A restaurant in London has sparked criticism over its decision to introduce a minimum spend next month that will see solo diners charged double for their meals. In August, Alex Dilling at Hotel Café Royal, which boasts two Michelin stars, will increase the prices of its tasting menus. Currently, a five-course tasting menu costs £125 per person, while it’s £175 for seven courses. However, from 17 August, the restaurant will increase its prices by 11 per cent, bringing five courses to £165 and seven courses to £195. This is due to an increase in supplier costs and rising staff shortages in London, due to Brexit, that has put pressure on the business. For those dining alone, though, the new minimum spend means solo visitors could be charged a minimum of £330 to visit the restaurant due to the volume of requests they receive. However, the restaurant confirmed that they keep one to two tables for solo diners for every service without the minimum spend. So solo diners who book within 24 to 48 hours of their required booking time could be able to swerve the minimum spend depending on whether those tables are available at the time. Nonetheless, 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!” 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.” Read More Michelin star chef Marcus Wareing gives controversial answer to the best pizza in London Tom Kerridge addresses backlash to his £35 fish and chips at Harrods: ‘They shout at me’ Chef defends viral chicken recipe after TikTok backlash: ‘PSA to the seasoning police’ Restaurant with ‘tips are a privilege’ policy sparks intense backlash on social media Cher is launching a gelato brand called ‘Cherlato’ Popeyes widely mocked for attempt to join ‘girl dinner’ trend

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A father has divided the internet over his reaction to his daughter coming out. Posting on Reddit, the man explained that his 23-year-old daughter organised a dinner where she came out and introduced him and her mother to her girlfriend - but it didn't go well. While her mother "was emotional gave her a big hug, and told her how proud she was", the dad "did not react". "I honestly did not care about that part," he explained. His chilled attitude got him in trouble. "My wife told me I was rude for ignoring our daughter's announcement," he wrote. "I told my wife that I did not care who she was attracted to all I cared about was if she was happy. I tried to explain I did not care about that stuff, people like who they like I don't need labels for that. Love is love." "She said my view is slightly homophobic because it shows I am not acknowledging a different view," he continued. Responding, people had mixed opinions. Some people thought his reaction was perfect. "I will never understand what is 'homophobic' about people treating gay children exactly the same as they treat straight children," one said. "Isn't that the ideal that we are striving for?" Another said: "Your reaction is the right one, because homosexuality shouldn’t be a big deal, it’s one way of life and it’s just as fine as being straight or whatever." But others were not so sure. "I do think it might come across weird if one parent gives the child a hug and the other just sits there saying nothing really to acknowledge what was said," one commented. Another wrote: "Your daughter probably agonised for years over telling you and your wife. Planned it all out. Analysed how you would react and what she would do. So it's probably a lot for you too basically just ignore it, as telling you was a huge deal to her." Later, he updated commenters on the situation and said he met with his daughter to explain his actions. "As I suspected she did not have an issue with it, and she also felt it was self-explanatory when she introduced her girlfriend," he wrote. However "her girlfriend thought it was weird how I kind of brushed off the response and treated this situation as if they were a straight couple." So he is going to organise "a more special event for the sake of her girlfriend". "My daughter had no issues overall, but I will correct course," he concluded. All's well that ends well. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

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