Dan (London) wrote on 7 March 2010

This past weekend I traveled to attend the TEDx event at University of Warwick. My wife and I decided to spend the rest of the weekend visiting Coventry, and we had a good time visiting the sights. But, on Sunday afternoon we witnessed a disturbing act of discrimination that ruined our image of the city. We went to a café bar called Browns for a vegetarian lunch. I was informed that I would not be served as I was wearing a hat. A lot of night clubs have similar rules but this seemed to be an unusual rule for an empty restaurant to enforce on a Sunday afternoon so I enquired as to why. I was told that due to local hooligans causing trouble most restaurants in Coventry will not serve people wearing hats, hoodies or with sports tattoos. Culture shock for a Canadian, but fair enough, I took off my hat and ordered my lunch. The next customers to walk in were three eastern European men who were quickly shouted at by a staff member to leave as they would not be served. This caught our attention as none of these men were wearing any of the aforementioned banned apparel. In a very embarrassed tone one of the gentlemen asked why, to which the woman said that she doesn’t need to give a reason and they should leave immediately. My wife and I were disgusted by this and repulsed at the idea that this was apparently common practise amongst Coventry restaurateurs.

Our next stop of the day was the Herbert Art Gallery & Museum. The museum’s gallery proudly displayed the multicultural history of Coventry. It was ironic considering the repulsive discrimination happening right next door.

Upon returning home a quick Google search revealed many other stories of discrimination at this particular restaurant. Racism, xenophobia and just plain ignorance seem to be the prevalent complaints. How is this restaurant allowed to continue with these policies? Why are the people of Coventry continuing to give it business?

Chris (Coventry) wrote on 8 June 2009

I went in there once wearing a flat cap and the bouncer came over and goes "no hats allowed" even though there were plenty of people in there wearing caps. When I took it off I was told to leave again as my "hair was too short".
It's ridiculous. How often do you see Asian or Afro Carribean people in there? Not very often cuz they don't usually get let in.

Chris (Coventry) wrote on 6 April 2009

The actions of the owners daughter can be seen as nothing less than facist. I cannot understand why so many people tolerate this behaviour. Does it really matter what the foods like? Would you go to tea with Robert Mugabe, if he made an excellent chick pea curry? No.... so please, for the sake of all that is good in the world AVOID THIS RESTUARANT

michelle francis (coventry) wrote on 21 January 2009

Don't go here if you're having a bad day, I'm amazed the place is still open as it's always empty. If you happen to be walking past one day and it's the only place to go if it's raining good luck getting served and don't take it personally if the staff are rude (especially the chick with the big hair), they are rude to everyone. You're probably better off risking getting wet and going to the whitefriars up the road, they have welcoming staff in there at least!

joe howe (aberdeen) wrote on 20 January 2009

how on earth does this place stay open, with so many complaints from the customers about the rudeness of the staff and so many people getting turned away before eating? has anyone actually tried the food? curious.

Kevin Quinn (Coventry) wrote on 8 December 2008

Recently, my auntie, who is a long standing customer of Ken Brown and his daughter, sadly passed away. On the day of the funeral, a small number of us decided it would be fitting to have dinner there, just as she so often had. Upon entry to the pub, dressed quite obviously in our funeral wear, we were told by the lovely lady there that our custom was not required and we were to leave immediately.
When we explained why we were there and who it was for, she responded with a polite 'Your funeral is not my problem and u aint gettin served so leave now'.
Out of sincere respect for our much loved auntie, on behalf of her family and friends, I would respectfully ask anyone thinking of eating or drinking at this bar to remember that elsewhere in Coventry City Centre, there are countless places, with better food, drink and customer service, more than happy to serve respectable paying customers and to promote Coventry in a positive light.
Thanks.

Kerri (Coventry) wrote on 2 November 2008

Don't bother.
Yes, the food is resonable, if you ever get to eat it.
If you plan a visit to Brown's, be sure to have a back up plan. The staff are rude and discriminate against whomever they feel like discriminating against on any given day - one day, it'll be couples they'll chuck out, the next it'll be someone in a wheel chair. If you do manage to make it past the door staff, don't start to relax - there are the reports of the countless number of people who have paid for food/drinks, but then the 'manager' refused to actually give them their food/drink, asked them to leave (without giving a reason) and refused to refund the money.
I have been refused entry twice (I am a 28 yr old respectable looking teacher who has never been in any form of trouble), once when I was with my fiance - we were on a date and planning on going there for a meal and drinks before heading elsewhere. While I was in the loo, the bouncer told my fiance "you're not being served here. Leave." My fiance asked him for a reason why and said he wasn't prepared to leave without me. The bouncer responded by saying he would call the police if we didn't leave immediately. The other time I was asked to leave I was with my parents, we wanted to get some lunch while we were shopping but were thrown (without being given a reason) before we had chance to order.
Browns is in no way a fair representation of the attitudes and values of the people of Coventry. If you are a visitor to Coventry, there are many more places to eat and drink where you can be guaranteed not to be thrown out for no valid reason.
Do yourself a favour and spend your money elsewhere.

Paul Bottomley (Sheffield) wrote on 3 October 2008

Avoid this place at all costs they are ageist and just want badly dressed comfortable shoe wearing weridos like the owner.
the doormen are rude.

i am a business man i was down in Coventry with 3 colleagues we went in for food and drinks and a bold head 4 foot moron send you wont get served, why " we dont give reasons" then the fat moose behind the bar said its my decison.
well its my decision to tell 20 poeple a day how bad this estabisihment is until i die
wish you all the best going bust cant come soon enough for you.

Stevie (Coventry) wrote on 25 September 2008

I have been to browns before and had a coffee and a chat no problem, so to my disgust, i was walking past and thought i would just pop in to go to the toilet, when some tattooed brute, wearing the tightest T-Shirt possible, said "you wont get served here."

Thats ok ill just use the toilet then and be on my way
"No go next door"

What has browns come to there never used to be some "bouncer" on the door with an attitude problem.

Yes the food is decently priced and the coffee is nice, but thats if u get past the guard dog. Im in my mid 20's not early teens, so to be turned away, with no real reason its nothing but discrimination, against what? we shall never know, as "i dont have to give a reason", seems to be the common answer.

Sara McRaferty (Coventry) wrote on 8 September 2008

As a veggie I find it hard to find places to eat that offer a good selection of food that is the boring old veggie lasagne or similar. So upon hearing that Browns has a good choice of food for us veggies I dragged two friends from out of town along.

Well what can I say? I am disgusted at the behaviour of the staff in this place. First we made it to the bar and when we asked for two pints of beer and a coke we were told by a very bossy woman that she was sure we would much prefer coffees. Erm, well we ordered something different entirely, so, no Love I am sure we know what we want. After she grudgingly gave us our drinks (a mere 15mins after we ordered) we decided to brave the place further and order some food.
The food sounded good, but we never got to taste it. Despite having ordered and paid for our three meals we were asked to leave by the bouncer before our food even arrived. We were beyond shocked and when we asked why the bouncer said 'I don't have to give you a reason.'
We didn't get a refund, we just got booted.
Shocking behaviour. I will never go to Browns again, nor would I recommend it to my worst enemy.

Steer well clear of Browns.

john guinan (Coventry) wrote on 3 September 2008

dont go near the place , is and always has been crap. the owners are rude and offensive and, if you are allowed in, you will probably get asked to leave for no apparent reason. they should not be allowed to have a licence. thats why the place is always empty. no one is allowed in

Melanie (Coventry) wrote on 14 January 2008

I have been visiting this establishment for many years now, even before it moved to its current location. Firstly I do agree with the fact that they have been known to refuse wheelchair users. This is not just my claim. I live in Coventry and it hit our Evening Telegraph headlines. Also the staff, including the daughter of the owner can be incredibly rude. I have been asked to leave whilst having a meal once with a female friend for no reason a few years back and it took me a long time to return. Also myself, as part of a couple with another couple have been thrown out of the queue along with other people for no reason at all. When queried we were told no was no and to get lost.

The door policy is not nice. You're fine though if you go in the day but nigh-times, my friends have a lot of trouble getting into the place etc, and we are not kids we are in our 30s.

Some of the staff cannot speak good English and on more than one occasion my order has been messed up but I'd rather leave it as not to cause confrontation.

The drinks are extortionate prices. The coffees etc are reasonably priced but a pint say is around £3.50 and that I think is a lot.

The food is ok. The choice is fab with at least 3 vegan dishes on a day. Lots of choices of meat, fish and vegetarian as well however the food can be hit and miss. I went a couple of weeks back had a lovely meal, following week went back with a friend and it wasn't good and we left it. Price wise it isn't bad at between £5.49-£6.49 per main meal and location is brilliant in our town centre.

The atmosphere isn't bad for such a young student crowd. The DJs at weekend are ok but I prefer in the week with the indie music singers.

All in all I do like it but do be prepared for a not so good reception for no reason at all. Do watch the prices of the drinks as well or it's a very expensive night.

Shaz (Coventry) wrote on 10 January 2008

I went to Browns for lunch with some friends, a lady took their orders and ignored me then told them I wouldn’t be getting served. I inquired as to why I was being refused service at which the lady replied she didn’t have to give a reason. I asked how she would feel if she were in my shoes and she replied "offended". I told her I wanted to put in a complaint regarding her very rude and unpleasant attitude, she told me that she was BROWN and that she ran the place. We all had to find another place for lunch which was inconvenient due to the amount of time we had. Fortunately Lloyds over the road provided great meals at very reasonable prices and the staff were very pleasant. I’ve told quite a few friends about my experience there and I wasn’t surprised to hear it had happened to other people too most of which were interestingly Asian so I have a feeling there might be some racism involved in some of there choices regarding turning people away. I really hope they get what they deserve and go bankrupt so somebody with manners can open a place which compliments Coventry instead of making us all look like retro bate.

Kath (Rugby) wrote on 31 December 2007

We live near Cov and my child is a vegan due to health reasons, we were excited to read about this vegan restaurant.......however when we got there we were not allowed in. They do not admit children, no mention of this on web page! So our large party was left with no where to eat, we asked if they could recommend any where else. The attidude they displayed was not nice, and they said they did not think we would find any where suitable in Cov. The art gallery next door does fab food and catered for everyone in the party!

Val Graham (Warwickshire) wrote on 28 December 2007

The recent review that warned people not to visit Browns was most unjust. We have been regulars for around 15 years, before even they moved into the current premises. Comments about the food, staff etc are obviously a matter of personal opinion. We appreciate the care that goes into the veggie food, and the amazing choice on offer. Some of the Brown family are veggies and they were ahead of their time in the Midlands with their inventive dishes. They also try to accomodate people with food allergies. We get on very well with the staff, and welcome the fact that you can enjoy yourself and relax without having your meal ruined by drunken pests. Women eating alone can feel very vulnerable, but not here.

What is really totally wrong is the accusation about disabled people. Browns has always been a favourite port of call for students from the local college for disabled. I know several people who work at the college as carers and escorts, often to young people with very profound disabilities. They know they will always be made welcome at Browns. They have a lift for those who want to dine upstairs, and a separate loo. In fact,it was my impression that the care about those allowed entry is partly out of protectiveness to such customers, who may feel vulnerable or self-conscious, wanting to have a good time without being gawked at or treated as a freak show.

Apart from anything else, I very much doubt if any restaurant could legally refuse entry to disabled customers.

Rea (Coventry) wrote on 25 November 2007

Browns is most definatly the worst place i have ever visited. The owner manager is incredibly rude, even nasty, how they get away with it is beyond me! Disabled people are not allowed in, also if you're face don't fit. I wouldn't go in there if I was starving. If you have any ethics please give it a miss.

Jo (Coventry) wrote on 25 October 2005

I have been going to Browns for many years and have found the food fantastic and great value. But on 3 separate occasions within the last year (the last time being last weekend) the male friend I have been with has been refused entry. On the last occasion when asked why we could not come in the doorman said "I do not have to give a reason". I found this extremely rude and not the impression of Coventry I want to give to my vegan friends that are new to the city. I would like to make all vegans aware that if your face doesn't fit it seems that Browns will not let you in, never mind how good the food is!

Hayley (Coventry) wrote on 24 September 2004

I have been going to Browns for 4 years - it is THE one place in Coventry that I have always been able to get great tasting, reasonably priced veggie food. Usually my boyfriend or friends get a wider choice, and bigger platefuls of better cooked food than I do. Not here. My boyfriend and I got together over talks about the design and principles of a place like this! Very friendly and accessible to all.

Michael Verdon (Coventry) wrote on 18 August 2002

I enjoy eating at Browns even though I go there mainly to socialise. Browns is predominately a bar with good music and a relaxed atmosphere. What I really like is that I can drink with friends and order food whenever I want it, no matter how late. The veggie choice is better than anywhere in Coventry and always seems to be changing. My vegan friend is fussy about the content of his dinner but always gets a choice and hasn't been disappointed yet.

Daniel Craig (Leamington Spa) wrote on 27 December 2001

I've been eating at Browns for a long time and, even though I'm not a vegetarian, many of my friends are including my boyfriend. It's one of the only places where vegetarian food is always available along with many other dishes and there is a vast selection, not just veg lasagne. So go on, treat yourself or take a friend.

Julian (Derby) wrote on 19 January 2001

Ok, the food is usually great and good value, but we've been in and ordered food in the evening, and it was hot round the edges and cold in the middle (two different main courses). I recommend going when it's got a food bias (it's a pub), at lunchtime or something.

Valerie Graham (Kenilworth) wrote on 15 March 2000

Browns is specifically a veggie restaurant. It is a fabulous cafe bar with a huge choice of veggie meals on a daily changing blackboard. For £4.95 you get a generous portion which includes 3 vegetables from a vast selection. Contrary to another review, I think the atmosphere is fantastic. The building is a real gem of futuristic chic - especially for the Midlands. Be sure to check out the 'magic' taps in the loos!