Fake restaurant becomes London’s top-rated eatery

A non-existent restaurant supposedly based in a garden shed briefly became London’s top eating place on travel and restaurant website TripAdvisor, who on Thursday hit back at the hoaxers.

“The Shed at Dulwich,” based in a south London back garden, offered invited guests conceptual dishes named after moods, including “Lust - rabbit kidneys on toast”, “Empathetic – vegan clams in a clear broth” and “Contemplation – a deconstructed Aberdeen stew.”

The menu was accompanied by photos of the dishes, which in reality were made from tablets, shaving foam and paint.

“One day, sitting in the shed I live in, I had a revelation, within the current climate of misinformation... maybe a fake restaurant is possible?” said Oobah Butler, who has a history of pulling pranks for vice.com.

The restaurant was soon inundated with booking demands, PR offers and media requests, shooting its rating to the number one spot in London.

Bowing to popular demand, the restaurant eventually opened its doors, with diners treated to ready meals from budget supermarket Iceland.

TripAdvisor responded in a statement Thursday, saying, “Generally, the only people who create fake restaurant listings are journalists in misguided attempts to test us...

“As there is no incentive for anyone in the real world to create a fake restaurant it is not a problem we experience with our regular community – therefore this ‘test’ is not a real world example,” it said.