Dad “greatly offended” when restaurant serves him behaviour rules for kids

A restaurant in the UK have some firm ideas on how they’d like little diners to behave and at least one family has left the establishment in a huff, concerned their kids weren’t really welcome.

Manners, please

The Nepalese Chef, in Gloucester, is at the centre of this controversy. Their policy has upset a dad who was keen to celebrate his birthday at what was one of his favourite restaurants.

Staff at the curry house routinely hand out a card with some guidelines for parents on it. The card reads:

We request any patrons dining-in with young children to keep noise at a reasonable level and to not let children run around the restaurant. It is dangerous as our staff are often walking around with hot food. Additionally, it is inconsiderate to other diners. In order to look after both our staff and our customers, we reserve the right to refuse service.

“Greatly offended”

Sandeep was dining with his family – including his seven-year-old daughter – when he was given the rules with his menu. He told The Independent he was “greatly offended”.

“Once we got seated within two minutes our waiter turned up with this white laminated sheet on which it was written people with children should ask their children to be quiet and not disturb other guests,” Sandeep explained.

It’s clear that he felt a little singled-out and under scrutiny, hardly the sort of feelings you want to navigate when you are trying to celebrate.

That said, the rules do seem quite polite and fair enough and Sandeep’s paraphrasing them a little bit unfairly. Perhaps this restaurant have been beleaguered by excited kids running free in the past and are just keen to balance safety with hospitality?

Read more about kids and manners:

• 12 children’s books to help teach manners to little ones
• 8 ways to teach young kids patience and appreciation
• How to enjoy a family meal at a restaurant

“We even give them lollipops”

Sandeep alleges the staff kept “slamming the notice down in front of him”, while restaurant owner Kashi Sharma admitted they’ve had  “a few issues in the past” which prompted the restaurant to clarify expectations for parents who generally are “absolutely fine with it”.

“When Sandeep and his family were given the notice with the menu they said it was rude and walked out. We said sorry and this is a polite rule we give to everyone,” Kashi explained. “Children are always welcome in the restaurant and we even give them lollipops.

We hope Sandeep had a nice birthday and kind of wish he’d stayed around for the lollipops, really!