An American woman has sparked a heated debate about British food and Britain’s most popular restaurant chains after insisting it is ‘all terrible’.
Charlie, who grew up in the South and now lives in New Jersey, went viral on TikTok after claiming her meals left nothing to be desired during her trip abroad.
The 24-year-old mother noted she was shown around by locals who took her to a Wetherspoons pub and Toby Carvery, both restaurant chains.
‘Over the past year it has been very popular to binge on British food. But I’m here to tell you that you’re not wrong, okay?’ she started her almost three minutes video.
Charlie, 24, from New Jersey, went viral on TikTok after insisting British food is ‘completely terrible’
‘I went to Great Britain. I had a variety of food while I was there. I was shown around by natives,” she said, emphasizing that everything she ate was not desirable
The mother noted that she went to a Wetherspoons pub and Toby Carvery, both popular restaurant chains
‘I went to Great Britain. I had a variety of food while I was there. I was shown around by natives. So for all you Brits out there, I went to Wetherspoons. I did go to Toby’s. I had a “good Chinese,” she added in a British accent. ‘It’s all terrible.’
For American viewers, Charlie explained that Wetherspoons was the equivalent of a British Chili’s or an Applebee’s, saying it was “nothing special.”
“I did go to a Toby’s,” she continued. “If you’ve ever been to a Golden Corral, I can explain it to you best.”
Charlie argued that the British claim the US doesn’t have carverys, but it does and they are “better than probably anything they could ever imagine.”
“If you’ve ever been to a Brazilian steakhouse in the United States, it doesn’t compare,” she said. “A Toby’s could never touch it.”
The content creator went on to describe Nando’s – another chain also available in the US – as a “mild version of Chipotle.”
“It’s really nothing great,” she said. ‘But I will tell you that it was the only thing I could eat consistently in Britain. Everything else was a gamble. You don’t use any herbs.’
Charlie said she also had Chinese food in Bath, a city in England, and the only word she could think of to describe it was “suicide.”
“It’s not good,” she said through gagging sounds. “Even the worst Chinese I’ve had in America doesn’t compare to the awfulness. It really is as bad as you think.’
‘I’ve never tried it Indian food while I was there,” she noted. “So I won’t completely knock Britain because as far as I know Indian food is popular in Britain.”
Charlie’s pointed opinion sparked a heated debate in the comments. Some viewers agreed with her, while others claimed that British food is great, and that she was just eating in the wrong places
Charlie’s video has been viewed one million times and received more than 7,600 comments since it was posted on November 1.
Many critics were quick to agree with her and criticize British food, including some Americans who live there.
“An American guide to good British food (from someone who has lived in Britain for a year and a half): 1. Nando’s, that’s it,” one person wrote.
“They literally conquered the spice trade JUST TO NOT USE ANY OF THEMMMMMMM,” someone else joked.
“My mother has traveled to 50 countries for work and she said the food in England was the worst she has ever had in the world,” another added.
Others loved the food and questioned its taste.
‘Who doesn’t like fish and chips and a sausage roll? Or a full English?’ one fan asked.
‘I had the best meal there! Went to the Pheasant Inn near Heathrow. Best meal of my life! Went to the Foxes Den in Bristol. Phenomenal!’ someone else shared.
‘I was in England recently and we had fantastic British food. Pies and mash, bangers and mash, fish and chips,” another agreed.
There were also plenty of people who thought she couldn’t be taken seriously because she mainly went to chain restaurants.
“I’m an American living in Britain and Wetherspoons is for getting drunk on pitchers and onion rings,” one expat explained.
“If anyone told you to go to Toby’s and Spoons for real British food, they’ve fooled you and you’ve gone off like a rocket,” someone else responded.