Karen’s Diner is an unconventional chain for the restaurant business: it guarantees rude servers and bad service.
Dubbed an “interactive diner,” the Australian-based restaurant leans into the Karen trope of “being a Karen” to its bad dining experience and amplifies it, making the rudeness and forced games part of the fun. The waiters are ruthless, with one customer recalling the server asking: “Do you want me to wipe your arse for you as well?” when he “dared” to ask for ketchup and mayo.
However, there are some rules to the guaranteed rudeness and remarks: no racism, no sexism, no homophobia, no body image comments, and no ableist comments.
The chain has nearly two dozen locations across seven countries from Singapore to Canada. Now, after opening its first U.S. location in St. Louis last year, it’s opening a pop-up in Chicago this week.
Related: This Company Will Hire a ‘Karen’ to Complain For You So You Don’t Have To
Chicago Media Takeout stated it’s a similar experience to Chicago’s own Ed Debevic’s and Wiener’s Circle — two restaurants that also pride themselves on providing an experience of poor service with snarky servers — on purpose.
The outlet’s Instagram shows a waitress at Karen’s Diner tersely dropping the food on the table, and giving the customer a middle finger before taking a bite of their food and walking away.
While the cafe has generally good reviews on the guaranteed “decidedly trashy and super fun” experience, the social media response was uninterested at best.
“No idea what the fun part about this is. It’s not appealing at all,” one user commented.
“Why would someone go to a place like this?” another wrote.
However, Karen’s knows it isn’t for everyone, and the chain is upfront about the experience, stating that diners should expect “madness,” per the company’s website.
“Can’t complain, You don’t go for the food, you go for the experience and knowing this will happen,” one user wrote on the post.
If your name is actually Karen, the diner will give you a free drink — just don’t ask to speak to the manager.
