A viral review of a Michelin-starred restaurant has divided foodies (Photo: Instagram/ chloejadetravels)
A vlogger's scathing review of a critically acclaimed restaurant in San Sebastian has taken social media by storm. Digital creator Chloe Jade Meltzer shared her candid thoughts on her experience of dining at the 2 Michelin-starred Mugaritz some weeks ago. The first video of her three-part review has clocked over 10 million views so far and sparked a heated debate on Instagram about fine dining, honest reviews, food snobbery and much more. In the now-viral reel, Chloe declared that she had the "worst meal" of her life at the highly celebrated restaurant. She has provided details about several courses and what she (and her dining companions) felt about them.
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For instance, she compared one of the first dishes to "eating lip gloss". She mentioned that they were well aware that it was supposed to be an "inventive" restaurant, but were left confused by the taste of the food - which they found disappointing. She showcased one of the courses which was served in the form of a belly button. Guests are supposed to suck a liquid made of kefir and almond oil, thus, she did so. But it was a letdown. She also described one of the dishes as "charred spinach with barbeque sauce" which she found "disgusting".
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At the beginning of the clip and in the caption, she claims that a customer "had the cops called on them and almost got arrested because they did not want to pay for the restaurant, it was that bad." Watch the full video below:
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In parts 2 and 3 of her review, also uploaded on Instagram, she explains the remaining courses and why she disliked most of them. She also revealed that her group paid a total of around $800 (more than Rs 67K) for their meal. In the comments section, Instagram users had a lot to say about her review as well as the restaurant itself. Some people shared their own unsatisfactory experiences at Mugaritz, while others were surprised that it turned out so bad for them. Several users criticised the vlogger, saying that she did not understand the philosophy of the chef/restaurant. However, many other users and the digital creator herself defended her review and the necessity of sharing candid opinions. Multiple users also compared it to the 2022 American film, 'The Menu'. Check out some of the reactions below:
"Mugaritz is not about gustatory excellence, it's about gustatory exploration... lots of people don't understand it or have a hard time accepting that (in the context of hyper-creativity) they don't need to like something for it to have value."
"Mugaritz is one of the best restaurants in the world, it's absolutely not for ordinary people, who can't understand the creativity, the concept and the results of the R+D! I work in gastronomy and I had the luck to experience their tasting menu. I admire their freedom, make this restaurant a very unique place in the world!"
"Thanks for your review, I know it's a controversial opinion but just because a restaurant is crazy expensive and "experimental" doesn't actually mean it's good, there are lots of snobs here thinking price + popularity = good food lol."
"Definitely a social experiment to see if we'll ignore our gag reflex for the sake of affluence! Lol."
"Why does this seem like a scene from The Menu?"
"Sharing an honest experience at a restaurant is not problematic."
"Went with 3 foodie friends. It was the worst fine dining meal any of the 4 of us has ever had in our lives."
"How are people defending the restaurant?! Please stop with the "it's art" and "high end" nah. I've eaten at some really high-end places and if someone served me this I would get up and leave mid-meal. Every restaurant deserves criticism whether it be good or bad. I wanna KNOW."
Before this, another viral video of a restaurant last year got people thinking about 'The Menu'. Click here to read the full story
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