‘Great burgers, rude service’: Controversial restaurant Karen’s Diner coming to Ipswich

The unconventional diner that promises “great burgers and rude service” will soon open doors to its newest location at Ipswich amid online controversy about an alleged joke taken “too far” by staff at its Brisbane site.

One of Australia’s most controversial and unusual restaurants — where the staff are rude but the burgers are “great” — has revealed it will open its next venue at Ipswich.

Karen’s Diner has locations across the state, including in Brisbane’s Chermside and at the Gold Coast, and is popular among patrons for the unique and interactive experience it offers.

“At Karens you will be greeted and waited upon by rude waiters and forced to play a variety of games,” the restaurant website stated.

“Karen’s Diner is a place where you can complain until the cows come home because we literally don’t care.”

Karen’s Diner serves burgers by deliberately rude and unprofessional staff. Picture: Supplied

A director of Viral Adventures — the company behind the Karen’s Diner concept — Aden Levin revealed the new Ipswich store will open at Riverlink Shopping Centre in early- to mid-November and take on between 15 and 20 local employees.

“It’s going to be in a good spot. Should be fun,” he said.

“Keep your eyes peeled for updates.”

The announcement comes as debate over how far is “too far” for Karen’s Diner staff members to take jokes ensues online — the controversy prompted by an alleged joke made about a diner’s receding hairline.

According to the restaurant’s website, topics and behaviours including racist, sexist, homophobic, or ableist comments and slurs, body shaming, sexual harassment, and vandalism or damage to the restaurant are off-limits and not tolerated.

“Just sit down, shut up, eat your food, and bring on the banter,” the restaurant’s website read.

Mr Levin said conversations and interactions in Karen’s Diner restaurants could be “taken out of context” when filmed and shared online, leading to contention online.

The restaurants are incredibly popular across the country, particularly in Brisbane where a second site is set to open this week. Picture: Supplied

But the formula has clearly worked for Viral Adventures thus far, with 14 stores now operating across the country — and internationally in New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States — and “quite a few more” planned to open by the end of the year.

“It’s an experience not for everyone,” Mr Levin said.

“But for those that come down and are pretty open-minded, it’s definitely fun.”

The diner is so well-liked in Brisbane that a second site at Southbank was acquired, with the new restaurant set to open its doors to customers this week.

Mr Levin said he was really happy with how the concept had been received to date though it was, of course, ever-evolving.

A number of new games and experiences will be offered in Queensland stores in the coming weeks and months, including Karen’s ‘drag nights’ at which several well-known drag queens will provide entertainment.