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Johnson Abraham and Roxanne Duhur
Sour taste: Johnson Abraham and Roxanne Duhur at the Islington Green Slug and Lettuce

‘Pub bill called us black when we were only couple dining’

Rashid Razaq
03.11.09

A student and his girlfriend are outraged after being called a “black couple” on their receipt by staff at a London pub.

Johnson Abraham, 24, and Roxanne Duhur, 21, claim they were the only couple dining when they received their bill at the Slug and Lettuce in Islington Green.

Mr Abraham, a mechanical engineering student from Dalston, was at the pub last month with Ms Duhur to celebrate her new job as an estate agent.

They ordered at the bar, without a table number, before going upstairs to find a seat. When they went to pay for the meal the comment “upstairs blk couple” was printed on the bill.

Mr Abraham said: “I was outraged. They wouldn't have written white couple'. I do class it as racism. It spoiled what should have been a celebration.”

Slug and Lettuce area manager Nick O'Donnell said: “We often put a note on orders to help reduce the chances of it being sent to the wrong table.

"I agree the language was inappropriate. I apologise for the upset caused.”

Mr O'Donnell offered the couple a free meal with champagne, but Mr Abraham said: “I want an apology. The manager apologised but the waitress hasn't.”


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