Vegan restaurant leaves customers fuming after adding a 'diversity role models' charge to people's bills

Daily Mail​

01-07-2025

A vegan restaurant in London has left customers seething after charging 50p for a 'Diversity Role Models donation'.
Mallow restaurant in Borough Market is fundraising for Diversity Role Models, a UK-wide charity dedicated to ending LGBTQ + bullying in schools through educational workshops and role model storytelling, according to their website.
While the charitable initiative is well-intentioned, Reddit users have expressed concern that the scheme places the burden of social responsibility on the customer rather than the business.
One person took to Reddit to showcase the extra 50p automatically added to their bill, which came to £57.55.
The customer paid £19 for a vegan full English breakfast, £19 for a mezze brunch, £5.50 for an oolong and pineapple drink, and £7.20 for two oat flat whites.
There was also an optional additional charge of £6.35 for service, plus the optional 50p for the diversity charity.
Some commenters questioned the extent of the restaurant's contributions to the charity, suggesting that while the business promotes its charitable support, the financial responsibility appears to fall primarily on the customer.
One person said: 'This is about the owners being able to claim they're environmentally / socially conscious at your expense.
'You'll hear their celeb chefs on TOPJAW being all smug about 'giving back to the community' while guilting you into this situation, 'Oh, you want me, a service worker, to take this bill back to the till, remove the 50 pence donation and bring it back to you? Do you want me to club a baby seal on my way back as well?'
'It's making the customers pay for their PR. The id**** posting 'Hurr durr not paying 50p is a bad look on you' is justifying this s*** being the norm.
They concluded: 'I might not get it removed at that time, but I will make a mental note of not going to that place again.'
Another said: 'Yep, they do exactly that. They boast about supporting charities, but they don't make it clear that not a penny is from them.'
Someone else wrote: 'You also see this a lot with airlines. They offer you the option to pay extra for your flight to help them meet their environmental obligations. And the way they word it is a clear attempt to make you feel guilty for not doing so.'
A fourth added: 'I hate this sort of thing. It's shaming the customer into paying more money, with the implication that if you don't you clearly don't care about diversity.
'Even if it does go to a charity in this case, if this sort of thing gets normalised you could quickly see places start to establish their own 'charities'.'
MailOnline has reached out to Mallow restaurant for comment.
However, others didn't see a problem paying a small sum of money to help a great charity.
One person wrote: 'I'd just pay it's only 50p.'
Another said: 'Diversity Role Models are an excellent charity.'
Someone else added: 'Using their platform and reach to garner support for a legitimate, worthwhile charity - I see no problem. It is not in any way unique to this business; it is a widely leveraged method to raise charitable funds.'
A fourth added: 'Seems to be an anti-bullying charity for schoolchildren. Might be a cause close to the owner's heart.'
The original poster later clarified: 'I'm in a fortunate position where 50p doesn't make a dent. I also have no issue with role models. I just want to be asked first.'
Mallow restaurant's website explained where the money goes, writing: 'Diversity Role Models is a UK-wide charity, working with schools to end LGBTQ+ bullying through educational workshops and role model storytelling.
'They educate young people about difference, challenging stereotypes and addressing the misuse of language to shape a world where everyone embraces diversity and can thrive.'
Mallow concluded: 'We fundraise for them during June and volunteer throughout the year.'
It comes after popular Indian restaurant Gymkhana in London introduced a fee on every person in a dining party before they've even walked through the door.
The controversial mandate, introduced by the celeb hotspot restaurant in November, mandates that every guest visiting the two Michelin-starred site must pay the deposit of £100 before arriving - which then becomes their minimum spend for the evening.
It's a rule that has now been replicated by eateries across the capital as the hospitality industry cracks down on no-shows, last minute cancellations, reservation resale websites and 'reservation squatting'.
According to Chris D'Sylva - the owner of Michelin-starred Dorian, in Notting Hill - there's been an uptick in the number of people who block up tables at multiple restaurants and then only show up for one reservation.
As a result, Mr D'Sylva told the Financial Times, that he has been forced to impose a 'slightly punitive' £25 deposit that also helps ward off clout-chasing food influencers.
'It's something to drive away influencers that come and all they want to do is say that they were there and get the benefit of the social currency and post on their Instagram to the detriment of the business,' he told the newspaper.
But collab-hungry influencers - looking to barter social media exposure for free food and drinks - are just as bad as bots that snap up the best tables so they can later be 'scalped' to the highest bidder, said Matt Tucker, the head of restaurant reservation platform Tock.
Three-figure minimum spend requirements have also begun to feature on Tock's website - with diners looking to enjoy the Omakase experience at The Araki in Mayfair have to fork over £310 per head in advance of their meal.