A London restaurant has sparked a fierce backlash after it introduced a minimum spend that will see solo diners paying double for their meals.
Alex Dilling at Hotel Café Royal, which boasts two Michelin stars, will increase the prices of its tasting menu by 11 per cent from August, bringing the five-course option up to £165 and the seven-course choice up to £195.
The increase in cost has been blamed on supplier costs and rising staff shortages in London that have been caused by Brexit.
But the luxury dining establishment provoked backlash after it was revealed that those dining alone would also have to adhere to crippling minimum price rules that could see solo visitors charged a minimum of £330 for a meal.
The initiative sparked outrage on Twitter, with commenters quick to point out the joys of dining alone, and how solo diners are often stigmatised.
“F*** the Hotel Café Royal then… Solo dining is one of life’s great pleasures,” tweeted one person.
“Oh great news. Yet another penalty for being single,” another added.
Hugh Smithson-Write, who works in restaurant PR, tweeted: “A classic example of making the customer the problem, rather than finding a solution.
“If you get ‘many solo diner requests’ how about you reconfigure your dining room to accommodate that and maximise the revenue? This is the very opposite of hospitality!”
Other restaurants have been sharing their commitment to accommodating solo diners, such as Brutto in Farringdon.
Victoria Sheppard, chief executive at Alex Dilling at Hotel Café Royal, told The Independent: “Since achieving our two Michelin stars the demand for solo dining has increased dramatically and whilst we make every effort to accommodate solo diners, we also have to be considerate to the running costs of our business.
“That said, we are increasing our opening hours from 17 August and will be able to accommodate more solo diners (without any discretionary minimum spend). 95 per cent of our solo diners requesting tables since we implemented a discretionary minimum spend when we are at capacity for solo diners have been more that happy to proceed with their booking, enjoying wine pairings or champagne of wine alongside their meal.
“Nightclubs in our local vicinity have minimum spends for tables or hotels you pay the same price whether one guest or two which is never under dispute.”
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