The latest on shopping, restaurant news and more Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

*This article has been updated*

Are these the rudest replies from a restaurant on TripAdvisor?

Diners visiting James Dahl Indian restaurant in Birmingham who decided to leave a bad review on TripAdvisor perhaps didn’t know what they were letting themselves in for.

For the few left unhappy by their experiences at the Arcadian eatery have been faced by these outrageously blunt responses - with the restaurant accusing them of lying or being stupid, narrow-minded and childish.

When one reviewer complained about the quality of food at the restaurant, the reply was: “You probably were ill or your taste buds were off duty.”

Other comments include: “We are probably the first Indian restaurant in Birmingham to be run by an educated family.”

The vast majority of reviews of the restaurant on TripAdvisor are glowing and call it excellent or very good, but the few that disagree are accused of posting fake or “clearly contrived” comments.

It is currently ranked the 24th best restaurant in Birmingham on the reviews site.

When approached by the Birmingham Mail, owner Husban Ahmed said he believed the reviews were part of a “dirty tricks” campaign from rival restaurants.

But he has now said he will take down some of the rude posts which are attributed to him.

Despite all the responses being signed by him, he claims they were written by someone else, his “personal writer” who deals with his PR.

And he added: “I will tell my PR team they need to be a bit more friendly and professional and behave with respect.”

But he does admit to replying personally to one review, in which he accused the poster of being childish, lying and trying to bribe him.

He wrote: “You are a mature woman, please act your age, not your shoe size.”

The latest “terrible” review was left by student Shahwaiz Anjum, who visited James Dahl in July to celebrate his birthday.

He complained on TripAdvisor about the long wait for “bog standard” food and the service charge, ending “I would avoid this place like the plague”.

James Dahl’s reply was: “We know this is a fake review. We know you haven’t dined at our place.

“In the history of our restaurant, only one table waited an hour because the kitchen equipment failed. Perhaps you should invest in a watch.”

Read the rude reply

Mr Anjum complained they were “charged an extortionate amount for the pickle tray which was on the table when we got there”.

The restaurant replied: “This is clearly a lie, it is unimaginable that a pickle tray is left on a table.

“Even stupidity has standards, the Oxford Dictionary wouldn’t be able to come up with a word to describe what you just said.”

Mr Anjum told the Mail: “Their reply was simply astonishing and it seems I am not the only victim.

“They take any criticism very badly and tend to reply with outrageous personal insults.

“To me this is appalling. It’s not how a restaurant should behave.

“We ordered the food at 8.10pm and it eventually came about 9pm after I asked where it was.

“There were eight of us and the bill came to £170-something, so the service charge was 10 per cent of that – nearly £18.”

James Dahl Indian opened early this year with head chef Mofu Miah, who has cooked for the Spice Girls and Tom Cruise.

The restaurant has 163 reviews on TripAdvisor, of which 126 are excellent and 22 are very good.

Only three have called it “terrible” and awarded it only one star, and these are the ones which Mr Ahmed – or his PR – have attacked.

Mr Ahmed's response to the first 'terrible' review

Mr Ahmed now says: “I only replied to the first ‘terrible’ review because it annoyed me.

“The diner was rude to my staff and made them feel very uncomfortable.

“The other two responses were written by my personal writer, the girl who deals with my PR and online stuff. I won’t disclose her name.

“She thought the latest bad review was fake because we went through all the bills and couldn’t find any with an £18 service charge.

“So I told her she could act on my behalf and write something suitable in reply, but said ‘don’t be arrogant’.

“She is on holiday now so I cannot contact her but I will be sitting down with her on her return and will get her posts removed.”

*An earlier version of this article featured a photograph that we stated was of Husban Ahmed, when it was in fact a picture of his brother Shuheb Ahmed, who was not referred to in the story. We apologise for this error.

See top 10 Birmingham restaurants on TripAdvisor below