A Woman’s Review Goes Viral for Unusual Reason

A diner recently criticized a restaurant, claiming there were “leaves” in its baked beans. This sparked quite a buzz online, particularly due to the restaurant’s witty response, which even suggested offering cooking lessons.

The review stated, “Dined here for the first time tonight. The brisket was probably the best thing I’ve ever eaten, but it had whole leaves inside the baked beans.” The user added, amusingly, “You can’t make this up,” followed by a vomiting emoji.

The restaurant’s reply, shared on the r/funny subreddit, was both sharp and humorous. It began with, “So, I’m glad you liked the brisket,” before questioning, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen bay leaves in food?” Bay leaves are well-known for being used to flavor various dishes, such as soups and stews.

Continuing, the response said, “If you see them in the future, rest assured that it’s proof someone took the time to prepare a dish from scratch. We never use canned food and pride ourselves on making everything fresh in-house, which is why our dishes have unique spice blends and herbs, including bay leaves.” The final part of the reply, particularly, tickled many—a play on words saying, “I’m sorry I surprised Leaf.”

The post racked up almost 2,000 comments and over 76,000 “upvotes,” with many users joking that some reviewers might only be used to fast food or heavily processed meals. Comments ranged from playful jabs about people not knowing how to cook to humorous notions about the absurdity of food in food.

Some individuals pointed out that although bay leaves add flavor, they shouldn’t be consumed directly due to their sharp nature. “If you’re not going to eat it, why serve it?” one commenter remarked.

There were also tips shared about using cheesecloth sachets to make spice removal easier, while others humorously noted things like counting bay leaves as part of their cooking process.

Jessica Randhawa, a California chef, weighed in, stating that even experienced cooks sometimes struggle to remove every stray bay leaf. She acknowledged how encountering one unexpectedly could be a shock for some diners.

Some critics described the restaurant’s response as smug or condescending, yet a few noted that perhaps the reviewer had overreacted too. Randhawa mentioned that a respectful conversation at the time would’ve sufficed rather than the vomiting emoji, which seemed excessive.

Despite the mixed opinions, many applauded the restaurant’s clever approach to handling criticism. A UK-based PR expert commented on the effectiveness of their humorous yet courteous response, stating it showed how to manage negative reviews gracefully.