Juicy burgers, crispy fries, and good old milkshakes. You would think that this is just like any other diner. The only difference is that each meal comes with a side of verbal abuse.
The UK chain Karen’s Diner is based on the concept of “good food, terrible service”, inspired by the Karen meme. Originating in the United States about ten years ago, the Karen stereotype references privileged, white women acting in a self-entitled, rude manner.
But if you were expecting condescending, angry women to serve you with a grump, think again, because the Karen stereotype took a whole different turn when Odd One Out visited the London diner last month.
Karen’s Diner, which came to Angel last year, featured a strictly male team that day, subverting the idea that it takes a woman to be a Karen. General manager Amaan Ullah, 30, explained that three female Karens were off on that day, indicating that this was not the restaurant’s usual setup. Still, it changed the atmosphere for me, one of Odd One Out’s female journalists.
“Each meal comes with a side of verbal abuse”
I was welcomed with a middle finger from the lovely Kyle Miley, 36, who’s been working as a Karen for almost five months. He made sure I knew where I was and that I was about to receive a lot of foul putdowns without being able to fight back.
As soon as I said I was lactose intolerant, Kyle replied, “So, you are going to shit yourself!” and proceeded to give me a tag reading “Give me milk”.
The quick witty remark certainly made me embarrassed, but I wasn’t ready for everything that was going to come next.
The staff gave me a hat to wear, reading “50p a ride” and as I strutted around the diner with “Barbie Girl” in the background, in what was supposed to be a fun catwalk game, I got whistles from the male guests cheering for 50p a ride.
And if that wasn’t enough, the Karens repeatedly called me an “ugly slag” and made fun of my make-up. It felt degrading to have “bitch” yelled at me at every occasion, as if this word was supposed to make me laugh. On the contrary, it just made my skin crawl and made me question if I was the crazy one for being enraged when the other male customers seemed amused.
Karen’s Diner is not supposed to be a free-for-all, but it seems to have a blind spot for what is frankly blatant sexism.
“It was degrading to have ‘bitch’ yelled at me at every occasion”
There’s just something about a man calling a woman a “bitch” that should be inherently wrong, but believe it or not, this appears to be something some guests want. A woman with a hat reciting “my fanny flaps in the wind” appeared to be having a blast during her date, and the same was true for a girl having dinner with her friends and wearing a hat with “dick breath” written on it.
“Some people expect the complete extreme. They come in here and expect borderline illegal,” says Kyle.
The male Karens loved playing off their guests being women, which I found very distasteful, and being at the diner as a woman, I felt at my most vulnerable.
Earlier, when talking to me out of character, the Karens said there are guidelines pointing out boundaries that they will not cross.
“Even though we are being rude to people, we still have to maintain restaurant standards, as in, you’ve got to get [guests] their food and still got to look after them, obviously in a Karen way,” says Kyle.
“You don’t know what people are going through; we don’t want to really upset people,” he adds. “If someone is having a bad day and they see burgers and don’t realise what this place is, and I just scream in their face or have a go at them and not explain the rules, that could really affect them. We have to make sure they know what they are going into.”
“The rule is very simple. We don’t tolerate any racism, homophobia, sexism or body shaming,” clarifies Amaan.
“People sometimes come in and ask for a cake that says ‘fatty’ on it, but we can’t do that. However, we can put ‘fuck off’ on the cake,” says Kyle.
When I spoke to other members of staff, they said the same thing: racism, homophobia, sexism or body shaming are not tolerated – but that was not my experience. While there some genuenly funny moments – a kid wearing a hat saying “mistake” or slightly earnest woman being called Greta Thunberg – some of the abuse levelled at me wasn’t just sexist but rather crossed into toxic masculinity. Some might say I was made aware of what was coming and have no reason to complain. But not-so-subtle misogyny wasn’t supposed to be on the menu.
If you think you’re tough enough, book a table at Karen’s Diner here.