West Midlands restaurant owner looking to maintain high level of service after banning hoodies and trainers on busy nights

Mohammed Siddique has brought in a rule at Robby's Indian Dining on Townsend Place which advises customers to dress in a smart casual fashion on Fridays and Saturdays, with no hooded tops, tracksuits or trainers allowed.

Mr Siddique said the new rule, which was announced on social media, was about keeping up a high standard at the restaurant, which reopened in March after an extensive refurbishment, and ensuring there was a more relaxed atmosphere at the restaurant.

He said: "It was one of those things where, after we renovated the restaurant, we put out the social media post just to advise people that, on Fridays and Saturdays, they should dress more smart casual, instead of turning up in tracksuits and hoodies.

"It gives the restaurant more of a relaxed atmosphere when people wear casual clothing and I am trying to provide more of a refined atmosphere, especially in a fine dining setting.

"Having a dress code helps to maintain an elevated environment."

Mr Siddique said that since putting out the post, it had gathered a lot of attention from news and social media groups, but said it wasn't about excluding anyone or being overly strict and said that it had garnered a lot of support from regulars.

He said: "I know that with the way the country is right now, a lot of youngsters find it comfortable wearing track suits, but when you're going to a restaurant, I don't think it's the right attire to wear.

"With our clientele over the years, we've found they prefer a more up market experience where you don't want to find people coming in with tracksuits and we've seen big parties coming in with youngsters in hoodies and tracksuits and it doesn't look welcoming from a business standpoint.

"We've had a lot of positive feedback and there's a lot of people who have said to us that 'it's your business, you run it how you want', and I think of the example of if someone came to your house, and I look at my restaurant as my house, you wouldn't want someone coming in wearing a tracksuit and dressed dark as night to have a bite to eat.

"It's the same method and philosophy for the restaurant and I like to welcome people with a smile, so I hope people will understand what the dress code is about."

Mr Siddique said that the only exception will be if people need to wear more casual clothes due to having disabilities, but will still need to get "prior management approval" beforehand.