Nadia Jamil allegedly refused service at Italian restaurant in UK
Don Pascuale, an Italian restaurant based in Cambridge, United Kingdom has been accused of racism after allegedly refusing to serve famous Pakistani actress and philanthropist Nadia Jamil and her father.
Nadia Jamil opens doors of new community space in Lahore
Jamil truly believes that racism was the sole reason she was refused service and therefore, took to Twitter to share her appalling experience.
Shortly thereafter, the restaurant staff responded by stating that they "welcome all," denying the allegations made by Jamil.
She went on to tweet that they refused to give her and her father the menus. The waiter reiterated that he would not serve them and when questioned, he suggested that they go in and self-serve calling them "annoying people." More fuel was added to the fire when the staff supposedly snatched the menu and verbally insulted them.
Don Pasquale denies this:
The restaurant confirmed that the staff had not been given any instructions from the management to deny anyone entry or service based on their race. They continued to reject any claims of racism.
Persistent, Jamil replied:
According to the actor, the situation was aggravated further due to her father's health:
The restaurant completely rejected any accusations and further tweeted that they have never discriminated on the basis of religious prejudice and racial profiling.
The restaurant then released a complete version of how the incident unravelled:
They claimed that Jamil was not immediately served due to the lack of available staff. They further provided that due to her being so impatient, she was indeed given the menus and asked to order inside when she was ready. Self-service was suggested to Jamil to aid speedy service.
Nadia Jamil on teaching voice modulation to ‘Balu Mahi’ actors
According to the restaurant, it was at this point that the actor took offence and alleged that she was refused service on the basis of appearance as all the 'white' people were being given all the attention. Her father threatened the staff with a bottle due to which they were asked to leave as they were causing discomfort within the restaurant.
Nevertheless, Jamil continued to stand by her version of events and refused the occurrence of any of the aforementioned events.
She moved on to providing her own statement of the events that occurred in full:
Whilst the father and daughter were seated outside, they were apparently approached by an aggressive waiter who told them that they should go inside and order when they are ready.
After that a waitress came to take their order but the same man stopped her, then confirmed they can go inside and order for themselves. Jamil asked whether she was being refused service due to the colour of her skin. Upon questioning, the menus were snatched and they were asked to leave. The waitress then proceeded to propel Jamil out. She admitted that her father had to calm her down as she was outraged by the circumstances.
The restaurant tenaciously denied all allegations and confirmed that they have never discriminated in their forty years of trade. The accusations were highly unfair.
Many people, including journalists and politicians were appalled by the story and even expressed their reservations regarding the authenticity of the story:
Have something to add to the story? Share it in the comments below.