Review | I dined at Karen's On Tour at Southsea's Drift Bar and fell in love with the nasty staff and sloppy service

From the moment we arrived, we were taken down a peg or two by our host for the evening. I had heard customers ahead of us in the queue greeted with remarks ranging in acidity from “alright grandad” to “who’s this cheap b***h?”.

I, perhaps unwisely, had worn quite a bold pair of chequered, golf-style trousers and so was asked first if I had come as the table cloth and then treated with even more disgust when I explained I was from the press.

As we were seated, it was striking how attentive the staff were despite being hilariously combative, spending a long while at each table taking orders and picking fights with customers in equal measure.

It’s possible that this treatment would not be for everybody’s cup of tea, but everyone I saw quickly got into the spirit and gave as good as they got. Each table was given a printed copy of the rules - prohibiting out-of-order behaviours like homophobia, body shaming and racism - but within these bounds people were encouraged to get riled up along with the Karens.

In fact, despite the abundant rudeness on display and an undeniable “instagrammable” element to the Karen’s experience, the atmosphere seemed to encourage social interaction amongst customers more than any other restaurant I’ve been to.

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Partly prompted by the performers, we chatted to other parties throughout the evening and shared our amusement. One lady on a neighbouring table even described visiting Karen’s as something of a bucket list item, which she had been trying to book for a while, and she was delighted when one of her friends was made to perform karaoke and give another customer a (clothed) lap dance. All were also given a rude nickname and made to wear it for the remainder of the evening on a paper hat.

This portion of the evening came as a surprise to me. My prior knowledge of Karen’s started and ended with the fact that its a restaurant where the staff swear at you (I had also imagined they might also spill food on me rather than serving it on a plate.)

While a ketchup bottle was thrown onto the table in my direction at one point, my predictions were mostly off base. The experience is a lot more of a “show” than I had expected, with customers invited to take part in an array of humiliating – but crucially fun for the audience – games.

When I was chosen, I spun a wheel of potential forfeits and ended up “speed-dating” with two other diners. While this was somewhat awkward, I was just glad I didn’t have to give anyone a lap dance.

Of course, many of us were more liable to play along in part thanks to the range of cocktails on offer from Drift itself - some having gone for the “bottomless” option. My favourite of these was the Biscoffee Martini, a far sweeter and creamier twist on an Espresso Martini made with Biscoff foam. The food itself was nothing spectacular - I ordered a burger with chips and a festive mince pie tart for pudding - but it delivered on the promise of a typical American diner vibe.

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And besides, Karen’s On Tour would have surely failed to deliver if my main takeaway from the evening had been food-related.

Our cast of Karens were riotous, quick-witted and the sense of impish fun which shone through their “Karen” personas was infectious. At times, it was as if they were performing stand-up comedy while still having to actually wait tables. I was thoroughly impressed.

If you are looking for the cathartic opportunity to talk back to a surly server or just enjoy dinner and a show, then this is for you.

Karen’s On Tour is set to return to Portsmouth in April 2024 and tickets start at £25.50. You can book here.