An Auckland café has not taken kindly to being negatively reviewed by a notoriously foul-mouthed food reviewer, hitting back at his assessment of their bagels on his Instagram page.
Albert Cho, the model behind the food Instagram @EatLitFood, ate at Parnell eatery Goodness Gracious on Sunday. His subsequent review was not complimentary, to say the least.
"Goodness f**king gracious me this was so average it's actually painful how much f**king hype they have," Cho wrote to his 12,600 followers, accompanied by images of three Goodness Gracious bagels.
"I actually went a couple years ago and found it average but I was hungover as f**k so it wasn't a fair judgment.
"Today, I'm fully sober and I legit preferred it when I was hungover out of my f**king mind and four minutes away from yakking my brains out."
- Auckland's dirtiest restaurants revealed
- Metro food critic under fire from top restaurants in newspaper campaign
- Brits disgusted at Kiwi staple food mince on toast
After scathing reviews of several bagels on the GG menu, Cho finished by saying his parents were "f**king pissed" at him "for requesting to go here instead of yum cha, so thanks for nothing to all the people that recommended this place".
The review was not out of place for Cho, who has also not been shy about expressing his distaste for other Auckland establishments, including OKO and Burger Fuel.
But Goodness Gracious did not take it lying down, fighting back with comments of their own.
"Thanks for taking the time to review us. We were pretty stoked to have had your party through at such a busy time, noting that meals were ordered and each meal completely eaten in 20min. Not bad for a Sunday rush," they began.
"Disappointing to have feedback of this nature and in this manner but we live in a brave new world. With that in mind, we would always encourage reviews that evaluate service, food, coffee, ambiance and environment but appreciate that isn't really your gig," they continued, before asking Cho to express his disappointment differently next time.
Cho replied with one of his trademark responses.
"The main reason I didn't enjoy the meals were because the bagels themselves were average, which confused me as you call yourselves a bagelry. Would you have hand rolled some bagels then and there if I had said something?" he questioned the café.
"If so, I apologize for not saying anything at the time, but we both know that wouldn't have happened so CYA GG. Hope you get in to Metro Top 50 this time!"
That was not the end of the stoush, with both parties refusing to back down.
"Learning that we've apparently wasted your time, we would ask that you email us your mum's bank details so we can reimburse her for your outing. Take it as our contribution towards your next yum cha. Cya," Goodness Gracious wrote.
"I'd rather f**k a camel than have your salty immature ass have any part in my yum cha experience," Cho responded.
Followers of the Eat Lit Food account have picked sides, with some defending the café
and others pointing out the hilarity of Cho's response.
Newshub.
