Disappointing Experience at Local Kitchen – A Matter of Fairness and Respect

I’m writing this after a deeply disappointing experience at Local Kitchen on Saturday.

My friends and I visited after our paddle session, arriving at around 1 PM while the venue was still quiet. From the start, it felt like we were not welcome—particularly by Ishmail, the manager on duty. We asked politely if the channel could be changed to the F1 race long before the rugby had started. He refused, stating that if he changed it for us, others would also want to request changes, even though the rugby hadn't begun and the venue was not yet full. His tone felt unnecessarily dismissive.

We stayed for five hours, supporting the establishment and spending on food and drinks. As it got colder in the evening, we asked for a heater to be placed near our table. Again, we were refused—told that heaters were only for inside. We then asked to sit inside to finish our drinks and settle the bill. He said it was fully booked, which we respected, but when we suggested sitting at one of the Monty tables temporarily, we were again told no.

When we tried to move to the other section, Ishmail blocked us, stating we couldn’t go there either. I asked where we could sit that was warm, and he simply said “nowhere,” then walked away without any courtesy or care.

To add to the confusion, we eventually walked through the restaurant and found a free table to finish our drinks. At that point, we were left asking ourselves—why were we being treated like second-class guests?

It was difficult not to feel that our presence as Black patrons, requesting reasonable comfort and service, was viewed as an inconvenience. The coldness and lack of hospitality from a Black manager towards Black guests is something I’ll never understand. There was a sense of, “Who do you think you are?”—when all we wanted was to be treated with the same courtesy extended to others.

Local Kitchen is a beautiful space with great potential, but leadership like this diminishes the entire experience.

We left feeling disrespected and disheartened.