Originally Posted by
Eastbay1K
I respect the wishes of the proprietor, and would never ask for any sort of waiver, absent some very special circumstance like "the airline lost my luggage" and then still ask if it would be ok, or accept the establishment's "substitute emergency jacket" if required. Yes, "any restaurant anywhere" could do it, and patrons who expect a certain level of published, purportedly-required ambiance, could be put off.
I'd be inclined to do the same - but the fact is there are so many places to go which don't require a jacket and/or tie that I prob will never end up going to one. Couple years back flying back from Sing - checked in a bag for once as I'd bought a load of Kavalan from Taipei for Xmas - and my bag went missing almost certainly due to tight connection at HKG. Arriving at 5am - I had a lunch reservation at the Fat Duck that afternoon (day booking at LHR Marriott to chill beforehand) - and of course I had nothing to wear but my flight outfit which was jeans, trainers, hoodie, t-shirt all of which were now a bit jaded. I did get my dining companions to stop at an M&S to buy me a new t-shirt / underwear / socks so my aroma wouldn't screw with anyone's delicately balanced palate but apart from that...yeah it wasn't great. Must say the staff at the FD treated me as if I were in black tie, got some looks from some pretty stuffy seeming diners tho. Never mind, our table was quite obviously having way more fun than theirs
