Bring your own fruit salad to a nice restaurant?

Question

A friend is having her rehearsal dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory in Nashville. She'd asked if I had any ideas on helping to make it a special event for her guest. She is going to Riviera Maya for Honeymoon and I'd thought that she could add a touch of latin tropic to her rehearsal dinner...I've had a fruit salad made with tropical fruits found in Mexico and thought that she could do the same for her dinner...but it's at a restaurant.

Would it be odd, or even rejected entirely by the restaurant for her to bring an outside dish to be served to her guests?????

Answer 1

You are probably going to hate me and this answer, but I loathe how people bring food to restaurants. That's like going to a bar with a six pack and saying to the bartender, "No thanks, I brought my own." Ask the restaurant if they can make the salad for her dinner. With enough time & money, I doubt it would be a big problem. Or don't be upset it they charge you a plating fee. You want to use their plates, tables, service ware, then won't clean up afterward, so you really should not be offended about being charged about bringing your own food. If you bring it without asking, the act will be deemed unseemly and you will be considered crass. You may not even be allowed to consume it. Maybe you can have the salad later at your home or have it delivered to your friends hotel room on their honeymoon.

Answer 2

I think it would definitely be frowned upon.

Answer 3

Call the restaurant and explain the situation and ask if it is okay.

Answer 4

I think it would be odd, especially at the Old Spaghetti Factory because I've been there a few times. When having such a function at a restaurant, it's expected that dessert will be something from the menu if dessert is ordered at all.

Really, if a theme matching the honeymoon was going to be used, it should have been planned ahead of time so that they could have picked a restaurant that would match that theme better. The Old Spaghetti Factory is yummy, but as you probably know, it's all about the Italian there.

Also, the groom and his parents traditionally plan and handle the rehearsal dinner. I know a lot of people are not that traditional anymore, but if his family is doing it, you might want to make sure not to tick off your friend's future MIL.

Answer 5

I think so, why don't you ask the restaurant if they can prepare the salad?

Answer 6

would it be odd? yes

rejected by the restaurant entirely? possibly, you'd have to ask

why not make it a "special event" with some tropical decorations?

Answer 7

It's a health code violation to bring outside food into a restaurant. The reason is that the restaurant can be held liable if by the small chance, the outside food causes someone to get sick. It's also kind of tacky, and in your case can be avoided. Why don't you bring a non-food item with a Mexican theme. Bring sombreros for people to wear or something.