Aussie fashion blogger blasted after slamming picturesque restaurant on Instagram

Australian influencer, Nicole Warne has found herself in hot water after she gave a negative review of an exclusive restaurant in Italy.

Warne is the founder and director of Gary Pepper Girl, an online fashion, travel and lifestyle blog and she now has a following of 1.7 million on her personal Instagram.

While in Puglia, Italy, Warne shared a photo of her dining in a “three hundred year old cave”, on Instagram. She also added “the food was truely (sic) awful”, alongside two breathtaking pictures of the restaurant.

Despite saying the food was “awful”, people in the comments were suggesting they would dine there, and tagging other Instagram users.

“How beautiful,” one Instagram user said. “Thanks for the suggestion! It’s on my Puglia list.”

Warne started off by saying she was conflicted about posting the review on an Instagram caption.

“I am aware there are far worse things happening in the world but I am also aware that many of you look to my account as a travel guide and may book places as a result.”

Warne goes on to say she was compelled to write the post because people were asking her about the restaurant.

Warne then says her experience at the Ristorante Hotel Grotta Palazzese was “the worst dining experience” she ever had.

She explained she was excited to get a table, even after reading mixed reviews online, but believed it would be a “once in a lifetime experience”.

Warne, who is a vegan with a severe gluten, cashew and coconut intolerance, gave the restaurant her dietary requirements three months in advance, when she booked a table.

After taking in the view, which Warne described as “serene” she was told the kitchen could not prepare food that was not on the set menu.

“I am used to not being able to eat most options on a menu, but as this was a “fine dining experience” and they asked for my food requirements well in advance ... I was frustrated to hear I would still need to pay €180 euros ($294) for the set menu, much of which I could not eat,” she explained.

In the end, Warne had a “tiny” bowl of beans, two slices of vegetables and was given a fruit plate for dessert, which she didn’t touch.

“The customer service was terrible and I was further disappointed when the staff and the chef would not acknowledge the situation,” she said.

According to Warne, her friend did eat from the set menu and found the food to be “underwhelming”.

“We are no food critics,” Warne admitted. “But this food seemed to fall victim to a fancy restaurant trying to create fancy food but completely missing the mark and offering bizarre and confusing food as a result.”

Warne said, despite the view, the steep price was not worth it and she suggested her followers go to a local restaurant and grab a bite there.

In the comments on the post, many people who had visited the restaurant agreed with Warne and many people praised her for being so honest about her experience.

But among the people who criticised Warne was Getaway host, Catriona Rowntree.

“So why bother posting and being negative? Just so you can show the shot? What’s the point?” she asked.

“The point is to warn my community so they can make an informed decision and choose how they want to spend their hard earned money,” Warne fired back.

“It’s crazy an intelligent woman like yourself who is in (the) Australian media can completely miss the point.”

“Even though you are probably right about this place (as you are about a lot of things),” another person said in the comments. “I don’t think it's fair to stir up hatred about any businesses, even if you had a bad experience. I don’t think culinary reviews brings out the best of people. Love.”

Another said: “Did you took into account that perhaps they are human beings too and they feel pretty tired of all the peak season crowd and all their selfishness ? I love your feed Nicole but not your ‘wanna be TripAdvisor’ new vibes”.

Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.

You can also follow us on Facebook, download the Yahoo News app from iTunes or Google Play and stay up to date with the latest news with Yahoo’s daily newsletter. Sign up here.