Restaurant owner who banned vegans from restaurant forced to introduce $30 booking fee amid trolling

A British chef residing in Australia has introduced a $30 booking fee following his decision to ban vegans from his restaurant.

Celebrity chef John Mountain is the owner of Fyre, a restaurant in Connolly in the city’s northern suburbs, which serves up a range of dishes including steaksfish and risotto.

To be honest, the restaurant is well-reviewed – earning a rating on Facebook of 4.3 stars out of 5, but his recent decision may impact those opinions.

Taking to the restaurant’s Facebook page on Tuesday (20 June), Mountain explained: “Sadly all vegans are now banned from Fyre (for mental health reasons). We thank you for your understanding.”

The celebrity chef claimed he’d received a message from a vegan prior to their arrival at the restaurant and assured them he could accommodate them with a vegetable and gnocchi combination.

But Mountain was occupied the day the customer came to the restaurant at a private function, and he completely forgot about the catering needs.

In a complaint sent via direct message, the customer wrote: “My only option was the vegetable dish… it was okay but not that filling… and I was shocked to see it was $32.

“I think it’s incredibly important nowadays that restaurants can accommodate everyone and to not be able to have actual plant-based meals shows your shortcomings as a chef.

“I hope to see some improvements in your menu as I have lived in Connolly for quite some time and have seen many restaurants come and go from that building and none of them last.

“If you don’t get with the times, I don’t hold out faith that your restaurant will be the one that does.”

“I think it’s incredibly important nowadays that restaurants can accommodate everyone and to not be able to have actual plant-based meals shows your shortcomings as a chef.”

Since then, Mountain says he has been bombarded with fake bookings by vegan trolls.

As a result, Frye has introduced an AUD$30 (£16) booking fee in an attempt to stop the trolls.

A section on the restaurant’s website now reads: “Due to the frequency of non-genuine vegan bookings, we have been forced to request a $30 per person booking fee.

“This fee is wholly deductible from your bill after dining at Fyre.”

Mountain has admitted he fell short of his promises to the customer ahead of her arrival, but argued that the complaint had become personal.

The chef doubled down on his frustrations while speaking with 7News, saying: “F*** vegans – I’m done with them.

“I once wrote and sold a book called Pig which had pork recipes. People know what they’re getting from me.

“I understand where vegans are coming from but my job is to make food taste as good as I can and I can’t always cater to everybody’s dietary requirements.”

The mixed responses to the whole debacle are clear online, with one person responding: “I’m not vegan but some of my loved ones are and I have to say I’m very disappointed to see this stance being taken.”

However, another argued: “Shoe on the other foot, can I go to a vegan or vegetarian restaurant and demand a meat dish? I think not. You do you, Fyre.”

LADbible has reached out to Fyre for comment.