Mum blasts 'child friendly' restaurant which wanted to charge £2.29 to give her toddler son an EMPTY bowl

A mum has blasted a 'child-friendly' restaurant after staff tried to charge her £2.29 for an empty bowl for her 20-month-old son.

Mother-of-three Miranda Berrisford, 43, asked for the 'small' bowl so she could scrape some food off her own plate for little William at a carvery.

But regular customer Miranda was stunned to be told that there would be a charge for the piece of crockery at Festival Park's Brindley Farm.

Now Farmhouse Inns - which owns the venue - has apologised for the 'misunderstanding' and will be providing Miranda with a voucher for a future visit.

Receptionist Miranda, of Burslem, had gone to the venue with her three children and a friend, the Stoke Sentinel reports.

 She said: “We always go somewhere that’s child friendly and Brindley Farm is child friendly with its food choices and the play area. We had been there about 10 or 15 times before and with no problems.

“I opted for a carvery so William could have some of my vegetables. I asked for the bowl saying it was for William and the person behind the counter said that it would be £2.29 for the bowl.

“I said I wanted to put some of my food in it off my plate, and was not filling the bowl up at the counter."

Miranda left the counter without a bowl for William, although a waitress later brought a bowl to the table at no extra cost.

She added: “Being asked to pay £2.29 for a bowl for a small child is one of the most ridiculous things I have ever heard and what happened was a joke.

"I want other parents to be aware that they could get charged for a small bowl for their young child. It’s only £2.29 but it’s the principle of the matter.”

Farmhouse Inns has confirmed that customers do not have to pay for extra plates at its restaurants.

A Brindley Farm spokesman said: “We’ve already spoken with our guest since this happened to apologise and reiterate that this was a complete misunderstanding.

"She has been kind enough to accept our apology and we are sending her a voucher so she can return with her children to dine with us again soon.

"Farmhouse Inns always seeks to provide a friendly and welcoming experience for all the family.”