Restaurant Allegedly Serves Booze To Children With Parents Who Can’t Taste Alcohol

Who doesn’t love Sunday brunch? You have eggs Benedict, waffles, bacon, and everyone’s favorite, booze. There is nothing like a nice mimosa when you’re good and hungover from a wild Saturday night. Unless, of course, you’re a little kid.

This past Sunday, one family’s Sunday brunch was allegedly more like happy hour. The parents claim that the restaurant served their three children, ages two, three and seven, mimosas instead of plain orange juice. The booze-tastic incident took place at Bazil, a casual dining restaurant located in Rochester, NY.

According to the father, Jeremy DeRoo, the kids told their parents that the orange juice tasted funny. The mom took a sip and concluded that it was a different brand and okay to drink. It wasn’t until after a nearby table complained that the “juice” tasted like a mimosa that DeRoos complained to restaurant staff. Their waitress immediately replaced the drinks with milk and apologized.

When the family was ready to go, DeRoos claims the children were lethargic and didn’t want to get up. Once the children were home they supposedly slept for the rest of the day and showed signs of being hungover the next morning. Upset, DeRoos tried getting police involved but they brushed of the incident as a mistake, which infuriated DeRoos:

“That’s not good enough for us as parents, for having kids drunk and sleeping all day. It’s not fair. And these little kids shouldn’t have had any alcohol, period.”

This past weekend was the first time Bazil had offered bruch, and owner, Danny Daniele is taking the situation very seriously. Daniele told WHAM 13, a local television station, that once he was told about the mix-up he sent the DeRoos an apology via email and offered to comp their meal. He also promises to provide better training for his staff and betting labeling for OJ and alcoholic beverages.

A few things don’t add up to me. I love me some mimosa (though my Sunday brunch heart will always belong to the bloody Mary) but I would think even a non-drinker would be able to taste the champagne. Especially since most casual dining level champagnes taste like feet.

Also, as funny as the idea of a bunch of tipsy kids might be, if I seriously thought my kids (especially kids so young) were given alcohol, I would have made a much bigger issue out of it — AT the restaurant, not the next day. Mistakes happen and I wouldn’t have started tossing tables RHONJ-style, but I wouldn’t have waited 24 hours to ask for a refund either.

(Photo: iodrakon / Shutterstock)