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Customer Rates A Vegan Café With One Star Because They Didn’t Have ‘Normal’ Milk, The Owner Replies With A Witty Comeback
Interview With Owner
For someone who likes my coffee with oat milk only, this bad review left for Café Van Gogh, a vegan restaurant in Brixton, comes as somewhat of a bamboozlement.
According to the dissatisfied customer, they were forced to drink oat milk since the place didn’t have “normal milk.” “‘It says ‘vegan friendly’ but is just vegan,” the review stated, noting that their oat milk cappuccino tasted ‘like porridge.’
But the owner Steve Clarke, 47, who runs the non-profit business with head chef and co-owner Bonita de Silva, decided to respond. So they penned a mic-drop response putting the customer in their place and winning the hearts of the internet. “You can’t win ‘em all…,” stated the caption alongside the screenshot that Steve shared on the restaurant’s Facebook page.
Read it all in full right below and share your thoughts in the comments!
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A dissatisfied customer recently left a one-star review for Cafe Van Gogh in Brixton, claiming they forced them to drink oat milk that tasted like ‘porridge’ 
Image credits: cafevangoghldn
But the owners Steve Clarke and Bonita de Silva didn’t stay silent and penned a hilarious response that put the critic in their place
Image credits: cafevangoghldn
Image credits: cafevangoghldn
Bored Panda reached out to Steven Clarke, the owner of Café Van Gogh, which is a Brixton Road, London-based vegan restaurant and a non-profit social enterprise. The cafe works in conjunction with Toucan Employment, a learning disability employment charity, to run a program of on-the-job training for people with additional challenges in life, such as a learning disability or a mental health problem, to provide them with the support and confidence to seek paid employment.
“Along with all businesses, we do, of course, get occasional bad reviews. This is normal, and doesn’t faze us and is an opportunity for us to learn and grow,” Steven told us. “The point we were trying to make with our response is please talk to us if you have a problem,” he added.
The cafe is a non-profit social enterprise that trains and employs adults with learning disabilities, and ‘runs on kindness’
Image credits: cafevangoghldn
The owner explained that the team of Café Van Gogh is an “incredibly approachable team of staff, and will find time to discuss your problems. We move mountains to put things right, if we’re given the opportunity to do so… but a review posted perhaps days later leaves us with little opportunity to do anything about it, except exercise our right of reply.”
The customers can contribute to their pay it forward scheme that means buying coffee for those who can’t afford it
Image credits: cafevangoghldn
When asked whether it has ever happened before that a customer is unaware that their restaurant is vegan, Steven said that it shouldn’t happen. “It’s on our menus, on our chalk boards, certainly on our website and social media profiles, and it’s ALWAYS mentioned when people request a coffee, so we can work out what milk is wanted.”
In fact, “it’s our USP… I guess some people are unhappy about that, and frankly that’s just tough,” he added.
Image credits: cafevangoghldn
“We take each review as we find it, and fortunately until porridge-milk-gate we’ve not had many poor reviews,” Steven said and added: “At best they are an opportunity for us to take feedback and grow. At worst they are someone in a darkened room somewhere enraged that we do things differently at Café Van Gogh, and feeling the need to lash out.”
Image credits: cafevangoghldn
“My background pre-café is working with people with very complex needs. I pick up a real sense of unhappiness from some of these people, they should likely get out more,” the owner and the author of this viral response to the bad review concluded.
And this is what people had to comment on the incident
But some pointed out the term ‘vegan-friendly’ might have been confusing
What do you think ?
Foxxy (The Original) 3 years ago (edited)
What did the customer expect for crying out loud. If you go to a vegan Cafe, expect vegan food and drinks. It's not bloody rocket science. I went to a Cafe once and when I looked at the menu it said in capital letters NO SUBSTITUTIONS, when I went to order, I asked for no butter on a toastie but they classed that as a substitution. You know what I did, I politely said "no worries, thank you" and left. See, simple. On another note, I love what they are doing with training people with disabilities and their pay it forward motto. Kudos to them.
Pat Bond 3 years ago (edited)
I applaud what they are trying to achieve. The website on the first page says: A Destination Here at Cafe Van Gogh we are famous for cooking delicious, plant-based dishes using seasonal ingredients. Our menu changes every 6-8 weeks so be sure to keep an eye on our instagram page to see what’s cooking. At the bottom of all the menus is: Everything is Vegan. Please advise staff of any allergies before ordering. None of the pictures in the article or on google maps would give you the impression that it's a vegan establishment just from the outside. Vincent Van Gogh however was a vegetarian, that clue may just be a bit too subtle.
Load More Replies...
CatWoman312 3 years ago
Im not a vegan and if I saw “vegan friendly cafe” I would presume it was indeed a vegan cafe lol. I likely wouldn’t go, but if I did I wouldn’t be this pretentious. Obviously if you enter an establishment with a certain type of food/beverage you may or may not like it. Same idea if you enter say an Indian or Russian restaurant you might not like it, that’s your palettes fault, not the restaurant’s.
Vicky Z 3 years ago
To be fair vegan friendly doesn't mean exclusively vegan though.... i don't know if the place is advertised as vegan friendly or just vegan but if it's the first it's indeed misleading! However when they tell you the choices and you don't like them you just leave! You don't drink the coffee and then complain on TripAdvisor!
Load More Replies...
Goth mouse (they/them) 3 years ago (edited)
Im allergic to dairy and id love to have a coffee at a cafe, none of the ones in my area have anything dairy free! A fully dairy free cafe with no risk of cross contamination would be amazing 🥺
Foxxy (The Original) 3 years ago (edited)
What did the customer expect for crying out loud. If you go to a vegan Cafe, expect vegan food and drinks. It's not bloody rocket science. I went to a Cafe once and when I looked at the menu it said in capital letters NO SUBSTITUTIONS, when I went to order, I asked for no butter on a toastie but they classed that as a substitution. You know what I did, I politely said "no worries, thank you" and left. See, simple. On another note, I love what they are doing with training people with disabilities and their pay it forward motto. Kudos to them.
Pat Bond 3 years ago (edited)
I applaud what they are trying to achieve. The website on the first page says: A Destination Here at Cafe Van Gogh we are famous for cooking delicious, plant-based dishes using seasonal ingredients. Our menu changes every 6-8 weeks so be sure to keep an eye on our instagram page to see what’s cooking. At the bottom of all the menus is: Everything is Vegan. Please advise staff of any allergies before ordering. None of the pictures in the article or on google maps would give you the impression that it's a vegan establishment just from the outside. Vincent Van Gogh however was a vegetarian, that clue may just be a bit too subtle.
Load More Replies... CatWoman312 3 years ago
Im not a vegan and if I saw “vegan friendly cafe” I would presume it was indeed a vegan cafe lol. I likely wouldn’t go, but if I did I wouldn’t be this pretentious. Obviously if you enter an establishment with a certain type of food/beverage you may or may not like it. Same idea if you enter say an Indian or Russian restaurant you might not like it, that’s your palettes fault, not the restaurant’s.
Vicky Z 3 years ago
To be fair vegan friendly doesn't mean exclusively vegan though.... i don't know if the place is advertised as vegan friendly or just vegan but if it's the first it's indeed misleading! However when they tell you the choices and you don't like them you just leave! You don't drink the coffee and then complain on TripAdvisor!
Load More Replies... Goth mouse (they/them) 3 years ago (edited)
Im allergic to dairy and id love to have a coffee at a cafe, none of the ones in my area have anything dairy free! A fully dairy free cafe with no risk of cross contamination would be amazing 🥺
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