Toronto restaurant prohibits guests under age 10. Should kids be banned from places?

"The 360" shows you diverse perspectives on the day's top stories and debates.

What's happening?

A Toronto restaurant is facing some heat for a policy that prohibits children under age 10 from eating inside its establishment.

Adrak Yorkville, a restaurant offering elevated Indian cuisine with a blend of tradition and modernity, states its policy on its website, urging patrons to think twice about who they're bringing to their reservation.

"Kindly be aware that our dining room is catered for guests aged 10 and up," reads the first bullet point on the restaurant's reservations page.

It's a policy that's given the establishment — which opened last year as a sister location to its Richmond Hill, Ont. restaurant — a swath of angry reactions and one-star reviews.

Why are kids under age 10 banned from this restaurant?

While the company's Richmond Hill location is open to all ages, the Yorkville restaurant is geared towards older guests.

"Adrak Yorkville provides a more intimate setting for social, business and date nights, especially given the focus on exceptional cocktails from the bar," a spokesperson for the restaurant told the Toronto Star.

The restaurant allows people of all ages to dine inside during special occasions, such as Mother's Day, but its age-restricted policy is otherwise upheld.

Has this happened before in other public spaces?

In February, a Tinton Falls, N.J. restaurant made the decision to start banning children under 10 years old from its dining room. Nettie's House of Spaghetti noted in a Facebook post that accommodating kids became "extremely challenging," due to noise levels, a lack of room for high chairs, big messes and the liability of children running around the restaurant.

Corendon Airlines, a Turkish-Dutch company, announced in August it'd be creating a child-free section on flights between Amsterdam and Curacao starting in November. On that route, planes are set to have 93 adult-only seats for passengers older than age 16, a move the company's founder said is expected to "appeal to travellers seeking some extra peace and quiet during their flight."

AirAsia X made a similar move in 2013, banning kids under age 12 from the first seven rows of economy flights. Scoot, a budget subsidiary of Singapore Airlines, also launched Scoot-in-Silence cabins that year for fliers older than age 12. Indian budget airline IndiGo also created child-free zones, along with Malaysia Airlines.

Perspectives

'Disgrace to humanity'

Adrak Yorkville's decision to ban kids under age 10 spurred lots of negativity, with some calling it the "worst restaurant in the whole of GTA." Since its opening in 2022, the restaurant has seen numerous one-star reviews on Google from people angry with its child-free policy.

"You guys are pathetic and [a] disgrace to humanity. ... Please shut your restaurant. I will make sure all my friends who have children never come to your restaurant! Your reputation is out of the window!" wrote on reviewer.

"What a horrible business decision on the management's part. Would never recommend here for people with young families," another penned.

Divided opinions

People on X, formerly known as Twitter, were divided about the restaurant's policy, with some supporting the decision and understanding the reasoning of not wanting to host kids, with others calling the move "discrimination."

"Child-free spaces is perfectly fine. Not everyone wants to deal with your pet crotch goblins," someone shared.

"If parents could control their children like I was brought up then there wasn't a need for this, but 100 per cent understandable," another X user added.

"Sounds like age discrimination to me," one person commented.

Technically legal

A Toronto-based lawyer said that under the Ontario Human Rights Code, it's technically legal for businesses to ban minors.

Jonathan Kleiman told the Toronto Star the Code does prohibit discrimination in services for people age 18 and older. But if a policy banning kids restricts access to services for their parents, then it can be considered discrimination, according to the Ontario Human Rights Commission.

Yahoo Canada has reached out to Adrak Yorkville for comment.

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