The power dynamic that exists between a customer and a server was often also taken advantage of in the setting of the Indian restaurant. Its image as cheap, filling and informal was firmly established in the public imagination by the end of the 20th century. This 1991 cartoon captures this image of the Indian restaurant as an unsuitable dining location for a well-dressed white couple. This was because the majority of Indian restaurants regularly played host to late-night, far from sober, groups of young white males. These groups stumbled into the restaurant, ordered the hottest dish on the menu and competed to be the first to consume it. Far from being an authentic interaction between two cultures, these instances were yet another site of racial abuse and disrespect towards staff.

Punch Limited https://punch.photoshelter.com/image/I0000sDos0pw_EPo