Woman Accuses Restaurant of Ruining Her Birthday After She’s Refused a Free Meal: ‘Really Soured the Evening’

A woman says her birthday dinner was spoiled after a restaurant declined to honor its own free meal promotion.

Posting on the community forum Mumsnet, she explained that she chose the restaurant specifically because they advertise a deal: if you dine there on your birthday with a party of at least five people, the birthday guest eats for free.

“It’s an all-you-can-eat concept where food is brought to the table … [which is] a great deal as the food is lovely and the offer saves $40.22,” she wrote, adding that the restaurant also requires ID to prove it’s the customer’s birthday.

For her celebration, she arrived with a group of five, including her 2-year-old daughter. She fully expected to qualify for the deal — but says staff told her otherwise when the bill came.

“When we asked for the bill, we mentioned it was my birthday and I said, ‘I’d get my ID out of my bag.’ Someone came over (not the person we asked for the bill) and explained we were not eligible for the offer,” she recalled.

According to her post, the staff member explained that only four members of the party had chosen the all-you-can-eat option, while her toddler had a smaller meal — which the woman says she did pay for separately.

“My husband asked to speak to the manager,” she wrote. She says the manager “refused to budge,” and the family “reluctantly paid” the full amount.

After the meal, they went back and checked the wording of the promotion. “We’ve checked the offer wording and it’s clearly stated it’s based on five dining (doesn’t specify it has to be the all you can eat) which we fulfilled,” she said, adding that the dispute “really soured the evening.”

In the comments, some readers empathized with her disappointment, while others felt the restaurant’s interpretation — that the offer applied to adults on the all-you-can-eat package — was understandable.

“I’m sorry you had this experience. But what I would say is that in my experience these offers are generally offered based on adults eating,” one commenter wrote. “I wouldn’t have assumed my child would count as the fifth person, personally.”

Another person suggested the venue was “technically wrong” if the written terms only mentioned “five dining,” but admitted they “would never count a 2-year-old as a diner for the purpose of getting a reduction.”

“I think it’s reasonable that the five people doesn’t include a toddler,” a third commenter added. “It would normally be full-price paying adults. Did you check the small print?”

Others encouraged the woman not to dwell on it. “I would not be upset about this. Don’t let it ruin your day,” one person wrote.