Animals rights activists attempted to take over a Michelin Star eatery - but sat in the bar instead of disrupting the restaurant.
Nine members of Animal Rebellion entered House of Tides in Newcastle at around 6pm on Saturday evening. The fine dining restaurant, located on the Quayside, is run by chef Kenny Atkinson.
The group entered the venue when it opened and aimed to occupy tables reserved for diners. However they sat in the bar downstairs instead of the restaurant, which is located upstairs.
Read more: Everything you need to know about Animal Rebellion and House of Tides after Sit-In protest
The protesters sat at tables with mock menus outlining the group's demands. The menus said: "This menu would spare the lives of 1.2 billion land animals and more than three million sea animals in the UK every year.
"This menu would eliminate 70% of food-related emissions and draw down 150 gigatons of carbon from the atmosphere. This menu would provide more than enough affordable, nutritious plant-based food to feed everyone."
Conor Goulding, manager at House of Tides, told Chronicle Live that the protest did not impact service in their restaurant. He said it was "mildly inconvenient" that they had to call the police but that it had no affect on them at all.
He said: "They obviously thought they wee causing a massive inconvenience. They didn't realise that our restaurant was upstairs. We haven't been affected at all by it. They sat in our bar area for about 45 minutes.
"We decided to ring the police because they wouldn't leave. None of them got arrested. They left before they got that point."
Mr Goulding said that nothing like that has ever happened before at House of Tides but they expect little things like this to happen when the restaurant has a name and a reputation.
He said: "I think with all of this extreme protests there's a conversation to be had but by targeting very small businesses such as ourselves - an independent business - is the wrong way to go about it.
"They should be targeting huge companies like KFC and McDonalds which are using large farms. We use small local producers who take very good care of their animals. Our restaurant serves between 30 and 40 people."
According to Animal Rebellion, House of Tides serves dinners starting at a price of £130 per person. They claim that the venue refuses to cater to vegans and has a meat-heavy menu, including many of the foods with the largest carbon, and land-use, footprints, such as lamb.
Mr Goulding said the restaurant offers a vegetarian menu but they don't cater for vegans as they use a lot of classic French cooking. He added: "We use lots of butter and cream in our dishes."
The actions come as part of Animal Rebellion’s demands for a plant-based future. The group is planning multiple high-end Sit-Ins on Saturday evening as they declare a national day of action.
A spokesperson for Animal Rebellion said: "The conversation around the climate, animal, and cost-of-living crises is exactly why this action has been a success, alongside the other sit ins. It’s forced everyone to have this critical dialogue."
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