Florida restaurant sued diner who left bad Yelp review about subpar meat quality and so so ribs

A Tampa restaurant unsuccessfully sued a diner who left a negative review online that ripped the eatery over its “subpar” meat quality, “dry” spare ribs and lukewarm coffee.Irene Eng, a blogger and frequent poster on Yelp, Google and TripAdvisor, was hit with a defamation lawsuit seeking at least $50,000 last fall after she left a one-star review of her dining experience at Hales Blackbrick in December 2023.The restaurant, described in the filing as an “innovative, inspired, seasonal Chinese restaurant” operated by award-winning chef Richard Hales, alleges that Eng’s review contained false statements about her dining experience and even included a photo of his wife, Jenny Hales, who is not a public figure, according to the lawsuit filed in Florida state court.Eng’s Dec.11, 2023, review of Hales Blackbrick wasn’t a full-on takedown, but it wasn’t glowing either, according to the Tampa Bay Times.She praised the food as “well presented” but found it “a bit too sweet,” and critiqued one server’s wine etiquette as “odd.” Some dishes fared better than others in her write-up.

The eggplant and mushrooms were “wonderful,” and the tiger shrimp were “tasty and succulent.” But the spare ribs were “so so,” and the Hawaiian prime ribs, she wrote, were “the worst: way too much fat.”While she didn’t try the Yangzhou fried rice herself, Eng noted her friends thought it was “greasy.” She was especially critical of the coffee, calling it lukewarm — “a Cardinal sin!!”In a comparison to other establishments, she wrote: “The better Cantonese restaurants serve their spare ribs tender and moist.Theirs is neither: looking unappetizing, dry and could use more cooking time.”Eng, who is of Chinese descent, also made observations beyond the food.

She included a photo of Chef Richard Hales’ “impressive mobile home parked in the lot” and questioned the restaurant’s description of a dish with Sichuan origins.Eng is a “Ye...