A Muslim man has received an apology after the Farmer John’s pub in Streetly served him pork.
Naz Ali had gone to the pub with his family and friends and had decided to order a burger with a side of chilli cheese fries. There was meat in the fries, which he assumed was chicken.
However after the 39-year-old had eaten a quarter of the meal, he realised something wasn’t right and checked with the waitress. Although first unsure, she checked the kitchen and returned, heavily apologetic, but confirming that it was pork.
Ali said, “My friend is a Sikh and we had been joking about not having bacon on the burgers we ordered, but the waitress didn’t pick up on it at all.
“I fancied a side to go with the burger, so I ordered the chill chips. It had what I thought was chicken stuck right in the middle. My friend said I should check what I was eating so I asked the waitress and at first she had no idea. Then she came back and said she was really, really sorry because it was pork.
“I had food in my mouth and I spat it out and went to the toilet, where I was sick. I felt degraded.”
I had food in my mouth and I spat it out and went to the toilet, where I was sick. I felt degraded
According to Ali, the pub responded by giving the group’s four children free chocolate cakes, though a spokesman for Marston’s said: ‘We are sorry for Mr Ali’s experience, we have apologised and all costs for his table were waived on the day.”
Ali added, “I’ve eaten in all kinds of places in London and Birmingham and I’ve never had an experience like this.
“For religious purposes I don’t eat pork and restaurants should be aware of what people of different religions can and can’t eat. It was a shambles.”
On the Marston’s pub menu, it states that chilli cheese fries cost £3.95 as a side but doesn’t specify the meat used and the small print says “menu descriptions cannot include all ingredients”. A chilli cheese burger is listed as a separate meal and does state it contains pulled pork.
