Progress of the proceedings

When making its decision, the court was guided by the following rules of law:

So, you can go to places of entertainment and relaxation with your own drinks and food! And if the administration tells you otherwise, citing internal rules, they are breaking the law!

Let's get out of the legal norms and say frankly what the subject of the dispute is about. The fact that such establishments, as a rule, have their own catering outlets selling food and drinks. And this is additional income. You can’t bring your own groceries, but are you hungry? Go to a local buffet/cafe and buy products there, often at prices that are significantly different from prices in stores. At the same time, we should not forget that in a water park the visitor behaves actively, spends a long time, and therefore, with a high degree of probability, begins to experience hunger and thirst.

Obviously, a ban on the consumption of products is possible, for example, in the pool itself or near it, since there are sanitary standards. But this does not prevent you from installing or creating areas for snacks in other areas of the water park. The court decision only confirmed that a water park visitor is not a “cash cow” from whom (or from whose wallet) all the juices must be squeezed.

By the way, various kinds of establishments, in pursuit of profit, often establish their own rules that run counter to the law: “according to the policy of our club...”, “in accordance with the rules of our establishment...”, and so on. Therefore, when the consumer takes a tough stand and, either himself or through lawyers, appeals to regulatory authorities or the court, both “policy” and “rules” are brought into line.

Water parks, cinemas, entertainment centers, clubs and many other establishments profit from consumers, often through illegal means. One of these methods is a ban on bringing food and drinks into the territory of a commercial organization, which is carried out in order to increase revenue by increasing sales in bars located inside the establishment.

From a legal point of view

Art. 35 Part 2 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation provides for the right of everyone to own property, own, use and dispose of it, both individually and jointly with other persons. If you are denied access to somewhere with a drink, you are not allowed to dispose of your property at your discretion, which is not limited in civil circulation on the territory of the Russian Federation.

If a commercial organization has the opportunity to provide a service, but this organization refuses to the consumer due to the presence of things that are not prohibited for circulation, a violation of Art. 426 part 3 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. Art. 426 part 5 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation states that the terms of a public contract that do not meet the requirements established by paragraphs 2 and 4 of this article are void. Art. 16 part 1 of the Law of the Russian Federation states that the terms of the contract that infringe on the rights of the consumer in comparison with the rules established by laws or other legal acts of the Russian Federation in the field of consumer protection are declared invalid.

Based on the above articles, we can clearly conclude that the ban on the transport of property (including food and drinks) that is not prohibited or restricted in civil circulation on the territory of the Russian Federation is illegal. If such a prohibition is discovered, you must contact Rospotrebnadzor; if, at the entrance, employees of a private security company escort citizens in order to detect food and drinks, then you must send a complaint to the police, to the licensing and permitting department.

Grounds for refusal to provide a service

There are a number of laws regulating the activities of specific commercial organizations, which clearly state in which cases the organization has the right not to provide its services to anyone. Thus, according to paragraph 25 of the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of November 17, 1994 N 1264 “On approval of the Rules for film and video services to the population,” the administration of a film and video entertainment enterprise has the right to not allow a viewer to watch or remove from the hall in the event of a violation of public order by the viewer and causing damage to the property of the film and video entertainment enterprise. enterprises. Any other reasons for refusing to provide a service are illegal.

Refusal of service in a cafe, restaurant or bar

Separately, we should highlight cafes, restaurants, bars and other organizations whose main activity is the provision of catering services. The main decree regulating this type of activity is Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated August 15, 1997 N 1036 “On approval of the Rules for the provision of public catering services.” In accordance with paragraph 5 of this resolution, the contractor has the right to independently establish rules of behavior for consumers at places of service provision that do not contradict the legislation of the Russian Federation (smoking restrictions, prohibition of wearing outerwear, etc.). As was written earlier, refusal to provide services based on the consumer’s availability of food or drinks is illegal, which means that similar rules established in public catering establishments are illegal. The service of providing tables and chairs for consumers is an additional free service and, in accordance with the PPA, must be provided to any consumer. Since, in accordance with the PZPP, a consumer is a citizen who intends to order or purchase, or who orders, purchases or uses goods (work, services) exclusively for personal, family, household and other needs not related to business activities, any citizen has the right to enter cafe with his food, sit down at the table and, biting it, choose what he wants to order.

The editors of The Village Belarus, with the help of experts, answer a variety of questions that citizens ask. This time we found out whether it is possible to bring your own food and drinks to cafes and restaurants. We asked a lawyer and representatives of Minsk institutions what they think about this.

Is it possible to bring your own bottle of water to the bistro for lunch? Is it possible to come to a cafe, order some food, and then get your sandwiches? Is it possible to order coffee and have it with your own piece of pie? Can parents order food for themselves from a cafe and let their children get their own supplies or prepare formula? Can I bring my own alcohol?

Cafe Enzo:

Unfortunately, you cannot bring your own to us. If we notice that a visitor is taking out his food or drinks, we explain that this is not possible and that it is better to order something from our menu. There is no official ban, but we are responsible for what people eat. We have complete confidence in what we provide to our guests, but we cannot be sure or be responsible for what people bring with them. For children, of course, we always make an exception, and for those who have allergies, we try to find something.

Restobar "Buffet":

A priori, you cannot bring your own food to restaurants. We don’t come to the cinema with a laptop and watch our film there. If these are children or diabetics, then such situations are allowed. But usually children are ordered baby food; the most they bring with them is baby formula. Diabetics usually go to certain restaurants that have the food they need, or tell the waiter about allergies and foods they cannot eat. Then the waiter will recommend dishes without eggs, or without lactose, or without other allergens.

If we notice that a customer is taking out his food, a senior administrator will approach him and say that this is not the way to do that. To the question “why?” We say that we are responsible for the quality of our food. And if a client starts eating both our food and his own, and then something happens to him, then our establishment may suffer.

But if a company orders a banquet, then you can individually stipulate that they will bring some alcohol with them.

Cafe "Olivier":

No, food and drinks cannot be brought in under normal circumstances. Only if it is a banquet on the occasion of a wedding or birthday, and there is a preliminary agreement with the establishment. If a guest came to us for lunch with his own bottle of water or cola, we would offer to leave it in the cloakroom.

Cafe "Grunwald":

We cannot eat our own food, nor drink our own drinks. If this is a child and baby food is for him, then it is possible. If we notice that a visitor is taking out his food, we warn him not to do that. Of course, we won’t kick you out. The ban is explained by the fact that we are responsible for our prepared products. You can bring anything - fresh, not fresh - and get poisoned, and then you will come to us with claims: they say that you were poisoned by our food or our drinks. You can get a cup of coffee to go from another establishment, come to us, and then say that you were poisoned by our lemon water.

You can agree to come to the banquet and bring your own alcohol if you meet certain conditions. At the same time, the alcohol brought must be closed; we will check every bottle.

Newscafe:

With your own food or drinks - I'm afraid not, that's not how we do it. If we notice such a fact, we will politely make a remark so as not to embarrass the guest. We have a wonderful menu with something to suit every taste - our food will not disappoint. If these are parents with small children and some kind of baby food in jars, then, of course, we do not prohibit this.

Cafe Bistronomia:

According to the standards of the sanitary and epidemiological station, we are responsible for the food that we feed our guests. If you feel unwell after eating our food, we are responsible for that. And if you come to our establishment with your food and something happens to you, then we can no longer be responsible for that. So, like all other establishments, we do not allow people to bring their own food. If we notice this, we will come up and say that this is not allowed here.

If these are parents with small children, then the parents themselves take responsibility for preparing the mixture, for example. At a banquet with your own alcohol - under general conditions this is also not allowed, each case must be negotiated separately. Food and alcohol are slightly different positions.

There is no direct ban on bringing and eating your own food in official documents. Just like pouring coffee into your cup is not. But in the Law of the Republic of Belarus dated January 8, 2014 No. 128–3 “On state regulation of trade and public catering in the Republic of Belarus”, Article 11 says:

• 3. When organizing and implementing public catering, public catering entities have the right to determine:
• 3.2. procedure and conditions for public catering, including:
• range of catering products;
• menu;
• list of services provided related to catering;
• methods of communicating information to buyers about public catering products and goods offered for sale, about the services provided related to the provision of public catering;
• [...]
• 3.5. other conditions for organizing and implementing public catering.

This means that in a cafe or restaurant a visitor may be prohibited from eating his own food - this prohibition will fall under the clause “other conditions for the organization and implementation of public catering.” But you can try to defend your rights: if it’s not prohibited, does that mean it’s allowed?

Sergey Zikretsky

You can defend your rights only by exercising them. But if you are forbidden to eat your food, all you have to do is leave and then complain so that someone will be punished for violating your rights. It’s unlikely that anything can be resolved on the spot. Like, for example, the ban on photography in stores. How can you defend your rights in this case? Either you continue to take photographs and provoke the employees into a conflict, and then the police figure out who is right and who is wrong, or you do not continue to take photographs, you do not provoke a conflict, and then you complain to the court or another government body.

You can ask for a book of complaints and write that, they say, I am forbidden to eat my own food in the cafe. The question here is solely about the effectiveness of certain mechanisms. This mechanism - an entry in a book - can be useful if you need to record some fact. Not even in order to achieve justice, but simply to record the fact itself. Then we leave an entry in the book of comments and suggestions, and receive an answer: everything was done within the law. And we are not even always interested in the answer itself - we already understand what will be written there - we are rather interested in the very fact that the administration of the organization, with its response, admits that certain actions were committed.

If obvious arbitrariness has occurred, and we want to convey to the management of the establishment that their employees are engaged in arbitrariness, then it makes sense to write comments and suggestions in the book. And if the question is only about the policy of the organization, then we will not change this policy of the organization with comments in the book. That is, the book of complaints is a mechanism that is provided by the state, but its effectiveness may be questionable.

Text: Alexander Lychavko

Which Moscow restaurants can you bring your own wine to?

I want to go to restaurants (that’s why winter holidays were invented), but spending money there on wine is no longer always the case. It’s not very clear what to take; the prices are terrifying. Comrades from Invisble talk about a life-saving hack: we bring our own wine, pay the corkage fee and drink ours not under the counter, but completely legally.

What is a corkage fee?

Corkage fee is a small fee (on average in Moscow 300-500 rubles, at the discretion of the establishment owner) for a bottle of alcohol that you bring with you to the restaurant to drink in a pleasant environment.

What is it good for?

First of all, because bringing your own bottle and paying a fee for it is much cheaper than taking the same one in an establishment. The sharks of capitalism increase the restaurant price tag for wine several times. For example, a bottle that retails for about 1,000 rubles will cost you 3,000 or more in most Russian restaurants. So 1,500 for wine and collection looks very humane.

Why would a restaurant allow a corkage fee?

>> It happens that the establishment just opened and did not have time to obtain a license for alcohol. And dinner without wine, as we know, is money down the drain. Therefore, guests are allowed to bring their own - sometimes it is enough just to show the purchase receipt.

>> Small pubs, burger joints and other hipster shawarma joints cannot afford to have a wine list and a sommelier - it is not profitable to buy a lot of wine, there is nowhere to store it, and you are increasingly serving beer and cider to visitors. But for those who like to pair a burger with a bottle of their shiraz, they leave this option for nominal money.

>> Restaurateurs sometimes allow companies of 6 people or more to bring their own alcohol to banquets and corporate events. At the same time, they will not lose any profit (companies are much gluttonous), but it looks as if the restaurant is striving to provide guests with comfort and convenience.

Where can you bring your own alcohol?

We called dozens of restaurants in the capital and realized that many either know nothing about the corkage fee or persist in banning their alcohol without explanation. Most people react to the question of corkage fees very arrogantly.

It seems that based on the phrase “bring your own wine,” the imagination of restaurateurs immediately pictures a horde of marginalized people rioting in a cozy cafe with a box of chatter. For some reason, no one thinks about normal guests who want to drink a bottle of their favorite wine, perhaps in their favorite restaurant. Although - what could be simpler, introduce a corkage fee, even a high one, let customers understand that you are meeting them halfway, because they will still have to spend money on dinner at the establishment.

I was especially surprised by the ban on their wine in these places: Saxon+Parole, Boston Seafood & Bar, Ugolek, AQ Kitchen, Bar Strelka, Delicatessen and Jamie’s Italian (I even wonder if Jamie is aware of this?).

In general, in Moscow, unlike other European capitals, corkage fees have not yet taken root. But there are still enough good places that introduced it. Here they are, these wonderful progressive institutions:

Eat to your heart's content:

1) Meat: Chito Ra - Georgian hospitality, wooden tables and the best khinkali in the city at a ridiculous price, we take a carnivorous carmenère with us.
Corkage fee: 0 rubles, bring a receipt.

2) Fish: Rico is a small restaurant near the Kremlin, with excellent fish, seafood and piano improvisations in the evenings, the menu is updated every week, grab a fresh Muscadet or Sauvignon.
Corkage fee: 0 rubles.

3) Italy: Pasta Time - if you need a hearty and inexpensive snack, there is classic pasta with different sauces to choose from and ravioli, take Chianti or Sicilian white with you.
Corkage fee: 0 rubles.

4) More Italy: The sea inside is a very atmospheric place in Sokolniki, suitable for groups with children, the menu includes Italian food with an emphasis on seafood, the Laurent pie with salmon accompanied by Chenin Blanc from South Africa is especially wonderful.
Corkage fee: 300 rubles + check.

5) China: LuXun is one of the oldest Chinese restaurants in Moscow, the portions are huge, so we bring a crowd of friends with us with a box of Riesling, semi-dry or semi-sweet.
Corkage fee: 0 rubles.

6) Color: Odessa Mama - the daring Odessa spirit and food “like at home”: minced meat, dumplings, cutlets, naval pasta. Of course, you'll want to go there with port, but most of the food here will be terribly happy with cask chardonnay, and only the cherry beef and lamb crave red.
Corkage fee: 500 rubles.

Warm and luminous sit with friends:

1) Burgers:Burger Heroes- discuss the release of Star Wars with burgers, they are simply brilliant here, not a single vegan can resist, we bring Chilean red.
Corkage fee: 100 rubles.

2) Eclecticism: Ex Libris is a cozy place at the Turgenev library, ideal for drinking sherry and intimate conversations, the menu includes everything from pancakes, rolls and sandwiches to Irish fish soup.
Corkage fee: 300 rubles.

3) New:Durum-Durum- refuel before an active weekend or a trip to Bauman Park (it’s nearby), eat delicious shawarma (nicknamed duryum) on coals, barbecue and snacks. We take Rioja with the same standard durum with lamb, garlic and Provençal herbs.
Corkage fee: 300 rubles.

4) Stylish: Uilliam’s - comfort and fashionable crowd from the Patriarchal, the menu includes soups, lasagna, grilled dorado, depending on your plans for dinner - take cremant or super Tuscany.
Corkage fee: Bring no more than 1 bottle of wine, 1000 rubles.

5) Also stylish: Easy Brix 2 is a nice wine bar, go here with your favorite bottle and a friend to drink with a good snack and move on for a walk.
Corkage fee: 500 rubles.

Go wild at a party, corporate event, banquet:

1) Party for Evribadi: Propaganda - old-timers cannot remember more fun places, a reliable nest of debauchery with inexpensive sandwiches, snacks and carbon-fueled parties, definitely prosecco.
Corkage fee: 500 rubles, 1 bottle of your own wine is allowed, but you can negotiate on the spot.

2) Bohemia: Dom12 - dancing, concerts, film screenings - in general, a #party and a decent menu from Alexey Zimin. Grabbing a sparkling zinf or dashing cava will be just right.
Corkage fee: 1000 rubles.

3) On a grand scale: Cervetti - to have a blast with friends or colleagues, there is pizza, bruschetta and a special program for banquets codenamed “Feast”, we choose our favorite Australian shiraz or pinot grigio.
Corkage fee: 1000 rubles.