Man gives restaurant a one-star review over bizarre Parmesan request

TripAdvisor can be a bit hit and miss. Even if a bar or restaurant (or shed) does get a good review it's not always guaranteed to be that great or vice versa.

Although it is a very handy tool it's always best to investigate a place for yourself and even if it isn't all it's cracked up to be, it's perhaps best not to go on a rant about how bad it is unless you're a legitmate foodie who knows what they're talking about.

This is exactly what one person did when they visited the Maximo Cafe Bistrot, in Kennington, south London.

In a post which was originally shared last year and has since picked up traction on social media, a man went on a lengthy rant about the establishment, equating it to 'cow dung' over a dispute revolving around parmesan cheese and seafood.

In the one star review the customer wrote:

Came in because it looked cosy and cute. ordered the crab ravioli in a cream Salmon sauce. Halfway through the meal, I felt like the dish needed a little something.

So I asked the waiter for some Parmesan cheese and he sort of gave me a bewildered look. I waited for his response which I couldn't believe.

He literally refused to give me the Parmesan, stating you do not put Parmesan on any seafood because it would take away the flavour.

When I explained that I wanted it because I liked my cream dishes cheesy, he repeated himself and walked away.

Honestly, I was too dumbfounded to be pissed off so I ate the rest of it and decided I would not make a scene but could not get it off my chest so I called him once I got back to the hotel.

I basically explained to him about customer service and his job was to cater to the paying customers and he said even if I insisted on getting the cheese he would not give it and seemed offended that I could even ask.

I realised that the conversation was going nowhere and the real reason I wanted the cheese was to make it taste better! Unreal...

Unknown to him, the owner of the restaurant read the review and didn't take kindly to this criticism and went on to explain why they wouldn't give the man the cheese as it would have basically ruined his meal.

Needless to say, the response, which was posted on March 13, 2019 was beyond brutal.

No words about your rudeness and your silly request.

I am trying to understand your incredible frustration and disappointment about your obscene request you have made here at Maximo.

It was very hard to say no to you, and the harder part was to explain as better as I could the obvious reasons of my refuse.

Well, there are few rules on the authentic Cucina Italiana you probably aren’t aware:

NEVER ask for pineapple on pizza;

NEVER put cream on your Carbonara;

NEVER ask for any Alfredo pasta (who is Alfredo anyway?);

NEVER put chicken on arrabbiata:

And, last but not least, NEVER NEVER EVER ASK FOR CHEESE ON A FISH DISH.

Simple rules as A,B,C.

Luckily I hadn't ruined your dish with it, you should thank us for it.

Anyway, I understand that your weirdness doesn’t know any limit, so there are a lot of fake Italian restaurants run by fool greedy and consciousless people that allow any kind of abominy [sic].

Try parmesan on cow dung, it should taste fine for you.

The post and the owner's reply has since gone viral after it was shared by Twitter user @joolsd and people can't get enough of it.

Others felt the restaurant owner had gone a step too far.

More: Manager has brilliant response to rude customer on TripAdvisor