A restaurant chain has apologised for chastising a customer for kissing his boyfriend on the cheek.
Journalist Phillipe Ladvocat-Cintra said he had hugged his partner and kissed him on the cheek after they paid their bill at Ed's Easy Diner in London's West End. Phillipe claims he was then asked to stop, as a member of staff warned him "there are kids in this restaurant!"
He said the experience left him "shocked and humiliated". After complaining on the company's Facebook, he received an apology from the area manager, which was confirmed in an official statement, blaming the row on a security guard who worked for the firm.
The company said "We have apologised unequivocally to Mr. Ladvocat and explained to him that it was a member of security staff from an external agency, who wrongly and without authority asked him and his guest to leave. As a company, we absolutely do not condone any discrimination against gay people and sincerely apologise to Mr. Ladvocat for any embarrassment caused."
Phillipe said as he recounted the event: "After we had paid the bill, I hugged and kissed my boyfriend on the cheek. One staff member who was at the door came and rudely said, loudly: 'Stop that! There are kids in this restaurant!'" Philippe continued: "When I replied 'So...?', he said again: 'Just stop it! There are kids here!'""I looked over at the family he was gesturing at and they looked embarrassed and told us not to worry, that they didn't mind, but the staff member was insistent we stopped."
"When I asked to speak to the manager, the lady on duty that night insisted the restaurant employed a 'no-kissing' policy, regardless of gender or sexual orientation."
I've personally never come across a rule like this in any restaurant, have you?
Let me know in the comments!
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
