to be offended and angry that cafe refused to let us 'share' our food with 18mo today?

[iamfurious]

Myself, Dp and DS went to the local cafe today. It is one we visit often and we always spend about £20 there, once we've had drinks, meals and ofetn somethig for afters.

They have highchairs so one assumes they don't want to put off families.

Well today we ordered drinks and two meals. first choice of mine not available so i chose something else. My partner ordered a 'double' breakfast. Then we witnessed the owner come down and publicly tell one of the waitresses off in front of the customers.

About five minutes later the waitress came back and said very apologetically that she had been asked to tell us that we were not 'allowed' to share our food with our Ds????????? I was absolutely flabergasted.

There is no kids menu but even if there was I would not be inclined to order a meal that is suitable for a ten year old for a small toddler, who basically just wants to graze and try out bits and pieces of what we are eating.

I went up to speak to the owner/chef who said that people had been 'abusing' the 'double' breakfast by ordering one breakfast and sharing it between two people! he said' its people like you who I am talking about!!!!!!!!!!

I was SO MAD! I told him I could not believe that they could be so petty as to tell people they couldnt share their own,legally purchased food with an 18mo child, who obviously couldn't (and shouldn't!) eat a full meal off an adult menu!!

It left me shaking with anger as it all desended into a bit of a row, and made me feel like I was trying to scam them or something!!

Please tell me, has anyone else come across this and AIBU??

[zippitippitoes]

ridiculous

i eat with bf and we always share stuff

everyone does with a child im would hasve walked oiut

[MsHighwater]

I've never come across this and would be as furious and offended as you obviously were if it happened to me.

YANBU at all. In your shoes I'd have no hesitation in never "abusing" the establishment again - by never visiting it again. And making sure everyone I knew was made aware of this place's attitude to its customers.

[BabiesEverywhere]

Vote with your feet and don't return there again.

[WallOfSilence]

I hope you left the establishment.

[TurkeyLurkey]

Of course YANBU - stupids sods. I've never come across this before, most cafes are fine about doing this.

[Saggarmakersbottomknocker]

YANBU

I would have told him to forget it and left.

[RubySlippers]

did you leave?

YANBU

[Unfitmother]

Tell the local paper.

[Oblomov]

What a load of tosh. I wonder what the law says.

[edam]

Absolutely ridiculous, owner is clearly a few slices short of the full loaf. And will go out of business PDQ in a recession with attitudes like that.

Name and shame 'em so we can avoid!

[no1putsbabyinthecorner]

YANBU I would have been absolutley disgusted and shocked as well.
I can't believe they said this to you.
If they were that against it they should offer smaller meals. But like you said your not exactly going to order for an 18 month old. I have just got back home from our local wine bar/bistro cafe and I took my own food for my 14 mth dd as I always do if we eat out.

[Rhubarb]

Who cares if you buy one meal to share between two people? Much better than ordering two meals and wasting one!

The café still get paid for that meal so it's no skin off their nose.

I'd shame him by reporting it to the paper.

[zippitippitoes]

most places you can ask for empty plates surely so that you share

[WallOfSilence]

Name & shame!

[zippitippitoes]

legally you can walk out of a cafe without paying if you are in an unresolved dispute

it is a civil matter

[ThingOne]

Wankers, wankers, wankers. I had something similar once when my DS1 was a bit bigger than this.

I'd write to the local paper naming them and saying how disappointed you were with their attitude. As in "more in sorrow than in anger" Make yourself look reasonable and explained how the owner shouted at you. You aren't going to be going back after the row anyway, are you?

[iamfurious]

Thanks for making me feel i am not a weird socailly inept outcast

Yes we left, had no appetite believe me and would have done so on principle.

I am not a 'complainer' but am so mad that we are going to e-mail the local newspaper on monday.

they must really despise their customers .

[hercules1]

Dd hardly eats anything at 4 and it would be pointless to buy her an adult meal so if there are no children portion sizes she always just shares ours. Never been a problem.

[RubberDuck]

FGS I often ordered a single meal and asked for a spare plate when mine were that young.

That's nuts. Surely food is food - if a plateful costs X amount then it costs them no more if you split that plate between TEN people.

Nutters.

Go to the paper and never darken their door again. And name and shame here.

[RubberDuck]

AND... I have shared desserts in the poshest of restaurants and never got told I shouldn't - ffs, can you imagine? Ditto starters for that matter - and that's with other ADULTS sharing.

[iamfurious]

Am I allowed to name and shame?

I will certainly be telling all the people in my NCT antenatal group and all the people who I know locally ^and all the people in my mums and tots coffee morning.

It is a small town and word spreads.

[TurkeyLurkey]

yes, name and shame!

[catsmother]

I have done this dozens of times with my kids. Everyone has, and you know as well as I do that the vast majority of restaurants have no problem in bringing an extra plate and cutlery for a tiddly.

You could just as easily spend - say - £20 on 2 meals, as opposed to £15 on 3 cheaper meals ..... yet going by their stupid "rule" you're not allowed to share the more expensive food.

I agree with everyone else who's suggested the local paper .... this is exactly the sort of story they love and it'd serve them right.

[zippitippitoes]

of course you can name and shame you can tell the truth