Hispi, owned by restaurateur Gary Usher, is one of his several critically acclaimed bistros. Photo / Instagram
Hispi, owned by restaurateur Gary Usher, is one of his several critically acclaimed bistros. Photo / Instagram
The owner of a fancy restaurant has bit back at a Tripadvisor reviewer - who complained that the eatery didn't have the right lemonade to put in their £120 bottle of wine.
Hispi, owned by restaurateur Gary Usher, is one of his several critically acclaimed bistros which also includes Sticky Walnut, Burnt Truffle and Wreckfish - all in and around Liverpool and Chester.
So when a TripAdvisor reviewer took aim at his Didsbury restaurant, Usher fired back on Twitter, the MailOnline reported.
The one star review - titled "No customer skills" - took umbrage with the fact that the restaurant didn't have any of their preferred lemonade to put in the bottle of red wine they had ordered.
"Unfortunately never got to sample the food so this review is more about the complete lack of customer relations," it starts.
"We arrived and were seated and asked what we wanted to drink. Champagne for the ladies at £90 a bottle and a bottle of red wine at £120.
"Our friend likes lemonade with his wine and this restaurant only stocks bottles of cloudy lemonade. We asked could they go and get some or could we. Shop was 2 minutes away.
"There was no movement on this at all so for the sake of a £1 bottle of lemonade and putting yourself out, the restaurant let us walk away.
"Mustn't need our cash or custom. I find it difficult to understand how you wouldn't stock the basic mixers that are most commonly used for drinking.
"Obviously, I don't know much," it concludes.
We were happy to go to the shop for your mates dreadful red wine spritzer & 20 B&H🙄 We just didn’t like you. Keep it up hispi👊 Love Gary X pic.twitter.com/o7lp4aCHSZ
The response from Usher - via the @stickywalnut Twitter account - was unequivocally blunt.
Usher also addressed the attitude of some TripAdvisor reviewers and said that they should just "be nice when you go out."
"We often nip out for people's requests," he tweeted. "It's part of great hospitality. We just don't do it if you're a rude C***."
"99% of our guests are f***ing lovely & over the years lots have become our friends.
"I'm always amazed at the amount of people that insinuate 'paying customers' are entitled to say & act as they wish in a restaurant.
A TripAdvisor reviewer took aim at Usher's Didsbury restaurant, Hispi and left a one star review - titled 'No customer skills'. Photo / Facebook / Hispi
"I'm paying and I'm not happy so I can say to Gareth at his on Saturday just gone 'GET ME THE F***ING BILL'.
"I'm paying so I can tell Natalia at sticky on Thursday just gone that I think tattoos are vile on women & why has she ruined her body."
"Rant over. Just getting an awful lot of 'customer is always right' comments from yesterday's TA psst. Be nice when you go out. That's all x."
Fellow chef Andrew Nutter weighed in to the thread, tweeting: "Actually speechless by this - I know we attract some Nutters but this is SERIOUSLY BONKERS!!!"
Usher is preparing to open another Manchester restaurant - Kala - on King Street in the city centre in September.
Hispi opened on School Lane in 2016, supported by a Kickstarter campaign that raised nearly £60,000. It has earned a respected reputation and rave reviews praising its "humble brilliance".
