Remember back in fall of 2022 when James Corden was banned from NY eatery Balthazar for being horrific to the waitstaff, then the ban was rescinded when James called to apologize within hours of the Insta post, but then Corden spoke with the New York Times about another project and managed to get himself banned all over again? And all that boomeranging happened over about a week. Well, Mr. Corden, Zachary Quinto sees your NY celeb hotspot ban, and raises you a ban from a Toronto neighborhood cafe. Also for being a d!ck to the staff. Over the weekend — which happened to include Quinto’s birthday, more on that later — Quinto was so rude to the staff at Manita that the restaurant called him out for it on their Instagram page. You have to behave pretty badly to make some good-natured Canadians use strong words against you on social media, eh?
A Toronto restaurant is calling out Zachary Quinto for his alleged behavior at the eatery.
On Sunday, June 2, Manita on Ossington Ave shared a message on Instagram Stories, calling the Star Trek actor “an amazing Spock, but a terrible customer.”
“Yelled at staff like an entitled child after he didn’t reply to two texts to inform him his table was ready and refused to believe the empty tables in the dining room weren’t available for him despite being politely informed they were spoken for,” the message read.
“Made our host cry and the rest of our brunch diners uncomfortable,” continued the eatery, which describes itself as a “mediterranean-ish bistro” on Instagram.
“Mr. Quinto, take your bad vibes somewhere else, we have many lovely celebrities join us at Manita, but you are NOT one of them,” the message concluded, tagging the actor.
The eatery then released a second message on Instagram on Monday, June 3. “To expand upon yesterday’s story re: Zachary Quinto: This isn’t the first time, nor will it be the last time an irate guest has taken their frustrations out on our staff,” they shared.
“Manita is deeply grateful for our mostly incredible, friendly, gracious guests … who may give us constructive feedback from time to time,” they added.
“To all the other Zachary Quintos out there, on behalf of restaurant workers everywhere: We aren’t above criticism, but we are above being demeaned,” the restaurant concluded.
Quinto’s rep didn’t immediately respond when contacted by PEOPLE.
Quinto celebrated his 47th birthday on June 2, and shared some pictures and videos of himself marking his special day on his Instagram Stories.
The actor headed to Canada’s Wonderland theme park, posting a photo of the attraction’s entrance. “Thank you for such an incredible birthday adventure!!!” Quinto wrote, adding a mind blown emoji and tagging the theme park.
He also posted a video on the Drop Tower ride, as well as another snap of himself posing with a birthday cake inside a restaurant.
I thought it was a classy move for Manita to start off their post by calling Quinto “an amazing Spock,” … before ripping into the many ways he acted like “an entitled child.” Look, I love myself a good brunch (here’s the Manita brunch menu Quinto missed out on; I’m salivating over the Breakfast Sandwich, Croque Madame, and Shakshuka, yum). And yes, I can get into a poor headspace when I’m hungry. But I’m also, you know, an adult. And I know how to keep my hangry monster in check. If I haven’t had enough fuel that day, it isn’t anyone’s fault but my own.
Of course, this is assuming that Quinto’s tantrum was a hunger mood swing. Maybe he really believes he should get whatever table he wants despite reservations and not responding to text updates from the restaurant when his actual table was ready, and if a host devolves into tears, well then they’re just no cut out for the cutthroat world of brunch. Please, GMAFB. Unlike James Corden, Quinto hasn’t apologized or responded in any way to Manita (as of this writing). The real poetry of the story, though, is that the restaurant brands him “an entitled child,” and then it turns out he celebrated his (47th) birthday … at an amusement park! It’s just perfect, no? Anyway, kids, be nice to people, it’s really not that hard. Or at least halfway decent and not outwardly hostile. To everyone, but maybe also especially to the people who are feeding you.
Photos credit: Roger/Backgrid, Getty, JosiahW / BACKGRID, and via Instagram
