Advertised as vegetarian, cooked on the meat grill

[juniper9]

I am a fairly strict vegetarian- I don't eat rennet or gelatine etc.

There's a burger restaurant that I visit fairly frequently which sells a mushroom burger. The menu states it's vegetarian, but I still asked if it was cooked on the same grill as the meat. They reassured me that it's a separate grill.

We moved mouse recently and are now not near the restaurant. A few weeks ago, I went to another branch of the same, small chain. Their menu is slightly different in that they also have Halal meat. I asked the waiter if the burger is cooked on a vegetarian grill. He went off to ask and then said yes. I wasn't massively convinced by him, but he reassured me he'd asked the chef.

When I went back, I asked a different waitress who said the Halal burgers and the vegetarian burgers are cooked together. The burgers are still advertised as vegetarian on the menu. Consequently I ordered a salad.

I emailed them to complain, and the response was basically that the grill gets hot enough to burn off the meat fat, therefore it's fine. The replier said they'd discussed the economics of having three grills and decided against it, so they knew that it might have been an issue.

Obviously everyone has their own version of vegetarianism, but if they're claiming a burger is vegetarian when it's cooked on the meat grill, then surely this is misrepresentation?

Also, if they're so sure that the meat juices are burnt off, then why bother with a separate grill for Halal?

I'm not going to eat a burger cooked in meat fat, but AIBU to think that their menu is misleading? They should let people make their own choice about whether or not they're ok with the burger sharing a grill.

Yanbu.

Babybarrister: that's great! I've lost count of the places that treat a request about allergens in food with an "err" and a blank look and then returning with a blanket warning about not guarenteeing anything. Flipping annoying for something like a sausage that has a 50:50 chance of being acceptable or triggering soya intolerance.
It is worrying how many places have no clue about the contents of their food.

can I add a voice of apology for the restaurant trade?

my DH and I now have our own restaurant where we cater for veggie (in this country that normally refers to lacto-ovo veggies ie no meat but eggs/dairy etc are ok) I have a better perspective than many owners as I have been vegan for many years past - now v occasionally eat wild fish but no dairy as pp have said that is a crueller industry than the meat producers. Prior to this he has been a chef for 20+ years and I have been front of house in 8/9 different establishments. Disclaimer, none were burger joints.

In every case veggie stuff was cooked separately. Prior to meeting me my DH didn't 'get' why veggies make the choices that they do but would never take the piss by cooking a veggie dish in the same pans or fryers.

as an aside we have an event coming up where the menu is fish starter with meat main course, and both 'veggies' that are attending have said they would like the fish starter...

YANBU, but it happens almost everywhere. Even something you'd think would be a safe choice, like a simple slice of bread, is often toasted on a big multipurpose grill that's also used for bacon, steaks etc. Very frustrating, especially if like me you can actually taste the meatiness so aren't even able to switch off and just pretend it's vegetarian.

These days a little grill is so cheap, there's really no excuse for it, but unless you're at a vegetarian or vegan restaurant it's safest to just assume that vegie stuff is cooked on the same surface as meat, that the soup and risotto and possibly even pasta is cooked is cooked in chicken or beef stock, that the cheese will contain animal rennet and that everything fried was cooked in animal fat.

Having strong principles means sometimes having to make sacrifices for them. In the case of being vegetarian, this may mean not being able to eat in restaurants the majority of people find perfectly acceptable.

I guess the restaurant in question is doing a good enough trade from meat eaters without having to worry about the pecadilloes of non-meat eaters. It's not compulsory for restaurants to provide a vegetarian option (as far as I know). But if it were, it should be just as compulsory for vegetarian restaurants to provide a meat option.

I don't go to Chinese restaurants because I don't like Chinese food. I don't complain that that's all they sell. If my friends want an evening out at a Chinese restaurant, I either decline, or go and grin and bear it.
If I were a vegetarian, I would eat in vegetarian restaurant from choice. I would not go to a burger joint, but if I did, I would accept that that's what it was, and not complain about the ways of meat eaters.

The 'abroad' stories remind me of the ham I had on a pizza in Spain 'but ham isn't meat', the 'but the meat is all at the bottom of the stew' stew in Croatia and the imaginative veggie option in France of boiled spaghetti with boiled carrots on top. Such is the life of a veggie... I used to be very strict indeed (would have taken own cheese to Spanish pizza restaurant etc) but tend to work on the 'ignorance is bliss' principle, so will have chips from a chip shop but wish they hadn't told me their curry sauce has cows in and pizza with probably-not-veggie-cheese, but still won't have gelatine sweets/desserts.
Not everyone has the luxury of a veggie restaurant. Our nearest is 45 miles away.
It always tends to be the meat eaters lecturing the veggies, not the other way around.
The distinction in the OP's post between respect for halal eaters but not veggies is wrong. Both are valid beliefs and worthy of respect.

Baby barrister, they're still wrangling for exemptions!