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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Who is in the wrong - vegan or manager?

649 replies

iloverobbrydon · 28/09/2023 18:05

A group of friends go into a pub that do food. One of them is vegan. She looks at the menu and sees that there are no V or VE signs on the menu at all. Even for items that clearly veggie and vegan, the pub don't use the signs. However, they do list the ingredients and a description of the meal under the meal title.

There are 2 or 3 vegan options. One of them is a pasta where the ingredients are listed as pasta, tomato, basil etc. And have a little description of the taste. No animal products listed at all so the vegan orders this.

The meal comes out and it has a fried egg on top of it. The egg was not listed in the ingredients so she sent it back explaining why.

The manager who took the order is not happy because she never actually said she was vegan and they arent mind readers. They come out and say if you can't eat certain foods then you need to tell the staff to make sure that those things are actually 100% ok for you to eat.

It does escalate into a bit of an argument because the vegan is saying well if you list your ingredients then how am I to know that you only list some ingredients and not others? Where on your menu does it say how your menu works and that you won't list everything? That's just confusing. Either list everything or nothing. The manager is saying if you need a meal to not have an ingredient you need to tell us.

You can probably work out which one I am but I didn't want to write it one sided, just wanted to explain the situation and ask who you think is in the wrong here?

OP posts:
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6
junbean · 29/09/2023 00:08

I think the menu is stupid, and you're not wrong. I have a restricted diet due to health reasons and I will talk to the server about it just in case. Even then my requests are usually ignored. Most places really don't have us in mind, we have to speak up for ourselves. If I were you I'd just tell the server in the future because you can't trust the menu.

Nagado · 29/09/2023 00:21

5foot5 · 28/09/2023 18:20

Of course I do. But I am genuinely baffled. The OP doesn't say she has an egg allergy so, providing the yolk hadn't split, if she put it to one side that would be just the same as it not being there surely?

Show quote history

You understand what a vegan is, but do you understand why people become vegan? If a pub presented you with a meal and told you that a pigeon had swooped in through an open window and pooed all over your chips, but not to worry because they’d picked out all of the ones with poo on them, would you still eat it? No? Would your stomach be turning at the thought of it? What about a hair? Or a fingernail? Well a vegan is likely to feel that same way about eggs touching their food.

rubydoobydoo · 29/09/2023 00:21

I think both sides are a bit in the wrong - if I had any dietary requirements I'd definitely double check before ordering. My mum has Coeliac disease and she double checks even when ordering from the gluten free menu, she has to be careful with sides too, and things like gravy.

The manager is definitely the most unreasonable for being so rude though, especially as you were polite about it - it is also plain weird to just plonk an egg on top of a pasta dish and it isn't something a non-vegan would expect either! Cheese maybe, but I would think that would be listed in the menu if so.

I would just double check when ordering anything in future to be on the safe side.

isitshe · 29/09/2023 00:22

BeeCucumber · 29/09/2023 00:03

The manager is correct. There is no law that says you have to list every ingredient for every meal. It's the responsibility of the customer to ask and check.

The manager may well be correct about that but the manager was a dick unreasonable to have it out with the customer.
Not stating that there's an egg on top of the pasta is a huge omission from the menu description of the dish.

Seeleyboo · 29/09/2023 00:26

I would have guessed the pasta was probably made with eggs therefore not being vegan. An egg plonked on top is odd but not if you're willing to eat egg pasta. Did she enquire if the pasta was with egg or just flour and water.

Thementalloadisreal · 29/09/2023 00:33

I can’t get over how weird all of this is. To not list the main elements of a dish, to omit allergen info from a menu, the fried egg pasta meal itself, the manager’s attitude….

I imagine the OP’s friend then ordered a pizza which was served with a giant turd on top and the manager was like “well you never said you didn’t want a turd on it. We don’t have to list the turds on the menu if we don’t want to”

5foot5 · 29/09/2023 00:54

Nagado · 29/09/2023 00:21

You understand what a vegan is, but do you understand why people become vegan? If a pub presented you with a meal and told you that a pigeon had swooped in through an open window and pooed all over your chips, but not to worry because they’d picked out all of the ones with poo on them, would you still eat it? No? Would your stomach be turning at the thought of it? What about a hair? Or a fingernail? Well a vegan is likely to feel that same way about eggs touching their food.

Show quote history

What a silly response.

No restaurant would serve food in that circumstance.

UnctuousUnicorns · 29/09/2023 01:52

5foot5 · 29/09/2023 00:54

What a silly response.

No restaurant would serve food in that circumstance.

Show quote history

No, you reaaally don't get it, do you?

NoGNoDNoClue · 29/09/2023 04:09

To everyone that is saying it's an allergen - would you expect the menu to specify that the pasta is made from wheat? Or would you think that a celiac would know there's a good chance, and therefore check if they do a gluten free pasta?

Because even if there wasn't an egg on top, there could well be egg in the pasta. Or butter, anchovy, parmesan, pecorino etc... And op should have checked, given that the menu didn't state it was vegan.

The manager shouldn't have been a dick about it but he probably didn't create the menu or make the dish.

JuliusWho · 29/09/2023 04:34

BeeCucumber · 29/09/2023 00:03

The manager is correct. There is no law that says you have to list every ingredient for every meal. It's the responsibility of the customer to ask and check.

How many times in your life have you ordered a meal, be it pasta, curry, a roast or whatever else, and had it arrive with a random egg on top? Never, I’ll bet.

The manager is a complete moron.

I do agree that the OP should have checked whether the dish was vegan for other reasons (cooked in butter, egg in the pasta itself) but if you don’t order a meal with an egg on top then why on Earth would it come with an egg on top?

BarbaraWoodlouse1 · 29/09/2023 04:44

Manager. Why would an egg be on top of that dish. I wouldn’t want that either.

OlizraWiteomQua · 29/09/2023 05:13

You're both in the wrong a bit, because a lot of pasta is made with egg - the cheap sort generally isn't but a vegan ordering pasta in a restaurant ought to always ask when ordering whether the pasta dish contains any egg because I would assume it might if not assured otherwise.

It's just weird to put a fried egg on top of meal without it being specified in the menu. Fried egg doesn't even "go" with pasta.

But given how self-contained a fried egg is, it's a bit precious and fussy not to just lift the egg off onto a side plate and eat the rest, rather than complaining. Given that you didn't mention your veganism when ordering it's not reasonable to make a fuss about the fact that a non-vegan item has touched your food.

NoGNoDNoClue · 29/09/2023 05:23

JuliusWho · 29/09/2023 04:34

How many times in your life have you ordered a meal, be it pasta, curry, a roast or whatever else, and had it arrive with a random egg on top? Never, I’ll bet.

The manager is a complete moron.

I do agree that the OP should have checked whether the dish was vegan for other reasons (cooked in butter, egg in the pasta itself) but if you don’t order a meal with an egg on top then why on Earth would it come with an egg on top?

Edited
Show quote history

I've ordered curries that have come with quartered boiled eggs, that weren't mentioned on the menu. Not sure how many times it has happened, but a few times over the last thirty years or so.

oldandunderpaid · 29/09/2023 06:35

Manager is in the wrong...

However as a vegan myself - I always double check the meal is actually vegan when ordering to be sure.

They really shouldn't put an egg on anything without listing it! Also - Ew, who wants egg on top of pasta?

MartyMcFlysPurpleUnderwear · 29/09/2023 07:55

I think the vegan is in the wrong…they are vegan therefore always wrong.

M4J4 · 29/09/2023 07:57

I’m a certified carnivore and I wouldn’t want an egg on my pasta.

MarathonBarbie · 29/09/2023 08:01

The restaurant/manager is in the wrong as if they’re going to offer detailed information about ingredients they need to make sure that the information their giving is accurate.
That said, I am vegan and would always check when ordering if the v/ve symbols weren’t clearly displayed.

diddl · 29/09/2023 08:03

BeeCucumber · 29/09/2023 00:03

The manager is correct. There is no law that says you have to list every ingredient for every meal. It's the responsibility of the customer to ask and check.

They might not have to list every ingredient, but wouldn't you expect it to be in the description that it was served with fried egg?

ShelleyPercy · 29/09/2023 08:14

Pasta has eggs in it...

The vegan was wrong for not clarifying at the time of order. You said yourself the menu didn't have VE or V symbols. Its on you to confirm whether an item is suitable for vegans.

Besides i've never known a vegan who is shy to tell everyone they are a vegan!

Dotjones · 29/09/2023 08:21

The vegan is in the wrong here, ordering a dish which may contain eggs (pasta) and then having a problem with an indgredient being eggs. The OP states that the menu specifically didn't claim that options were vegan-friendly so the customer should always ask/raise concerns. The manager doesn't come out very well either but we obviously only have one side of the argument.

MarySmit · 29/09/2023 08:28

The manager is clearly in the wrong here. I wonder if this thread was started to stir anti-vegan sentiment.

It would be best for the restaurant to clearly label meals as vegan/vegetarian. Also an egg on pasta?! That is frankly bizarre.

Most pasta served in pubs is not fresh so doesn't contain egg, so this point doesn't stand either.

MartyMcFlysPurpleUnderwear · 29/09/2023 08:29

@ShelleyPercy

Vast majority of pasta does not have eggs in. Think about it…you keep pasta in the cupboard and it lasts for years. Would that really be possible if it had eggs in?

You probably have met quiet vegans…you just didn’t realise they were vegan because they didn’t scream from the rooftops and just got on with it. I would say 99.9% of people I know have no clue I am vegan 🤷‍♀️

MartyMcFlysPurpleUnderwear · 29/09/2023 08:34

Also I worked in cafes and restaurants for years and I have never worked anywhere that served fresh egg pasta. It was always without fail big standard dried pasta. It would be far too expensive to serve fresh egg pasta. So I am not quite sure why so many people are adamant that it was likely egg pasta just because it is being served in a pub.

MartyMcFlysPurpleUnderwear · 29/09/2023 08:35

Bog standard…

Itisyourturntowashthebath · 29/09/2023 08:49

Some of you live sheltered lives.
I'd expect a pub to serve this sort of pasta https://www.waitrose.com/ecom/products/no1-egg-pappardelle/682452-728044-728045

Surprisingly similar to egg noodles

Waitrose & Partners

Buy quality groceries and wine from Waitrose & Partners

https://www.waitrose.com/ecom/products/no1-egg-pappardelle/682452-728044-728045