to the critique, the owner of the bar told the diner that they never complained during their meal, only after they had finished eating, at which point they were even offered - and accepted - 10 percent off their bill.
And they branded their comments 'downright lies'.
"Thanks for taking the time to leave a review, albeit a review that we feel is grossly unfair," they said.
"Sir, we are happy to receive constructive criticism at any point.
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"However, feedback that is littered with exaggerations and downright lies will be treated with the contempt it deserves."