Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Are restaurant customers with children less appreciated than those without?

127 replies

BloggingAboutTediousThings · 16/04/2013 18:19

I mad a very horrible experience today at a Brighton Pier restaurant today. I heard so many good things about their food and my friend's daughter loves fish and chips. The restaurant was huge but had only a few tables occupied. We wanted to sit at the window to enjoy the view and the waitress placed us at a table four four with our three children. No problem as my friend's DC sit next to her on the bench and I had the highchair next to me chair. We therefore didn't use more space than somebody with four persons.

Right away we noticed the couple next to us on a table for four complaining about the children. We take our children regularly for lunch to restaurants, they are quiet and well-behaved.

We just sat down, got the children undressed and were ready to order food when a waiter came over and asked the people next to us if they would like to go to another table but their simply replied 'No we were here first.'

The waiter went away, spoke to a colleague and we were asked to leave.

I couldn't believe it. It's a children's friendly restaurant, there were a few families with small children. I was so angry and just said of course, it is your loss not ours.

What would you have done? Shall I send an email to the manager?

OP posts:
YoniMitchell · 16/04/2013 19:03

Same here TolliverGroat (eventually!) although the restaurant seems to have been a bit inconsistent with their reasoning/actions.

Snotty Couple need to find other non-family-friendly places to go to eat if they're intolerant of kids in restaurants.

Glad OP found somewhere less fickle else too.

somedayma · 16/04/2013 19:04
Hmm
Maggie111 · 16/04/2013 19:08

Trip Advisor and complain - absolutely ridiculous!!

SantanaLopez · 16/04/2013 19:12

That doesn't make any sense at all. Did you not ask to speak to a manager?

Original poster
BloggingAboutTediousThings · 16/04/2013 19:15

Santana

All I wanted was to leave. We had three hungry children, I didn't have breakfast and was hungry too. If I am
Not 'welcome' in the first place I don't see the point in staying.

OP posts:
onedev · 16/04/2013 19:19

Review on Tripadvisor & also find their most senior manager & complain via Twitter & also directly to the restaurant as well as on FB.

That's shocking - I'm angry for you!

Original poster
BloggingAboutTediousThings · 16/04/2013 22:51

I have just written my review on TripAdvisor plus a post on my blog. I can't find the email address of their manager.

OP posts:
thebody · 16/04/2013 22:56

So rude, I would have kicked up a real stink.

Maybe complain to the local paper in a letter? That worked in our area over a bf mum being asked to leave a coffee shop. Caused a real stink in the area, coffee shop had to apologise, really funny.

MyDarlingClementine · 16/04/2013 22:58

how awful for you - have you named this place yet, I don't want to go there and risk being humiliated.

TBH if someone treated us like that there would have been one hell of a humdinger. How awful for your DC to be thrown out of a place.

dreadful. sorry but in the uk it doesn't surprise me one bit. its not a child friendly country, some places are amazing but places like this ruin it.

Original poster
BloggingAboutTediousThings · 16/04/2013 23:00

Does it have legal consequences for me if I name it?

OP posts:
Original poster
BloggingAboutTediousThings · 16/04/2013 23:03

I usually would have done a big stink about it, thebody , but I was tired, hungry and I just wanted to leave the place. Even after them handling the situation in a more appropriate manner I would not have want to spend money there. I treat people with a lot of respect and I so far have always been treated with the same amount of respect and it is just something that I expect when I go out and spend money somewhere. Argh I am still mad.

OP posts:
TolliverGroat · 16/04/2013 23:08

You've n amed it on your blog already as the Palm Court; I don't think there are any other consequences from naming it here.

Original poster
BloggingAboutTediousThings · 16/04/2013 23:27

Tollivergroat

Yes I wasn't 100% sure and only thought about it after posting it. But i googled and it's okay. I am tired now and off to bed. Do you think i should call and ask for the email without saying why?

OP posts:
DontSHOUTTTTTT · 17/04/2013 00:07

This is Confused
We were asked to leave because we were 5 people and they only had tables available for a maximum of four

Your OP and thread title are really misleading as the fact you had kids was irrelevant as to why you say you were asked to leave. You have confirmed that you were asked to leave because there were five of you sitting at a table meant for four. If you had been five adults I presume, you would still have been asked to leave????

Also, in your OP you state that it is a huge restaurant and that only a few tables were occupied. However, you later state that there were no tables seating more than four available. It just seems very strange that either you or the staff couldn't find somewhere for the five of you to sit, even if it meant being a little creative.

Original poster
BloggingAboutTediousThings · 17/04/2013 07:58

It is not my fault the restaurant made no effort to place us somewhere else and I am not somebody to say oh but can we not sit somewhere else and push to tables together after being asked to leave. There were many tables empty but no tables for five persons, just four as the bigger tables were occupied.

The problem was clearly because we had children with us. I have contacted brightonpier on twitter because the actual restaurant doesn't even have a website and he promised to email me today.

OP posts:
Rushyswife · 17/04/2013 08:06

I'm pretty sure I know the restaurant is H R a clue? If so I went there last week with my 14 month my dh my two god children 8 and 11 and my aunt and uncle. The staff could not have been nicer and, as you say it's a very family friendly place. I can only imagine you've come accross a 'rogue' employee! Not nice though. Hope you had a nice meal in the end.

Goblinchild · 17/04/2013 08:09

What reason did they give you for asking you to leave?

Goblinchild · 17/04/2013 08:19

Perhaps you should try this restaurant next time, OP? It says that they have a friendly service and can cope with groups, and they even have a kid's meal deal menu.
What more could you ask for? Grin

harryramsdensbrighton.co.uk/

RugBugs · 17/04/2013 08:21

I'm with cantspel it's overpriced and not very nice anyway! I'm from Brighton and would always avoid the place.

I had a restaurant refuse my reservation the other weekend, all was fine until I mentioned we might need a high chair depending on their chairs.. The woman was quite open about the fact that the (not exactly posh) restaurant did not allow children past half 7 on a weekend.

angelos02 · 17/04/2013 10:10

There must be more to it than OP is letting on. If the number of people in the group was an issue, they wouldn't even have been seated in the first place. If the children were quiet - as stated in your post, I don't see why anyone else would compain? All seems very odd.

Loa · 17/04/2013 10:20

I've had several experiences of people assuming our DC, rather a crowd,will be badly behaved in places because they are DC - a surprisingly large number subsequently come over and compliment us on the DC good behavior which I never know how to take - as its behavior we expect as the norm and I'm a bit Hmm about being judged on sight.

However I've never had the staff at a restaurant take these people side - I can only assume that the staff training and decision making at this place sucks bit time.

Complain and find somewhere better.

DoctorRobert · 17/04/2013 10:32

this doesn't make any sense. they wouldn't have seated you to then subsequently ask you to leave. what else happened op?

Floggingmolly · 17/04/2013 10:37

The restaurant staff seated you, then asked you to leave without explanation? It sounds most unlikely.
Are you sure your kids weren't running around or being extra noisy?
If they had a problem with children per se, they wouldn't have allowed you in in the first place.

Loa · 17/04/2013 10:45

Unless another staff member sat them down - not uncommon having a separate host- then the couple complained about the DC and a new staff member decide the easiest way to deal with the issue was to ask the people with DC to leave.

I once spent a summer waitressing with some right idiots- who would do stuff like this then think the problem was solved. Though the training in that place was none existent and many staff had little common sense and no commitment or real interest in doing a good job.

However if the DC were running round or being noisy I can see why they'd be asked to leave.

Lazyjaney · 17/04/2013 10:57

This story doesn't ring true IMO, restaurants usually move mountains (tables anyway) to get bums on seats, and people don't usually complain about behaviour until it's quite extreme

I suspect either there was no big enough spare table and/or a certain amount of PITA behaviour is involved here.