Quinton Mtyala
WHAT was supposed to be a fun night out with his girlfriend ended on a sour note.
According to Cliff Kafesu, 27, he was racially abused after pointing out several worms in his salad to staff and management at the Mexican On Long restaurant.
Instead of a replacement, Kafesu was ordered to pay his drinks bill, and on his way out of the restaurant he insists the manager, Peter van den Berg, directed him to the nearest KFC outlet.
But Van den Berg said Kafesu’s accusations against him were fabricated, although he confirmed there had been worms in the salad.
“All the staff who were working that night were black. There was no way I could have said something like that,” said Van den Berg.
Kafesu had ordered a special on GroupOn, an online coupon seller, for a special meal at the restaurant priced at R179.
He said he had been at the restaurant with some friends two weeks before the incident, and when he saw the special on GroupOn, he bought the voucher.
“I was hoping to have a nice time with my girlfriend. We asked for two drinks, then we ordered a bottle of wine.
“We ordered the chef’s platter which came with chips, and ordered a side salad with that dish,” said Kafesu.
When he and his girlfriend started nibbling on the salad, they noticed worms in the lettuce on their plate and immediately called their waiter, who called the chef and Van den Berg.
The chef apologised and told him the leaves had not been washed properly.
Kafesu said Van den Berg had been negligent.
“He said ‘this is organic stuff and it’s bound to happen because we’re using fresh produce’. He said he couldn’t do anything about it and told us to continue with our meal.
“I told him we couldn’t continue eating something with worms inside and that I was put off,” said Kafesu.
Instead of demanding a refund, he asked for the alternative platter on the GroupOn special, without the lettuce.
Kafesu said: “The manager told me ‘no’.
“If I couldn’t eat what was already in front of me, he couldn’t offer me anything else.
“As we walked downstairs he said, ‘Oh poor black people, why go to a restaurant when you don’t have money, rather go to KFC’.”
Van den Berg said he had directed Kafesu to GroupOn, but instead “he slandered us on every online review site”.
“This is the first time we’ve experienced this. If we were racist, we’d have big problems here on Long Street. He’s blowing something way out of proportion,” said Van den Berg.
Yesterday, GroupOn re-funded the R179 he had paid for his meal voucher.
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