Maybe No Baby: Infants in High-End Restaurants

By Anneliese Mahoney | January 14, 2014

Imagine you’re sitting in a restaurant. It’s not just any restaurant, it’s a very nice, very swanky restaurant. Maybe you’re on a date, or at a celebratory dinner with friends. You order some delectable creation, lean back in your chair, take a bite and…

We’ve all been there. Someone brings a baby to a restaurant and for whatever reason, the baby cannot be calmed. Most people feel bad for the parents, the entire restaurant feels slightly uncomfortable and annoyed, and for the most part, it’s a thoroughly uncomfortable situation. What does the restaurant do?

This weekend, a Chicago-based chef named Grant Achatz took to Twitter to ask that question. He tweeted:

Tbl brings 8mo.Old. It cries. Diners mad. Tell ppl no kids? Subject diners 2crying? Ppl take infants 2 plays? Concerts? Hate saying no,but..

— Grant Achatz (@Gachatz) January 12, 2014

Some background: Achatz has a Michelin three-star rated restaurant called Alinea, the highest ranking possible. It’s well known for very high-end gourmet food that involves a lot of experimentation and deconstruction of flavors.

 

This weekend, a couple brought in an eight-month old infant who cried for the duration of the parents’ meal. It’s definitely not a family friendly restaurant — it doesn’t have any sort of children’s menu, high chairs, or any other baby accommodations. Also, the way that the restaurant works is sort of unorthodox: you purchase a ticket ahead of time that usually costs somewhere between $210 and $265, and that doesn’t even include tax, drinks, or gratuity.

 

Achatz doesn’t really think his restaurant is aimed at little ones, either. He also tweeted out this picture as an example of the food that Alinea serves.

 

Definitely not baby food… @AlineaBaby pic.twitter.com/jQBrp5DwGU

— Grant Achatz (@Gachatz) January 13, 2014

The tweet sparked a debate over whether babies, or children at all, should be allowed in restaurants of such caliber.

It’s definitely legal. A restaurant can restrict the age of its patrons. In fact, many restaurants that turn into bars in the evening don’t allow any guests under 21. And banning children from a restaurant has certainly happened before. In 2011, a relatively casual restaurant located in Pennsylvania banned children under six. And very expensive restaurants have rules that could seem even more asinine — many places institute a dress code. Obviously a child is different than clothing, but a restaurant is private property, and can, within reason, create restrictions to entry.

But because of Achatz’s very public proposal, this whole debate has gone much more viral than past decisions to ban kids. A lot of people supported Achatz’s idea. They pointed out that the experience of all of the other patrons in the restaurant surely outweighs the one couple who brought in their baby. Others pointed out that if you want to bring your baby out to eat, there are plenty of other options, like family-friendly neighborhood joints with great food and a chill vibe. The overall argument seemed to be that the couple just shouldn’t have taken their child into a place like Alinea, which they ostensibly knew was extremely fancy.

Others did rush to the couple’s rescue. The $210-$265 tickets that I mentioned earlier? Yeah, those are non-refundable. They can be sold or given away, but you can’t get your money back. So some of Achatz’ Twitter followers pointed out that the couple may have had a babysitter cancel on them and didn’t want to lose such a hefty sum.

My favorite response? One twitter user, a baker named Robert Alexander asked:

 

That is a wonderful idea. I don’t go to fancy restaurants very often, but I’m ok with banning babies. I just hope that we also ban, for example, the very drunk lady at the next table over.

So how about a new restaurant rule? Only enter if you are (or are going to act like) an adult.

Also, if you’re interested, check out the Twitter handle someone made for the “Alinea Baby.” It’s pretty funny.

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Anneliese Mahoney (@AMahoney8672) is Lead Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

Featured image courtesy of [Bridget Coila via Flickr]