Jewish diners ‘thrown out’ of 1940s-themed tea shop - The Jewish Chronicle

Jewish diners were thrown out of a 1940s-themed tea shop after a row erupted over whether non-kosher chicken sandwiches could be left off a plate.

Jonathan Evans, 34, visited the Fourteas in Stratford-upon-Avon at the weekend to treat his toddler to a traditional high tea experience.

But the restaurant reportedly denied his request that the platter - priced at £18.50 per person according to an online menu - be served without chicken.

Speaking to the JC on Tuesday about his “appalling experience,” Mr Evans said he had explained to staff he and his family kept kosher and suggested that meat be swapped for cucumber or removed from the plate altogether.

Restaurant staff eventually agreed to serve a la carte orders on a high tea server, but later said they couldn’t do so because they didn’t have enough tea stands, he recalled.

The family eventually agreed to order food items not presented on a tea server, but said they would post an online review to reflect their experience.

Soon after the remark, a man who identified himself as the owner confronted the family, asking them to leave and threatening to call the police, Mr Evans said.

“I’ve never been kicked out of a restaurant in my life and I was quite frankly astonished,” he said, adding his toddler had been left confused and “upset” by the ordeal.

“Initially we went to this place and thought ‘how quaint, a 1940s style restaurant’. It took on a rather more menacing meaning to us, being Jewish,” he said.

“We’ve got family who fled Germany in the 30s,” revealed Mr Evans, adding the experience at the tea-house had been “uncomfortable”.

“My daughter, who is nearly two years old, was saying, ‘why is the bad man shouting at you, mummy?’ And then she asked us why we’re leaving without eating. She doesn’t understand."

The Fourteas said in a statement on Wednesday that the family was asked to leave "due to their behaviour and out of respect to the other customers."

"The dispute was not at all in respect of a food order or dietary requirement, as misrepresented by the media," it added.

The tearoom also said in its statement it was "deeply concerned by this allegation [of antisemitism] and are being proactive and looking into the circumstances."

"We certainly regret any misunderstanding caused, however the tearoom promotes inclusivity in our staff and working practices.

“We are working with the local Jewish and wider community to resolve any concerns between the parties involved," it said, adding it was "currently looking into" offering kosher or halal food in the future.

Mr Evans left a negative review on TripAdvisor after his visit, drawing an angry response from tearoom management, which was since deleted.

The restaurant’s general manager wrote that the establishment regrets that “we cannot accommodate mindsets seeking refuge behind imaginative cultural or religious reasons, to justify selfish and arrogant attitudes.”

The response also stated that the restaurant would “not tolerate the threat of the posting of a deliberately bad social media review, as a means of imposing unacceptable and abusive behaviour towards its hardworking personnel.”

The restaurant’s message drew criticism on social media, including from comedian David Baddiel who wrote on Twitter that the restaurant “possibly need to make it clearer that the imagined 1940s location is not Stratford, but Berlin.”

The restaurant’s CEO Zenios Loucas confirmed to the JC he was the author of the since-deleted TripAdvisor message.

Mr Loucas said he hadn’t intended to suggest in his message that there were imaginative religions and beliefs.

“I meant strictly that it was their imagination that I was treating them like that,” he said.

“This is what I meant to say. Probably I didn’t get that out in the right way.”

He also said the incident had “generated a number of threats” to the restaurant.

“I may have to report it to the police and ask for protection,” Mr Loucas added.