Ontario restaurant shuts down after being hit with 'scam' allegations

A restaurant in Ontario that found itself at the centre of online controversy earlier this month has officially shut down.

Though it feels like a lifetime ago, it hasn't even been two weeks since the Farzi Cafe location at Mississauga's Square One Mall became the talk of TikTok when a video in which the user claimed to have been scammed on a recent visit spawned an online onslaught of accusations against the location.

In the original video, an Ontario resident named Harnoor explains that she and her friends were offered an appetizer plate under the implied pretense that it was included, only to find that they had been charged for it upon checking the bill.

They also learned that they, a group of three, had unwittingly been charged an automatic 18 per cent gratuity, despite the fact that the restaurant claims to only charge automatic gratuity on groups of five or more.

In response, a flood of additional videos making similar claims of scamming and aggressive upselling tactics at Farzi Cafe arose. A number of Google reviews, of which the restaurant has over 7500, make comparable allegations.

Farzi Cafe responded to the allegations with a public statement posted to their Instagram account on June 4, stating that the claims against them were "baseless" and that the chain was pursuing legal action against those who posted videos speaking out against them.

"At Farzi Cafe Mississauga, we remain committed to offering the highest quality innovative fusion food, service, and ambiance," they wrote in the statement. "We sincerely thank our loyal patrons who support us at this time."