Hanging in a corner, we have read this plaque hundreds of times in bars and restaurants: "This establishment reserves the right of admission." How does this affect customers?
The right of admission limits both the access and the permanence of people in a public establishment such as a bar, a restaurant or a cafeteria, as well as in shows and other activities. It can only be exercised by the owner or person in charge of the premises, as long as they respect article 14 of the Spanish Constitution: they cannot discriminate against citizens, since all are equal before the law and have the same rights, nor because of their race, sex, religion, opinion or any other personal or social matter.
However, and taking this into account, there are some circumstances in which a restaurant can take advantage of the right of admission –as long as they inform it through a plate visible to all customers and, in addition, in any advertising material on the premises– to invite us to leave the premises at that very moment and, even, to never set foot on it again. When could this happen? If there are objective reasons such as the following:
If the restaurant or bar finds itself in the position of throwing a person out of the premises for one of these behaviors, it will be notified and the reason for such a decision will be explained. In case of resisting and persisting in the wrong behavior, the owner or person in charge of the establishment will proceed to request the intervention of the police.
After a long career, Lluís Bernils, owner and manager of the restaurant El Celler de Matadepera, explains his experience with the right of admission. "We have the right of admission, but we've only used it once: a person set up a tremendous chicken in the middle of the dining room, disrespecting me and yelling, so I told him he didn't have to pay me and leave." However, Bernils explains that they keep a list of customers who have caused some type of problem: “it could be people who have given us a no-show (although it hardly happens to us) or very noisy people who bother other diners a lot and that, as if that were not enough, he is outraged if you ask him to lower his tone. The most probable thing that happens to these people is that they call and cannot find a table”.
Pablo Gallego, from the Pablo Gallego restaurant in A Coruña, believes that he has not had to make use of that right either. “We have not cited the right to kick a person out of our restaurant, although we have kindly invited some people to leave the premises. Because it is usually more complicated if you go too far ahead and the remedy is worse than the disease ”.
Gallego believes that the right of admission should allow for a public list of those customers who create problems in bars and restaurants to exist, something that is not possible today due to the Data Protection Law. “I don't understand why there are a lot of platforms where you can criticize a local and the locals don't have a platform to rate the good and bad customers. It would be good for everyone to know who are those customers who want to eat without paying, those who are very noisy or those who come to criticize, and thus these people would avoid abusing power”.
