A restaurant has sparked debate after removing plant-based dishes from their menu because of “holier-than-thou” vegans.
The Kitchen at London House on the Isle of Wight revealed in a Facebook post that it no longer caters for vegans and criticised the social media bullying the company had faced.
The London House Bistro had posted a dinner menu on their page which featured main dishes such as short rib of beef, confit duck leg, chicken and sea bass.
One person replied to the post writing: “No vegan mains!!”
In a follow-up post, the restaurant owners explained: “On Monday we posted our evening menu for our new restaurant The London House Bistro.
Sign up to our new free Indy100 weekly newsletter
“Within minutes several people commented about the fact that nothing on the menu was vegan. I apologised politely and professionally that sadly we do not cater for vegans.”
The post continued: “We have in the past catered for vegans. Everything from Vegan cream teas, even had special Vegan bacon made so they could enjoy BLT’s amongst other things. We stopped. Why? Because we got fed up with the arrogant, ‘holier-than-thou’ attitude.
“Please, vegans, It is not a given that we should adapt our menu to suit your preference.”
The company explained its decision, arguing that veganism is not a medical condition and is a chosen lifestyle.
They asked vegans to respect that “your choice does not fit with our style of cooking” and said that the “militant minority” were behind the decision to stop catering for vegan diets.
In the comments, Facebook users offered their views on the company’s choice.
One person wrote: “It's an ethical choice for vegans, not just a 'lifestyle'. Because of this post, I'm afraid I would never want to give you any of my money, even if I was buying food for someone else.”
Another said: “It's a person's choice to be a vegan and that choice comes with limitations....you might not find something on the menu for you ...
“But it is also the right of a business not to cater for vegans....go to the many only vegan restaurants to open recently.”
Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.