No shoes, no service

The other day, some friends and I met up for dinner, drinks, and conversation. Dual purpose: catch up after a long time out of contact (due to moving away, coming back, etc.), and, importantly, pass time until we went to watch the Super Mario Galaxy Movie.

We went to an Asian fusion restaurant on Courtenay Place. I'm not entirely sure what the fusion was. The flavours seemed to be fairly generic pan-Asian food as you would find in New Zealand, the menu not seeming to come from any one place. The food was tasty enough, if not quite enough for the amount we paid.

What I really enjoyed were the two-for-one cocktails. Mango and tequila, lychee and vodka, these things made the night. So, okay food, great drinks. With an hour left before the movie, so we decided to get some more drinks elsewhere.

My favourite at the moment is umeshu, Japanese plum wine. Nearest dispenser? Also on Courtenay Place. There, we headed!

We climbed the stairs, as I had many times before. We assembled at the top, waiting to be seated, as I had many times before. I was eyeing up what I wanted from the menu, as I had many times before. But this time was different.

The staff made a song and dance about looking for enough space to accommodate our group (five; me, my partner, and some friends), and there was plenty of space at the back. They went to clear a table, ever so slowly, without actually bringing anything from that table back to me. It was all a performance.

Their real concern was my bare feet.

This has never been a problem at that establishment until that evening. I was told there was a health and safety issue; the potential of broken glass on the ground. I wouldn't be allowed to enter because of my bare feet.

Had that not been a problem in the past? What had changed? Perhaps there had been an incident before my most recent visit which made them revisit their policies. Whatever the reason, I accepted it and my group found somewhere else.

That said, even though I accepted it (comes with the territory of choosing to be barefoot), I couldn't, and still can't, help feel a little annoyed. Whilst I fully understand the restaurant's position, that they wanted to protect themselves legally from a health and safety point of view, it still seems like:

• Ensuring the floor didn't have broken glass was their problem, not mine. If their floor has glass, somebody should be sweeping or vacuuming it up regularly.
• It was only around 20:00, so other patrons were hardly being so rambunctious as to pose any risk. There was no broken glass that I could see and, despite my lack of glasses, you can imagine (and you'd be right) that I'm paying more attention to that than anybody else.
• One of the tables is a Japanese-style sit-down table, where everybody sits or kneels on cushions, shoes removed. What's the difference between coming into the restaurant barefoot and removing shoes at the table? Nothing that I can see.

There was no negotiation, no "you can come in if...", no "would you take responsibility if...", nothing. Just outright refusal. Five people looking to spend money turned away despite previous visits. It's more of a pity for them than me; I'll just go to the other Japanese restaurant further down the road in future!

(Anyway, it turns out the cinema has a bar with plenty of gin, my next favourite tipple, so all was well.)

All that said, this brings the number of establishments at which I've been refused service for lacking footwear: one.