Roshni Barot, a resident of Tividale in the West Midlands region, ordered a grilled halloumi cheese pitta at the local outlet of the Nando's chain of restaurants and had eaten most of her meal when she realised to her horror that it contained chicken.
"I was in shock and started crying in the restaurant. I cried all night and couldn't sleep," she told Birmingham Mail.
The 28-year-old, who works as a placements officer at the University of Birmingham, was raised in a strict Hindu home in the UK where no one ate meat.
"I can feel it sitting there in my stomach. I feel like it's not my body anymore. They took away my choice about what to put in my body and now I can't ever say that I have never eaten meat," she said.
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"I have devoted myself to this for 28 years and someone has taken this away from me."
The manager of the restaurant apologised and offered her vouchers for another meal, which she refused.
A Nando's spokesperson said: "We deeply regret that a customer was mistakenly served a chicken pitta instead of the halloumi pitta ordered.
"We are currently in contact with the customer and have offered our sincere apologies and are investigating how this has happened to ensure it doesn't happen again.