Charged for an empty plate?!

[sandwichh]

I recently went to a greene king pub for a carvery. After plating up my dinner, I asked for a plate for my 10 month old, not to take any extra food but to take it off my plate to give to him. They wanted to charge me for it! Never had this issue before, AIBU?

I confess, I nipped up for a Toby Carvery for lunch. It was bloody lovely. My American boyfriend loves it too.

I’m baffled at the poll and responses to this.

A 10 month old baby with a parent at a carvery. The child is in early stages of weaning, it’s a couple of spoonfuls at most.

You cannot buy a meal in 99% of restaurants for a 10 month old.

I spose it's a bit like corkage?

It’s been the same at every buffet style carvery I’ve ever taken my daughter to, you pay for a “baby plate” usually it’s just £2/3 extra.

They wanted to charge a few pounds. So that sounds more like they were covering the extra side costs: cleaning the plate, breakages, tidying up the plate etc. Individually not big costs but they add up.

It's like in Burger King where they won't give you a cup - they have rules about the plates and cups matching the sales. Or they think the staff are stealing.

The OP didn’t show up with 5 children though ? She asked for a plate to feed a 10 month old.
The hypothetical scenarios of the OP rocking up with a horde of teenagers about to devour all the free food are ridiculous.
Of course the establishment have the right to enforce any policy they want with regards to handing out plates but to deny someone a clean plate for a baby , without incurring a charge even though no extra food was being taken is pathetic.

One of the only posts that makes sense on this thread!

Discarding because it’s not important while I hint for delete :)

Do they also charge you corkage if you breastfeed your baby whilst you're there?!

I wonder which option works out better economically for carvery restaurants: one visit only or go back as often as you like for more veg?

Most seem to have switched to the former now, and it sounds like it should obviously be better for them; but under that rule, you get a lot of people who pile the plate sky-high and then leave most of it.

Although the latter way potentially leaves you open to people taking far more food, I'm thinking that, if diners knew they could go back again for more, they may well just take a reasonable amount 'to start with' - and then find that they've had enough and so no need to go back again at all.

I'd say this thread has definitely inspired me to go for a carvery in the next week or so. I usually get gammon and lamb or pork if they have it, beef if not. I rarely want turkey.

I did think there was a new chain in town, Greenhouse, that I thought might be in a garden centre, but it seems that was an auto correct. Although I am now trying to decide whether I go for a Greene King, Stonehouse or one of those which has 'Farm' in the name as I don't think I've been to any of those. I usually go to Toby but last time it was a Beefeater, which wasn't great.

But despite this thread going on for a bit, Mumsnet generally doesn't seem to like a carvery.

I eat way more when I go than I do at home - single and never have Yorkshires or the vast choice of veg so I load up and have a second plate!
to be fair it’s mostly veg but I do go a bit mad on the Yorkshires

Ive never been to a carvery where you cant return to get more vegetables. If youre in the UK I suspect that you just never knew this.

At SOME point, they have to draw a line and say that this person can/ can't eat for free. Someone will always be the one who "loses out", wherever they decide that line should be. Some are saying "under 3's" should be the line but is a 3 yr really going to eat any more than a 2 year and 11 month old? The fact is that the majority of the costs incurred by a restaurant is not in the food itself. Its the staffing, the rent, the rates, the cleaning products, the electricity and all the other overheads. The plate used by your baby, takes just as much "cleaning" as the one that you use for yourself. Not to mention that a baby with their own plate, tends to make much more mess (and work) than a baby being fed from an adults plate. You are much less likely to allow them to put their hands in it/ throw it on the floor/ wipe it all over the seats/ tray etc, smash the plate itself; all of which are a "cost" to the business as "staffing time".

Yeah but she wanted more than a spoonful of mash & a few peas, hence asking for another plate.

why could she just do the decent thing & pay for the 'baby bowl' (usually &2)??

if I had the misfortune to run a carvery, I would have 'baby bowls' for £1 if the carvery could afford to & wouldn't care about younger babies being fed off the parents plate. But if they requested a separate plate it's not unreasonable to ask for the baby bowl surcharge. 🤷🏻‍♀️ only CFs would expect it FIC IMO.

Toby’s you can go up for extra roast /veggies. Not meat

Next time @sandwichh take a spare plastic bowl with you

@Bjorkdiditi am considering a carvery tour, I am sad that there is no garden centre based carvery; that could be perfect. The target audience for both would have a mighty cross over (me).

If it's only a couple of spoonfuls then a plate isn't needed anyway.

I think some people are also thinking of what their children were eating at 10 months, mine were past just a few spoonfuls by then and were eating small meals.

I don't see the issue at all - surely it's just the case that you ascertain their policy in advance or ask on arrival - they tell you what their policy is e.g. £2 baby bowl (Greene King owns Toby Carvery by the way) and either that is acceptable to you and on you crack, or it's not and you go and find somewhere else to eat that aligns with your ideas on what it is reasonable to pay for a baby to eat... I mean that's it isn't it. It's not complicated. Nothing to do with empty plates or taking your own Tupperware - ask for their policy, work out if it is acceptable to you and, if not, then go somewhere else!

No but what are you doing with the plate whilst breastfeeding?

@Northquit perhaps the baby identifies as a cat and will only lap the breastmilk from a small saucer?

But surely feeding a baby food off your plate or transferring bits to a separate plate is the same thing? How does asking for an extra plate mean that the carvery is giving away extra food?
Op, I'm with you.

My local carvery does a baby plate for £3.99. I suppose if they didn't charge you'll get all the stingy people overfilling their plates to avoid paying for their children. People would make a food tower inches high to avoid paying. It would be different if it was just a meal you've bought but a carvery you plate your own.