‘To be abused my random people who don’t even come in to taste what we sell and then give us bad reviews, it’s depressing and demeaning.’
14:59, 10 Jul 2026Updated 15:04, 10 Jul 2026
Rachna Dheer(Image: Supplied)
An Edinburgh restaurant boss has called for punters to have more “empathy” after facing an onslaught of “rude” and “demeaning” negative reviews for being refused access to the eatery’s toilet.
Rachna Dheer runs Starter Culture, a cafe wine bar which launched in January on Argyle Place, just a short walk from the public toilets in The Meadows.
The hard-working restauranteur says she has received a flurry of brutal one-star reviews on Google from non-customers, solely for being ‘turned away when asked to use the bathroom’.
She said: “[People] throw up in the toilet and abuse it. We’ve had a few of them. Now I say ‘our toilets are shut’ when people ask [and now] I get abuse.”
The eatery’s Google review has slipped to a 3.8 out of 5, in part due to several one-star reviews from dissatisfied visitors attempting to use the loo.
One read: “People are horrible, just tried using the toilet, girl with black hair really backhanded comments and mean atmosphere”.
Another punter penned: “shocking behaviour from the staff with the grey hair and glasses. Went in during pride to buy a coffee and so my partner could use the toilet as it was an emergency. I was told a coffee was not enough. whatever, ended up buying a bottle of wine because it wasn’t worth the fight.”
Starter Culture opened at 43 Argyle Place in January 2026(Image: Google)
At first, Rachna allowed non-customers into the toilet but soon the queues became so long her own customers were forced to wait. On top of that, some people allegedly began leaving the facilities in a terrible condition.
The 52-year-old said: “When I do say no, it’s taken as an offence. People say, ‘What do you mean, how can you do that?’
“I have to look after my customers. We’re a wine bar and cafe, we’re not a toilet.”
Rachna clarified that if someone is pregnant or “falling apart” she is happy to let them use the facilities but reaffirmed “I can’t keep doing this. It costs me more – it’s my toilet roll, it’s my staff dealing with it while also serving customers.”
The restaurant boss has another venture in Glasgow but claimed this is the first time she has ever experienced such abuse from members of the public.
She added: “I don’t think anyone has any idea what amount of effort, money, and sacrifice that goes into opening a business.
“To be abused my random people who don’t even come in to taste what we sell, and then give us bad reviews – it’s so depressing and demeaning.
“We’re not toilet managers. We want people to come in and have a really good time and enjoy the wine and food.
“It’s really hard to open a business in the UK at this moment. We’re employing people, using local products, supporting micro-suppliers. [The success of the business] has an effect on the community who make these local products.
“If people give us bad review, you don’t understand how much it takes to do this. There is no empathy.
“Everyone thinks ‘you run a cafe, you must be a millionaire’. That’s not the case.”