Kids unpalatable at fine-dine places A matter of minor reservations

When an unsuspecting Mumbai advertising professional was tucking into her camembert soufflé at a fancy restaurant in Juhu with silk screens, chandeliers and iPad wielding waiters, she had not expected an explosion. There were flying napkins, piercing wails and waist-high bandits running havoc. The arsenal of crayons, sippers and toys that were intended to ward off the devastation now lay strewn on the wood-paneled floor.“I suffered what can only be described as complete sensory failure,” she says. “Why do parents want others to suffer their fate?”
This question cuts through one of the biggest unspoken divides in the fine dining population: one between parents and non-parents. While some parents insist the cranky child issue is overblown, others just want to enjoy a peaceful meal. And in the middle of this debate is a row of fine dining restaurants that are politely towing the line, preferring to lose out on clients if it means keeping an unruly child at bay.
Hakkasan, Bandra’s newest fine dining restaurant whose London counterpart was awarded a Michelin star in 2003, doesn’t allow children under eight and prefers if children under 12 years leave before the second dinner seating because, as the reservation concierge pleads, “It’s dark and we serve liquor too”. At the Leela’s Italian restaurant Stella, children under 10 are not allowed because “they may lack the patience to sit through a four-course wine dinner”. At Olive in Bandra and Mahalaxmi, children under 10 are not allowed for dinner because intractable children are incongruent with the ambience. At China Garden in Bandra and Kemps Corner, guests with children in tow are politely turned away. The Table in Colaba, too, prefers to not entertain children.
Riyaz Amlani, owner of Salt Water Café in Bandra, says that the restaurant business is all about positioning. “Restaurants cater to the mood and there’s a particular kind of mood that’s created when families and children are around. Some restaurants and its patrons want a slightly more romantic setting,” he says.
While parents like Churchgate mom of two Sushma Mehta Shah argue that parents have the right to eat at fancy places and that diners should develop a greater threshold of patience because “children are not dogs”, the advertising professional insists that other diners too have the right to enjoy a calm dinner without interruptions by loud children.
“In India, families go out to eat together. It’s unfair to not allow children because sometimes you may not have help or someone to baby-sit,” counters Shah, “And quite frankly, I don’t remember the last time my child kicked up a fuss. I know how to keep my children in control, and if a parent can’t help it when a child throws a tantrum, they can be asked to leave.”
Some parents take a broader view and argue that parents should take their offspring to casual eateries where children are encouraged. “Parents should use some discretion about where to take their children. These places are for adults to have a good time. I have children and I get exasperated when I go out for dinner and have to hear someone else’s child throw a fuss,” says Megha Chopra, mother of an infant.
Some restaurants, however, don’t want to leave it to fate. According to Chetan Rampal, business development officer at Olive, the restaurant’s door policy is to avoid asking anyone to leave. “We only allow children above 10 for dinner even though some families request us to make an exception,” he says.
Anand Nair, food and beverages manager at The Leela, says the very concept of fine dining is about presenting a multi-course meal experience in an amiable ambience. “At Stella, we foresee a situation with children not having the patience to sit through a four-course wine dinner. In such a scenario, the chefs may be challenged with expediting their orders and developing special menus that are suitable for children thus taking away from the very concept that Stella is based on,” he says, adding that the restaurant has made exceptions in allowing couples with newborns.
But slamming the door on patrons because they have a child doesn’t go down well in a country where eating out is usually a family affair. Gauri Devidayal, who owns The Table, says the restaurant did try to pursue a no-kids policy but has ended up making exceptions. “It’s unfair because people would walk in with children and then we would have to ask them to leave. Especially on Sundays, when families like to dine together, we keep it flexible. While our preference is to not have children around, we don’t mind if they are brought early. It’s not a blanket ban,” she says.
For Devidayal, more than bawling babies, it’s the feral teenage population that makes her wince. Recently, her plush restaurant was the site of wreckage after a teenage birthday party. “Guests were asking to be reseated. We kept asking them to settle down but they wouldn’t listen to us. We finally called their parents,” she says.
Ravina Rajpal, a mother of a three-year-old, says that it’s the parents’ responsibility to mind their child’s behavior and the idea of taking a child out to different places is to expose them to new things. “I want my child to cultivate a taste for varied things,” she says. According to Rajpal, restaurants need to become more child-friendly. “Most don’t even have high chairs or special meals for children,” she says.
An attendant at a Colaba eatery admits that serving a child can be “a little irritating” because “they require special food, order less and end up leaving a smaller tip because the bill is small”.
“But then there are many adults who do the same,” he admits.