Restaurant sparks outrage after black diners given bill in book with ‘The N***** Question’ printed inside

'It is disappointing to know that ignorance and racism are still very much alive'

Facebook (Louise Ankle)

Two black restaurant-goers were left outraged after their bill was presented to them inside a book with the words "The N***** Question" printed inside.

Louise Ankle, 31, was having dinner with friend Matthea Fearon, 32, at The Botanist in West Bridgford, Nottingham on Sunday.

As is routine for the trendy restaurant, the bill arrived inside a "vintage bill book", with this one in particular believed to have been a collection of essays written by Scottish philosopher Thomas Carlyle, who wrote about advocating slavery in 1849.

The restaurant has since issued an apology on its Facebook page, labelling it a “horribly unfortunate situation” before clarifying that it was absolutely not their intention to cause offence.

The bill books, they explained, are provided by a third-party supplier who remodel them for aesthetic use.

Usually, this involves gluing the pages together, however, according to Ankle and Fearon this particular book had not been glued properly and after flicking through they came across pages titled "The N***** Question".

"We both were in shock, we were both flabbergasted,” Ankle told The Nottingham Post.

“The initial reaction is shock then it quickly turns into anger and upset. It's something we have never encountered before.”

Posting an image of the receipt inside the book on Instagram and Facebook, Ankle described the incident as “very awkward and uncomfortable”.

In a similar post, Fearon added she was incredibly disappointed when she saw the offending words in what she labelled a “racist book”, writing:

“Having just had a lovely meal it is disappointing to know that #ignorance and #racism are very much still alive!”

Fearon also pointed out that she and Ankle were the only black diners in the restaurant at the time.

“For a company whose menu had Caribbean influences I would have thought you would be more careful with the content of your ‘props’ - you should be focusing more on ensuring that the only black guests in your establishment are not faced with having to justify to your management team why they are offended by highly #derogatory and #degrading wording.”

Speaking to The Post, Ankle added she appreciates that accidents happen and has since been speaking directly with The Botanist’s management team who have “apologised profusely” and didn't charge the pair for their meal.

In a statement, Chris Hill, CEO of the New World Trading Company, which owns The Botanist, revealed he has since withdrawn all bill books from their chains across the UK to ensure this doesn’t happen again.

"There's no title on the front of the book, it had Carlyle on the side,” he explained.

“The vast majority of the content had been hollowed out. It was the few pages at back of the book. We had no idea."

Both Ankle and Fearon’s social media posts have generated a flurry of comments from friends and followers, many of whom have labelled the incident “disgusting” and "appalling".

“This is shocking and we won’t be going here anytime in the future!!! Horrible to have to read that!!!” wrote one commenter.

“Why do they even have it as part of their collection knowing that it may be overlooked and this situation arise?” added another.