Seafood by the River, a restaurant in Boat Quay, has hit back at a woman in Singapore and said it will go the legal route, after the complainant called the establishment out for its supposed "bad business ethics".

The complainant had claimed the restaurant sold a S$356 Alaskan king crab dish to her 16-year-old daughter and her friends without informing them about the price upfront.

The restaurant has refuted the woman's claims and countered that the price was stated clearly in the menu and on the order chit.

In the latest development on Sep. 20, a spokesperson said the restaurant intends to pursue legal action against the complainant's "malicious" actions.

The spokesperson said the restaurant is of the view that the complainant's comments appeared "calculated to affect our sales during the busy F1 season".

4 diners, adults included

In a statement on Sep. 20, the restaurant revealed that the party of four diners that evening included adults, one of whom had paid the bill with his Visa credit card "without any protest".

The statement noted that based on CCTV footage, the group — which comprised two females and two males — "did not appear to be teenagers to us".

This emphasis on the ages of the diners was likely to address the observations made by online commenters who saw that alcohol was served to the group that evening.

Alcoholic beverages listed in the itemised receipt shared by the complainant originally, which prompted online commenters to question if underaged drinking occurred at the establishment.

The restaurant also reiterated that the diners were fully informed of the prices, which are "in line with any other restaurant in Singapore selling live Alaskan king crabs".

Cancel culture?

Furthermore, the complainant's decision to take to social media and urge patrons to avoid the business, instead of seeking an explanation directly, was "clearly a case of cancel culture", the restaurant said.

The Boat Quay restaurant also alleged that the posts were made "with malicious intent" and calculated to affect the restaurant's sales during the F1 season.

As such, the restaurant will pursue legal remedies against the individual for any losses as a result of the posts, it said.

In a screenshot viewed by Mothership, two Instagram accounts that bore different display photos had allegedly posted numerous similar comments that started out with the same line that read, "Please do not visit this Seafood by the River..."

The restaurant's statement added:

"The matter is in the hands of our solicitors, and we will be pursuing legal action against that individual who continues to post such negative comments at us, and [who] we note... is not even a diner at our restaurant."

Mothership has contacted the complainant for further comment.

The complainant has yet to respond despite several reminders.

Background

The complainant's initial post, which cannot be accessed now, was first put up on Facebook on Sep. 18, with an entreaty: "Please do not visit this Seafood by the River restaurant."

She explained that her daughter went out for dinner with her friends and wanted to eat crab, but they were served a S$356 Alaskan king crab without having been told the price.

"Ridiculous for a restaurant to think teenagers want to eat king Alaskan crab. They don't even know and [weren't] told of the cost," the complainant wrote.

The response

In response, a spokesperson for the restaurant, who gave her name as Kathleen, told Mothership on Sep. 19 that the prices were clearly stated in the menu.

Prior to cooking the dish, a server had also shown the diners the crustacean and allowed them to take photos with it, as per their usual procedure, she said.

The diners had additionally been issued with an order chit that showed the weight and name of the dish, as well as the price.

Kathleen added that the customers did not complain about the price when paying the bill, only remarking that the crab was "very nice and fresh".

The complainant's allegations "are not true", Kathleen reiterated.

She added that the restaurant has "all the evidence on our side".

Top image from Seafood by the River and Google Maps