The controversial Greater Manchester restaurant that will never be seen again

One of Manchester’s most controversial dining experiences has served its final burger - and scathing insult. Karen’s, the restaurant concept that promises poor service and offensive staff in equal measure, has called it a day two years after opening its doors.

Last night, it was reported that the restaurant where guests pay to be insulted, had closed with immediate effect. A spokesperson from the restaurant confirmed the closure to the M.E.N. and said the chain that started in Australia with a dining concept of staff being purposely rude, will be turning its attention to ‘pop up’ events rather than restaurants.

The closure comes just months after the lease for the restaurant, which opened in Prestwich in 2022, was listed on Rightmove prompting questions about its future. In March the owner of the restaurant insisted the company had 'no intention' of closing its Bury New Road branch and a spokesperson for Karen's Diner told the M.E.N. its lease had been renewed.

READ MORE: Karen’s Diner in Prestwich closes with immediate effect

He said: "We are grateful for the opportunity to state that we have no intention of closing our restaurant in Prestwich Manchester. Our original tenancy agreement terminated at the end of last year and was quickly renewed to ensure continuity.”

M.E.N readers were quick to share their thoughts on the move, with many saying they were ‘not surprised’ that Karen’s was closing. One person described it as a ‘one trick pony concept’, whilst others considered the overall longevity of the venue by adding: “Probably not the kind of place you revisit”. Another said: “It’s only a novelty the first time”.

Making their thoughts well and truly known, one person said it was a ‘stupid place from the beginning’, whilst another said they were ‘surprised it had lasted that long’. Another said the concept did not appeal to them, adding: “Nobody likes to be insulted, it's a stupid idea.”

Some even suggested the move was thanks, in part, to the ‘Katie Hopkins effect’ - which we will look into further shortly. But others said that despite their gripes with the idea behind the venue, they still felt sorry for the number of staff who had now lost their job. One person said: “Sad for the staff though. Hope they can convince new employers that they are actually nice and friendly and never swear.”

Since its arrival in Manchester, the restaurant has had its fair share of headlines. From the gobsmacked gran given an earful by Karen’s unabashed staff and the family kicked out for body shaming a waitress, to a controversial Katie Hopkins appearance and its parent company in Australia going into liquidation.

We’ve looked at the wild ride that Karen’s Diner has been on in Manchester since opening their Prestwich restaurant in May 2022.

‘Really not for the faint-hearted’

When the M.E.N visited the venue to review its food and ‘unique’ service shortly after it had opened, it was overall described quite favourably - despite the reviewer being ‘filled with dread’ ahead of the experience.

In one excerpt which perfectly describes the venue’s type of service, the reviewer wrote: “We walk past the bar where a waitress is snarling as she pours a shot into a mug that is shaped like a toilet. We’re appointed another waitress. “Special occasion?” she asks. She looks my dining partner up and down and before the reply comes, she adds: “Maybe not.”

The review outlines examples of the ‘rude’ service throughout the visit - with another example featuring the whole restaurant being encouraged to shout ‘f*** off veggie’ to someone who ordered a vegetarian burger. Another example saw the whole place sing a sweary rendition of happy birthday to someone who is clearly not celebrating their birthday.

But, still, the reviewer felt inclined to praise some aspects of their experience. They added: “It must be exhausting for the staff, and I hope they get the respect they deserve, because bad service and quality abuse like this isn’t easy. I loved it. Would I go again? Possibly not. Am I glad I went? Definitely.”

House rules

Despite being the UK’s rudest restaurant, you might be surprised to hear that the chain concept does in fact have some house rules. "In order to maintain a shred of sanity" the restaurant asks customers to abide by some basic rules or risk being asked to pay and leave if they break them.

The rules include no racist, sexist, homophobic or ableist comments, no body shaming and no sexual harassment. The venue’s rules also extend to damage or vandalism, keeping food and drink on tables - ‘don’t throw them, it’s not fun’.

It also states: “Even though this is Karen’s Diner, OHS rules still apply. We are a functioning restaurant so do not interfere with hospitality processes. Just sit down, shut up, eat your food and bring on the banter.”

The gobsmacked gran

It has, if nothing else though, given us, some rather entertaining viral moments. Not long after it opened a video was circulated online of Barbara from Blackburn, a 73-year-old grandma, visiting the Prestwich restaurant having no idea what was in store.

In a TikTok video, which was shared millions of times, Barbara was visibly gobsmacked when the restaurant host greeted her by saying: "What d'you want grandma". After turning to her family, she quickly responds: "I'd like you to speak nicely".

The member of staff then snapped back: "Well you're in the wrong f***ing place for that, I'm afraid," while Barbara’s daughter Jo, who was in on the joke, laughed behind the camera. An incredulous Barbara then asked: "Bloody hell, who booked this?".

The visit, which also saw the employee tell the gran: “If you cry, do it in the toilets because no one gives a s***," before throwing the menus at her feet.

A celebrity visit

One of the most notable guests to visit the Prestwich restaurant was, perhaps quite unlikely, the one and only Davina McCall.

The television presenter made the 520-mile round trip from Tunbridge Wells to visit the Manchester restaurant in January last year to try out their 'terrible service' for herself. Explaining that the visit had been 'worth the journey', she added: "Our greeting by front of house was brilliant it was so so so funny. Tag line to Karen's diner is great food terrible service... it HAS to be experienced."

During their trip, one of Davina's friends was made to wear a hat "Tory", whilst Davina was given one with the title "MILF".

'You're out, all of you...he's ruined it'

Proving that those house rules are not for show either, one family found themselves chucked out for body shaming a member of staff. Jack Keith and his family had visited the Manchester branch, in Prestwich in March last year, but were ordered to leave after just 10 minutes.

In the footage shared online, the in-character waitress heard Jack calling her a ‘wh**e’ under his breath. Not taking it lying down, the waitress initially hit back saying: 'not to mumble it because you're a p***y' and when he says it more clearly she hits back to say 'you can't pronunciate [sic], that's embarrassing'.

However, the exchange quickly turned sour when she asked his age and he quipped back ‘how old are you, you fat sl*g. Deciding enough was enough, the angry waitress told another member of staff and returned to the table to tell the family: 'you're out, all of you, it's in the rules. He's ruined it'.

The family had to pay the £25 drinks bill and leave due to the house rules about ‘no body shaming’. Despite admitting he's not proud of the comments, he then hit back at the restaurant chain questioning why staff 'can give [abuse] but can't take it'.

Katie at Karen’s

Back in March police were called to the restaurant to 'monitor' protestors who gathered outside ahead of an appearance by former Apprentice contestant turned far-right commentator Katie Hopkins.

As anyone could have imagined, the decision to host the controversial star was met with much opposition and criticism from the get-go - and it’s one that bosses seemed to take on the chin. When the £15 event was first announced, one person posted on the Karen's Manchester Facebook: "Can't wait to see how this one goes", to which the admin for Karen's Diner replied with "Same".

Tickets for the event included a burger, as well as a table to the 'Katie's B******* Bonkers Britain show', which Katie said was basically a ‘good hour's worth of Hopkins on full speed’.

A large number of Prestwich residents shared their disagreement over the event, with one person saying that the venue was ‘sinking lower and lower’. And when it came to the event itself, people protested outside chanting things like ‘down with Karen’s in Prestwich’ and ‘2, 4, 6, 8, no to racism, no to Kate’.

Katie herself seemed to take the criticism in her stride, even gleefully posting on social media about the event. She said at the time: "Karen's Diner is where the staff are deliberately rude to customers for the fun of it really, so it kind of suits me perfectly.”

Concerned diners

In March, a number of negative reviews led bosses at Karen's Diner and Bury Council to both issue statements following an internal investigation over potential food poisoning concerns.

A slew of one-star reviews posted online suggested that people had been left feeling unwell after visiting the venue, with another saying her daughter spent 'seven hours in A&E' the following day. But the investigation found that the cases involved were not related to food poisoning, but rather cases of norovirus that 'were out of the restaurant's control'.

The council, who carried out an inspection of the premises as well as a full investigation, confirmed no cases of food poisoning were found. Karen’s, meanwhile, said at the time that they take such complaints seriously and have 'stringent procedures' in place to ensure they 'follow government guidelines' and that 'all recorded temperatures were submitted correctly, from external delivery to cooking procedures.'

Australian exit

In July last year, it was announced that some of the original Karen's Diner venues in Australia, where the chain was brought to life, went into liquidation.

Restaurants in cities including Surfers Paradise, Perth and Melbourne all shut down, but bosses insisted at the time that the chain 'in Australia continues to be rude to all in Sydney's capital city and the never ending demand globally is ensuring that growth worldwide continues'.

Writing on the wall

Despite attracting a lot of attention online, in March it was reported that the lease for Karen’s Diner, was listed on Rightmove prompting questions about its future. At the time, the owner said that the company had ‘no intention’ of closing its Bury New Road branch and the lease had been renewed.

However the signs of what was about to come were already there. Last year, some of Karen Diner's original restaurants in Australia went into liquidation including branches in Surfers Paradise, Perth and Melbourne abruptly closed in the summer of 2023.

A spokesperson for the brand told the M.E.N. at the time that the UK branches were safe. The statement went on to say that the UK restaurants, including the branch in Prestwich, would continue to operate independently, with plans for new branches in Europe too.

A pop-up future

Bosses at Karen's Diner said the closure of the Prestwich venue marks their progression towards a focus on pop-up events going forward and that the brand as a concept is still going to continue.

Last month, bosses of the restaurant group announced it would be going on a UK tour to locations including Blackpool, Grimsby, Romford, Portsmouth and Aberdeen. Taking place at different venues, the Roasting Tour will see diners take part in games, deal with insults and get to enjoy food from the restaurant's menu.