CA Restaurant Charges Parents $300+ For Damage Caused By Unruly Kids

A Bay Area restaurant is attracting attention online for its policy on children who misbehave or break things at the business.

Images of the menu instructing diners to “please control your children” at Chez Xue in Foster City have been viewed more than 1.6 million times on X since they were posted June 28.

“Chez Xue is a family-friendly restaurant. However, we are not a playground,” according to the menu.

“Please ensure children REMAIN SEATED at all times and respectful of fellow guests and the dining environment. Running around, shouting, making noise with utensils, etc. WILL NOT BE TOLERATED! Guests not respecting this policy may be asked to leave. We will hold parents financially liable for all damage caused by their children to restaurant property.”

The menu goes on to list recent damages for which parents were charged, ranging from $327.03 for a credit card machine that a child picked up and dropped on the ground, shattering the screen, to $5.47 for a teacup broken by a child playing on booth seats.

Commenters generally agreed with the restaurant’s approach, with one noting, “Too many parents believe ‘kids will be kids’ entitles their kids to be obnoxious and destructive,” although another commenter remarked that, “Honestly just sounds like this person shouldn’t run a restaurant.”

The person in question — owner You You Xue — told SFGate that bad behavior has dropped significantly since the restaurant introduced the policy earlier in the year.

“Dining out is expensive these days, so I know that the last thing people want is to spend money going out, then having that moment ruined by a loud child at the other table, who can’t be controlled by their own parents,” he told the outlet.