Family asked to leave Gold Coast restaurant after toddler wouldn't stay seated
Adelaide mother Renèe Barendregt and her family were asked to leave a Gold Coast restaurant because her toddler was not remaining seated at the table.
According to Barendregt, the incident happened during their family holiday when they visited a highly-rated restaurant she had found through online reviews. When they arrived at Lemongrass Thai, the establishment was unable to provide a high chair for her son Ziggy, who is nearly two years old.
"I said no problem at all as he didn't eat in a high chair at home, he sits at the table with his brothers," Barendregt stated. However, the situation quickly changed when Ziggy began behaving "in true toddler style" by getting off his seat, though reportedly staying nearby.
Barendregt described the restaurant as relatively empty, noting it was before the dinner rush with only a couple and their six-month-old baby seated nearby.
The situation escalated when Ziggy became interested in a decorative potted plant near their table. Although Barendregt maintains her son was being "docile" and not disruptive to other diners, a staff member approached them with an ultimatum.
"The man came over and said if he can't stay in his seat we can't serve you here," Barendregt recounted. Unable to keep her active toddler confined to the seat, she ultimately decided to leave the restaurant.
Following the incident, Barendregt shared her experience on social media, explaining that the restaurant staff weren't aware of how challenging her day had been.
Kidspot reached out to the restaurant for comment.
"The safety of our staff and customers are our highest priority. Our restaurant only just opened for the night, so whilst there were only a few customers currently dining at the time, we were fully booked for the night, but had time to fit in the family of 3.
"Before they were seated, we mentioned straight away that we did not have high chairs and if she (the mother of the son) was okay with this. She mentioned that it’s okay, and that her son can sit in a regular chair. We confirmed again if she was sure about this, and she said yes… so we welcomed them in. (The reason we do not offer high chairs is because we rarely have toddlers dining at our restaurant).
"They were seated by the window, near the entrance of the restaurant. The two adults then ordered a glass of champagne each. After serving the drinks, we checked whether they were ready to order their meals and they said they weren’t ready yet at the time. So we waited. At which this time the child wandered off to play with the interior pot plant (which is in the corner near the entrance of the restaurant, the restaurant entrance is quite narrow).
"At this time, there were customers/takeaways (including UberEats) walking in and out of the restaurant, it started to get busy. We believe this could have causes a safety hazard to the child AND the customers walking in and out of the restaurant. So my father (the owner) went up to the mother and asked her if she could please sit her child down as it is starting to become busy now.
"My father then responded that we are starting to get busy now, and that our restaurant does serve very hot items which will be dangerous towards the child if something were to happen. The mother then continued to comment “No , it’s a kid."
"Which we then mentioned that if she is unable to sit her child, we will be unable to serve her for now until he sits down. The mother then responded that they were going to leave then. We then mentioned that it was their choice.
"Our restaurant is child friendly. Whether child or adult, we always take the safety of our customers and staff seriously. Our restaurant is very very small, the entrance is narrow and there is not much space to move around which can be a hazard as a small child, especially when it starts to get busy."
Barendregt refuted the explanation telling Kidspot: "No that isn’t correct we were definitely asked to leave, they absolutely said they would not serve us at the restaurant."
Jonathan Jackson, 24th April 2025
