08.08.2026 20:31
The addition of externally brought children's milks to the bill at a historic venue in Çengelköy drew reactions on social media. A customer, who objected to the milks of their 2- and 3.5-year-old children being added to the bill, took the issue to CİMER and the Ministry of Trade. Amid the reactions, the establishment issued a statement saying that adding the milks to the bill was not a management directive, and that they assumed responsibility and spoke with the relevant staff.
The incident at one of Çengelköy's iconic venues made people say, "this is too much, we give up." According to the customer's claim, the milk brought from outside for children aged 2 and 3.5 was added to the bill even though it was not purchased from the venue.
"WE ORDERED DRINKS FOR EVERYONE BUT IT WASN'T ENOUGH"
A citizen who went to the venue with a total of 10 people, including guests from abroad, was met with the staff's warning, "You cannot bring outside food and drinks," because of the banana milks in their young children's hands. Stating that they ordered for everyone at the table to avoid harming the business, the customer described what happened as follows:
"We said that it would not be right to take the milk from the children's hands, and that to avoid harming the business's commercial income, we would order a drink for everyone at the table, including the children. Indeed, we ordered a total of 9 drinks and various snacks from the venue."
"THEY EVEN ADDED THE MILKS IN THE STROLLER"
The customer stated that despite this, the venue manager did not back down and that they faced a threatening approach:
"The manager came to our table and said, 'Either remove these milks or I will add two milks to your bill.' I pointed to the other two milks in the stroller and said, 'Then add those too,' to highlight the absurdity of the practice. When we asked for the bill, we saw that a total of 4 banana milks had been added to the bill even though we had not purchased them from the venue."
"EVEN A CHILD CANNOT ENTER WITH SOMETHING IN THEIR HANDS"
The response given by the venue official to the customer, who reacted to being charged for products not purchased from the venue, was the last straw. The customer recounted the official's attitude with these words:
"When I said these belonged to children aged 2 and 3.5, they replied, 'Your so-called children are 3-5 years old, they are considered old enough. Even a child cannot enter the venue with something in their hands.' When I said I would file a complaint, they tried to dodge it by saying, 'Actually, we weren't going to add it, we added it because you said so.'"
The aggrieved citizen, stating that the practice is completely unlawful, called on the authorities by saying they would complain to CIMER and the Ministry of Trade with the bill and visuals.
STATEMENT FROM THE VENUE: ADDING TO THE BILL WAS WITHOUT OUR KNOWLEDGE
Following the incident that drew great reaction on social media, the venue made a written statement to the public. The venue stated that the incident stemmed from the staff's erroneous attitude and expressed their regret over what happened.
"BRINGING IN OUTSIDE DRINKS IS FORBIDDEN, BUT COMMON SENSE SHOULD HAVE PREVAILED FOR CHILDREN"
In the statement, which reminded that bringing outside food into the venue had been allowed for years, but that there was a rule against bringing outside drinks due to the establishment's order, the following expressions were included:
"It is, of course, within the duty and responsibility of our staff to remind our guests of this rule. However, in the incident at hand, since it was about the milk in the children's hands, our staff should have acted more sensitively and with common sense, limited themselves to reminding the rule, and not gone so far as to reflect it on the bill."
"WE HAVE NO SUCH INSTRUCTION; ACTION HAS BEEN TAKEN REGARDING THE STAFF"
The venue owners, emphasizing that adding the milks to the bill as a charge was not management's instruction, took responsibility and stated that they had spoken with the staff:
"Adding the said milks to the bill is not a practice carried out with the knowledge, instruction, or approval of the venue owners. This issue is not about a few milks or a bill of a few hundred liras. The necessary meeting has been held with the relevant staff, and it has been clearly stated that in similar situations, especially when young children are involved, our rules should be applied within the framework of human sensitivity and common sense."