An Irish restaurant has defended its dress code after asking a group of people to leave because one of their group had a visible tattoo.
The management at Gillies Bar and Grill in Ballymena, Antrim said they “waivered” the policy to allow the group to dine, but they were asked to leave after paying their bill of over £200.
The statement, which was posted on the Gillies Bar and Grill, Galgorm Resort’s Facebook page, has since attracted hundreds of comments, many arguing against the branded “outdated policy”.
The management did not apologise for what happened, but they did apologise for the “activity” on its Facebook page.
“A week prior to the group’s arrival, a member of the party had spoken to a member of our management team to query our door policy,” their Facebook post read.
“He was advised that unfortunately, we do not permit visible tattoos into Gillies Bar and Grill.
“The party did however come to Gillies Bar & Grill, and at the door, a manager was consulted and we waivered the policy to allow the group to dine. They were however, made aware that once they had finished dining, the door policy would come back into effect.
“It was not our intention to make the group feel uncomfortable. They were however, made fully aware of the door policy, prior to their arrival and during their meal.”
Some Facebook users expressed their surprise as they themselves had visible tattoos, but had dined in the restaurant before without any questions asked.
The man at the centre of the controversy is a tattoo artist from Ballymena and says his ink is not offensive to anybody. It is a freehand design facial tattoo.
Gillies’ strict dress code policy is available on the resort’s website, where it states that the rules must be adhered to by “all visitors”.
It outlines that the dress code is “smart casual” and that “appropriate” footwear should be worn. It also bans sports regalia, baseball caps and hooded tops from the premises.
About visible tattoos, it reads: “At management discretion.”
