A restaurant in Georgia is sparking controversy for charging patrons extra for bringing along kids it perceives as having bad behaviour.

The Toccoa Riverside Restaurant in the Blue Ridge Mountains has a warning printed on its menu that reads: “Adult surcharge: For adults unable to parent $$$.”

A family from Florida that dined at the riverside eatery in rural Georgia a few weeks ago was shocked to see an additional US$50 (S$68) fee when the manager presented the bill.

The couple, Kyle and Lyndsey Landmann, was accompanied by their children and four other families – including 11 children, aged between three and eight.

Mr Landmann left a one-star Google review on the restaurant’s page two weeks ago, in which he said he was “disappointed by the experience”.

“The owner came out and told me he was adding $50 to my bill because of my children’s behaviour,” he wrote.

He insisted that his children were well-behaved, adding: “My kids watched a tablet until the food arrived, ate their food and my wife took them outside while I waited and paid the bill.”

Mrs Landmann told American publication Today she thought it was a joke.

“The kids were sitting at one end of the table, and they were being so good,” she said. “I even commented halfway through the meal, ‘I can’t believe how well-behaved they are’.”

She told Today the restaurant’s owner, Mr Tim Richter, said he was adding the surcharge of US$50 per bill at their table because the kids were “too loud” and they were “running around outside”, even though they were chaperoned by adults.

When she responded by saying the children were quiet the whole time, Mr Richter told them they “belonged at Burger King” and not at his restaurant.

She added: “I looked around the restaurant and everybody was frozen watching this show he was putting on. He was yelling.”

Some other diners also learnt about the restauranteur’s practice the hard way, saying they were sprung with the charge as they tried to settle their bill.

Online reviews of the restaurant are filled with examples of upset parents claiming they were either charged or chastised by the restaurant for what the staff deemed to be unruly and disruptive children.

One from three months ago read: “Don’t go if you have children.”

The patron chronicled how when his wife was rocking their four-month-old baby – who was not crying – to sleep, a manager told her that “you don’t do that in a fancy restaurant”.

Similarly, one from two weeks ago said: “If you have children, absolutely avoid this place at all costs.”

The patron claimed that the owner said their children were running through the restaurant. He also told them to “go to Burger King and Walmart”, and that they were bad parents.

The surcharge policy has been in place for several years now, according to Mr Richter, who told Georgia TV station Channel 2 News that he implemented the surcharge a few years ago during the pandemic.

He also said he never actually charged the family, and only gave it a warning.

But the surcharge has also found fans among some people.

One customer, Ms Melissa G., wrote in a review: “As someone who’s worked in food and beverage for over 20 years, I applaud them for taking action on parents who think restaurant staff are being paid to babysit their kids. I hope more restaurants adopt this policy/fee.”

Today reported that when it reached out to the restaurant, an employee on the phone said: “We’re not going to comment on a policy we’ve had for years. We just want to live in the woods and cook.”