An Inverness restaurant owner has criticised an international influencer after he rated a burger at Aye Eat just three out of 10.
Las Vegas-born Kalani Smith, known as Kalani Ghost Hunter, visited the High Street restaurant during his tour of the Highlands.
Posting a review on TikTok, he described his meal as “the worst in the UK?”, adding that he would have preferred McDonald’s.
He also said the restaurant’s £6 fries were overpriced.
David Shayer, who co-owns Aye Eat with wife Roberta, said Kalani’s video was “not helpful” in challenging times.
@kalanighosthunter I tried my best to be positive , but this wasn’t it – Inverness Food Review
Aye Eat co-owner: ‘This is not the business we recognise’
“What the individual has said in the video is not the business we recognise,” he said.
“Last year, we served 35,000 customers and have a Google Review rating of 4.5 out of 5.
“Our TripAdvisor rating stands at 4.4, which is obviously different from the influencer’s experience when visiting.”
While Mr Shayer welcomed constructive criticism, he said the review has triggered a string of one-star ratings, seemingly from people who had never eaten there.
“It seems that people who haven’t been here are now leaving negative reviews on the back of the one video,” he said.
“This type of thing can be damaging, and it won’t just happen to us, either.
“There are a lot of people working hard to do good things in Inverness in a challenging market.
“Obviously, these types of video reviews are not helpful.”
Kalani’s review: ‘The worst meal of the trip’
Kalani and his partner Savannah have been touring the Highlands, reviewing restaurants and hunting for Nessie along the way.
At Aye Eat, which opened last year, they ordered:
- £11 Spicy Scotch Egg (7.4/10) – described as “pretty big.”
- £19 mussels – said to be “bland” and “not as fresh” as others in Scotland.
- £13 burger (3/10) – which he said “sucked.”
- £6 fries – which he called overpriced.
The couple said they endured a 45-minute wait for their main courses, adding: “I don’t mind waiting for fresh food, but I think we are at 45 minutes in at this point.
“And the people that sat after us have ordered, eaten, and are leaving.”
Standing outside the restaurant, Kalani said: “We paid almost £50 for everything we had tonight. The burger sucked. I would have rather gone to McDonald’s. The mussels were bland and overpriced.”
“Maybe they just had a bad night, but I will not be back again.”
Praise for Loch Ness Lodge Hotel
While Aye Eat received low marks, Kalani highly praised the Loch Ness Lodge Hotel, calling its breakfast the best he has ever had.
“I’m going to rate our breakfast today a 9.4,” he said.
“The tattie scone here was incredible.”
Monster Munch used to find Nessie
Kalani also shared his hunt for the Loch Ness Monster, using Monster Munch crisps and a can of Irn Bru as bait.
“It’s time to find Nessie, baby,” he said before heading out on a kayak.
Kalani Ghost Hunter has 3.1 million followers on TikTok and has gained 37.8 million likes.
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