I’ve always loved Hudson Cafe and have dined at several of their locations many times. However, I hadn’t been to the downtown Detroit location in a while, so I decided to stop in for a quick brunch with my boyfriend around 1:15 PM on a Tuesday. Unfortunately, this was one of the worst dining experiences I’ve had—ever.

We sat at the bar and were greeted by a slim brunette bartender. I didn’t catch her name. She asked for our IDs when we ordered drinks. My boyfriend’s ID was expired, so he went to grab his passport from the car—no big deal, or at least it shouldn’t have been. When he returned, she snatched the passport from his hand in a noticeably rude way. As a fellow bartender myself, I tried to see both sides and didn’t make a fuss. We let it go.

But the issue came when he tried to order a grilled cheese with fries. He’s a vegetarian, and he orders this all the time at other Hudson Cafe locations—it’s never been a problem. Sometimes there’s an upcharge, sometimes it’s charged as a kids’ meal, and that’s totally fine. But the bartender smugly told us that grilled cheese wasn’t on the menu and made a sarcastic remark about him not being 12, referencing the ID she had just checked. The tone was completely unnecessary and condescending.

I calmly explained that he doesn’t eat meat and has had it at other locations before, and I asked if it could be accommodated—even with an upcharge. Rather than responding with any kind of professionalism or helpfulness, she started gesturing at us to calm down and said, “You don’t have to do all that,” as if we were being unreasonable. We hadn’t raised our voices or shown any disrespect—we were simply asking if something could be done.

I was stunned. I’ve never experienced such a “Karen” moment in real life before. The bartender acted like we were causing a scene when all we wanted was decent service and a little understanding. I was more upset than my boyfriend because he was being treated unfairly, and I felt totally powerless in the moment. It felt racially motivated like we were made out to be aggressors It’s unsettling how someone can flip the script and play the victim while treating others poorly.

Needless to say, we left without eating. I had no desire to pay for food after being treated like that. I don’t know if the bartender was having a bad day, but it doesn’t excuse the attitude. As someone who also works for tips, I know how important it is to treat every guest with kindness and respect—especially when they’re being polite and have to tip me. Which I do very generously since I know it’s crucial for us that work for tips.

This experience was incredibly disappointing, and while I still enjoy Hudson Cafe’s food, I won’t be returning to the downtown location any time soon.