Would you tell a friend after you ate at his restaurant that you were violently ill a few hours later?

That’s a really tough one.

If there was something wrong with the food, others will have experienced it. I don’t suppose you know anyone else who ate there today?

What if you just asked him gently if any of his customers had reported gastric distress today?

@Jeruba I know. It’s a really knotty problem. I was eating with him but we ate different food. Don’t know anyone else.

Did you have the runs? If so, then it probably was food poisoning. If not, then it could be something just really didn’t agree with you. Could be you are developing acid reflux and the fried tempura shrimp didn’t go down well. One because its fried and two because shrimp is high in cholesterol and you may be developing an allergy to shrimp.
I have acid reflux and love shrimp, but it has a habit of sticking around. I usually don’t go beyond 4 and I avoid fried shrimp.
And yes, an acid reflux bout can come on strong and make you feel violently ill. But you usually don’t get the runs. You can vomit but it usually comes out the one way.

If it was the food, I would let him know. If its acid reflux then I will let him know I got ill but I think it was reflux and that you may need to avoid rich foods in the future.

I don’t really see anything wrong with being honest, and telling him you got sick after eating his food. He needs to know this in case others get sick, as they won’t be so nice about it.

Yes, absolutely. Could be food poisoning. Maybe not. But it’s important for people to know what’s going on.

I would want to know if it were my restaurant.

Oh, yes, I’d tell, absolutely. I was in that circumstance (about 40 years ago…still a vivid memory! Ugh) and my friend was grateful to know, and found tainted shrimp in the walk-in. Because it was done gently, between friends, there were no recriminations.

I guess if you bring it up in a nice, easy-going way it shouldn’t be an issue.

Fluther all agrees – a rarity – so I will talk to him.

I just talked to him and he was very concerned and appreciative. He thought it was probably food poisoning too.

Yes. It is most likely Norovirus. We are at the tail end of the Norovirus season. Let him know so maybe he can do something to help prevent his staff and other customers from getting sick. Even if it is a different virus or bacteria, he can give his kitchen and bathrooms, and everything a good cleaning and be extra strict for a few days about hand washing and make sure food is cooked through. It’s really difficult to get rid of Norovirus though. Frustrating. Sorry you went through that. Every March I am paranoid to get it. The worst.

^^ He and I both think it was food poisoning from the shrimp. He is dealing with it.

^^Ok, hopefully that is it, because that is easy to take care of. If no one else at the restaurant got sick then that might be it. If it was Norovirus most likely some staff would be sick too.

Salad is a big source of “food poisoning” too, since it is not cooked.

The only way to know if it was something contagious and not just the food prep or food itself is if someone got sick and then wound up giving it to family members at home.

Well, it is either you, or the food inspector the next time someone gets sick.

I think it’s good you told him. Better for him to know and be forewarned so he could take care of the problem, then have it blown up on social media by another person.

I agree.

Yes, the moment I realized I felt sick.

Yes, especially if it is a friend. He/She would need to know if there is potential health issues at their restaurant. And while you might deal with the illness and not feel like striking back at this person, other customers might. At a minimum they could complain. At worst they could call the health department or file a lawsuit against the restaurant.

@seawulf575 Yes. Good advice.

@SnipSnip Good plan but “as soon as I felt sick” I was in no position to talk to anyone except my toilet!

Personally, I would check Yelp and/or with friends or colleagues or others you are aware eat at this place to see if a pattern of illness amongst this establishment’s customers can be confirmed but regardless, I would mention it even as a circumstantial suspicion to the friend who owns it because the food and condition of the kitchen need to be checked.

I’m a blunt person and it can get me into some trouble but when it comes to health, consideration for someone’s feelings is NOT a priority and saying something right away, before strangers can blow it up on social media could save their business and reputation.

Though if this happened because the owner is irresponsible then the establishment should be shut down.

Update: Friend checked with the restaurant staff. Shrimp was fresh and no one else reported getting sick so it is a mystery. I’m going to a different place tonight though,

I’m glad you feel better, and that your friend’s business wasn’t at fault.

Possibly, you were sick from a meal before that one, it can take several hours sometimes.

I’m glad you feel better. I would avoid your friend’s restaurant for a month if it were me, just in case.

Skip shrimp for a while too !

Question: did you eat cole slaw with the shrimp? We had an event at one of my past jobs that sounded something like this. A guy opened a restaurant near the plant. The food was good and reasonably priced so they got a lot of business from the plant. One day a whole lot of people were getting sick after eating lunch. Since there were so many that worked together they compared notes and found a common denominator was the cole slaw. And cole slaw is one of those things that, if it goes bad, is difficult to tell immediately but it can go bad quickly.

As a side note, someone told the owner of the problem and he blamed the plant, not his food. Needless to say he lost a lot of customers that day and was out of business a couple months later.

@seawulf575 No cole slaw. It is a Japanese restaurant.

I would definitely let them know. Mild reaction is one thing. Violently ill is a thing they should know.

@Forever_Free If you read the thread, you’ll see that I did and got a response.