Your friendly local Thai restaurant !

[bermondburi]

This made me laugh . When I was in London with my family over ther summer we saw this cheery place . It looked quite nice from a distance.

We'd just done the cable car over the Thames and saw it on the way down . There was a little beach where the kids could play and they went inside one of these giant inflatable ball things on the water .

Having seen the sign outside it out me right off going there .

Needless to say there wasn't a single person in there !!

[Mossfinn]

Just wondering if you have misunderstood the sign?

[Dancealot]

That's an agressive sign. From a distance it looks better, indeed.

[sustento]

Our local greasy spoon has a similar sign outside. They got fed up with people using their lavatories and not spending any money in there.

[Mossfinn]

Exactly sustento, it doesn't mean there are no toilets, just no free loaders, if you see what I mean

[cpofc]

I sympathise with them, I have had similar problems. But that isn't what I would call being very diplomatic, and it will surely cost them potentially good customers

[Thaddeus]

At least it doesn't say no entry without a Thai.

[sustento]

At least it doesn't say no entry without a Thai.

[NeverSure]

Our local greasy spoon has a similar sign outside. They got fed up with people using their lavatories and not spending any money in there.

Exactly. No public toilets doesn't mean no toilets for customers, usually. Apparently the owners got tired of people using their patio without buying anything and perhaps even sitting down with their own food and drinks. I would never go into a restaurant with food or drink I bought somewhere else.

Apparently the owners were being used and put a stop to it. The size and color of the sign might be a little much, but I can understand the frustration, especially in a tourist area.

I would say that whoever had that sign made was "up to here" with freeloaders.

[Bluetongue]

It's up to them of course and in a different dynamic, they are probably paying huge rent. I see many people here bring food and drink into small restaurants, it kind of encourages a symbiotic relationship between places.

Although toilets and people asking for change can be an issue here too.

[krisb]

The toilet bit well ok, but telling you the minimum you have to spend is just rude.

[bermondburi]

Just to clarify but the restaurant is right in the middle of docklands . I don't really see that the great unwashed would be piling in to use the toilets . There is also plenty of other areas in the area to sit . Like around the artificial beach I mentioned . What got me was the tone and size of the sign right by the front steps . Maybe it's just me but it put me right off going in there and you wonder how friendly the service would be too .I can't have been the only one as there wasn't a single person in there .

[Mr Average]

The toilet bit well ok, but telling you the minimum you have to spend is just rude.

Agreed. I've never seen a sign like that before. And I would never eat in a place like that, either.

Would they round up your bill if it came to less than 12 GBP?

[RabC]

The toilet bit well ok, but telling you the minimum you have to spend is just rude.

Not at all unreasonable in very popular areas, seaside/river front it stops the 1 coffee and sit here all day brigade ( cheap charlies ) just look at coffee shops here with free wifi and as many free loaders. Edited September 22, 2013 by RabC

[ovenman]

At least it doesn't say no entry without a Thai.

Or say something completely different in Thai!

[Jasun]

This isn't the land of smiles any more, Somchai.

[Mr Average]

At least it doesn't say no entry without a Thai.

Or say something completely different in Thai!

Or talk about dual-pricing.

[Mossfinn]

Or talk about dual-pricing.

There has got to be a TV equivalent to Godwins Law

[Mossfinn]

Or talk about dual-pricing.

There has got to be a TV equivalent to Godwins Law

[NeverSure]

When a few restaurants around here started putting up much smaller signs saying "no public toilets" I thought it meant they didn't have toilets. It didn't take long to realize that they meant, and should have said, "toilets are for customers only."

That sign is big and rude and off-putting. If I'm traveling and looking for a restaurant, I will choose the one that has a lot of customers, thinking it must be the best one. If I had a restaurant I'd rather have it half full of people just drinking coffee or whatever than to have it look empty. There is good profit in coffee. Just ask Starbucks.