Can we bring food into a restaurant?

[kandb]

Our family wants to go to LTT for dinner. It is family style with meats and veggies. It costs around $32 for an adult and $17 for a child. My twins will be 8 years old when we go. My son will not eat ANYTHING on the menu. We have dined here previously when we were on the ddp and they brought him a bowl of elbows and butter which tasted horrible. I am not going to pay $17 for a bowl of pasta that he will not eat. Is it OK if I feed him right before we go in or bring pizza from pinocchios haus inside? I have no problem feeding him before we go and he can just sit with us but I just don't want to pay $17 for a dish he won't even eat. Any suggestions?

 

[KristinAnne]

Personally, I'd feel strange bringing a whole other hot meal into a restaurant for an 8 year old. I bring peanut butter sandwiches to restaurants for my 15 month old, but that's a bit different. I do understand that you don't want to pay $17 for a bowl of pasta though so I think I'd feed him before. Not having been there though, I wonder if you get charged by the person, regardless of who eats what.

 

[TDC Nala]

There was a post not too long ago from someone who wanted to bring food from Sunshine Seasons into the Garden Grill because someone in the party wouldn't eat anything on the menu and the rest of the group wanted to go, and the answer to that was "no." LTT, also being family style, likely won't allow it either. They also will charge you if he's at the table, whether he eats or not. You might get a server that allows you to not pay for him if all he does is sit there, but I don't think you can count on it.

The best suggestion I can give you is that if you want to make sure you don't pay for the child to eat there, eat somewhere else, or one adult from the party take the child to eat somewhere else.

 

[quirty30]

Since the meal is served family style, I'm inclined to think anyone seated at the table will be charged, just like at a buffet. Why not dine at LTT at lunch, when there is a wider choice of menu items? Or choose another restaurant like the Plaza with more kid-friendly choices.

 

[Dizneydaz]

I don't see them letting someone sit at the table and not pay (even if not eating) since it's family style. It's no different than if you go to a buffet and say you won't be eating. They won't allow it.

If you son truly won't eat anything there and you don't want to pay $17 for him to just sit there (I don't blame you) then I think one of the adults should skip the meal and take him somehwere else to eat while the rest of the family eats at LTT. Besides pizza,what other foods will your soon eat? Maybe there's a better solution (different restaurant) that will meet all of your needs.

As to your original question, yes, you MAY be able to bring in food (I would ask at the receiption desk to make sure) but you will most likely still have to pay.

ADDED as PP said, how about Crystal Palace? It's only a few dollars more and your DS should find something there to his liking.

 

[pixarmom]

Hi kandb! Our very pickiest eater absolutely loves LTT - previously, he ate rolls and mac and cheese there. More recently, he's enjoyed rolls, mac and cheese and mashed potatoes! (It's vacation, so OK.) Any chance those items will work? If not, then I agree with those who suggested another TS for dinner. Rather than bringing food in or asking to not pay for someone, we would definitely just opt for another restaurant that everyone would enjoy. Good luck with your decision!

P.S. Our pickiest eater also enjoys LTT for lunch and likes Tony's.

 

[LockShockBarrel]

I would tend to agree that he'll be charged because of how this meal is structured. If you decide you do want to try to bring food in, I'd urge you to check with the management of LTT (not waitstaff, not host stand) BEFORE you purchase anything to bring in rather than spend the money on something to bring in only to then be charged again.

 

[Pirate Granny]

It's been a while since we ate there, but at the time there was an actual sign at the front desk stating that ALL persons sitting at the table would be charged full price. This was when they had character melas.

 

[TheRustyScupper]

. . . I just don't want to pay $17 for a dish he won't even eat. Any suggestions? . . .

{Flame Proof Suit In Place}
1) Yes.
2) You might want to eat elsewhere.
3) They will not let you bring in other food.
4) Plus, everyone at the table will pay full price.
5) They cannot watch who eats and who does not.
6) Eventually kids will/must eat what is available. *
7) Maybe this is a good place to start.

* Barring medical issues.
{Flame Proof Suit Returned To Rack}

 

[minnie mum]

Dear Rusty Scupper: just in case, you'd better hang onto that Flameproof suit. But I've got your back with my fire extinguisher, too. Somebody had to say it, and I'm glad you did.

 

[maxiesmom]

As the food is served family style, they charge for everyone who is at the table. No way around it.

Your son won't eat Mac & Cheese? Or turkey? Really? I thought those were pretty standard kid foods. If that is true OP then you need to decide if you want to feed him first, and they pay for him to sit there and watch the rest of you eat. Brining other food is usually not allowed.

 

[Danibelle]

Dear Rusty Scupper: just in case, you'd better hang onto that Flameproof suit. But I've got your back with my fire extinguisher, too. Somebody had to say it, and I'm glad you did.

Thank you. I thought the food there was pretty kid friendly.

 

[StitchandPooh'sMom]

There is a kids' menu at lunch, OP, and it even has pizza on it. Can you just go for lunch and order off the menu?

I have a picky eater (due to some medical issues, but also because she is stubborn that way ), so I have sometimes fed her before we go somewhere. But mainly we try to pick a place that has something for everyone. She loves Boma, of all places, especially since can try new things but also can fill up on chicken, mac and cheese and fruit. She would find plenty at LTT, though - that's the kind of food she likes to eat.

You will almost certainly have to pay for everyone who sits at the table since it is family style. If you are OK with that, feed your DS early and just pay the $17 so everyone else can go.

 

[kandb]

OP here, thanks for all the advice. My ds has sensory issues and he has a very limited diet. If his sister is eating food that has an odor near him, he almost gags. He has added a few items onto the menu that he eats. I do not force him to eat anything that he does not want to eat. For dinner he will eat pizza, pasta with butter and sometimes sauce, ravioli, quesedilla with melted cheese and eats alot of fruit . I understand them not allowing him to sit for free because, as someone pointed out, they can't watch what people are consuming. Makes sense. We will pick another place.

 

[nkereina]

I think bringing another restaurant's food into a restaurant is in violation of health codes. A friend of mine is a GM at a restaurant in a mall which is off a food court, and they often have people try to bring in food court food to eat while their friends/family order at the restaurant. The manager has to ask them to take the food outside and the explanation given is because it's unhygienic to the the restaurant since it's not prepared by them. Also, if someone with allergies is around or something is in the food, the restaurant has no control since they did not make the food and they can't risk the liability.

 

[larryz]

I think bringing another restaurant's food into a restaurant is in violation of health codes.

Not to mention being just plain tacky.

If a family member won't eat what's on the menu you have two choices:

1) avoid the restaurant, or
2) have someone take the little snowflake elsewhere while the rest of the "family" enjoys their meal without them.

Ohana, indeed.

 

[kaligal]

I don't know if they'll let you bring in food or not.

I do know that if a person sits at the table they have to pay for a meal, whether they eat it or not.

Good luck.

 

[sandynd]

Not to mention being just plain tacky.

If a family member won't eat what's on the menu you have two choices:

1) avoid the restaurant, or
2) have someone take the little snowflake elsewhere while the rest of the "family" enjoys their meal without them.

Ohana, indeed.

In this case, if you didn't read it in the OP's reply, "snowflake" has a recognized medical disorder. He *can't* do any better than he's doing right now. Get off his back and his mom's.

 

[smidgy]

there is no way a server can keep track of who is eating what at a family style restaurant .(or actually, a buffet).

now, a family can swear up and down that susie would never eat anything off johnny's plate., or sasha wants nothing to do with that bowl of mashed potatos on the table...


but the only way a server can control this is simple.. where I work, for a buffet. above age 11... regular price... age 11 to age 5 half price..... under age 5 free.
no exceptions.

I have seen it before.. people SWEAR little tommy won't eat a THING!!! but, amazing, how he eats a tons of fruit off the fruit plate, and quite a few desserts..

 

[Mrs. Sojourner]

OP, we haven't eaten there in about 4 years, but when we did we were meeting my MIL and BIL. My BIL ending up bringing a friend who didn't want to eat so she asked the server, and he let her sit with us without eating and without paying. Just so you know that it has been done before, but YMMV.