A meal fit for a king, goes the saying, but that doesn’t mean King Goodwill Zwelithini’s appearance at a well-known CBD restaurant was all that popular.

At around 7PM on Saturday the King and his entourage arrived at Vasco da Gama Taverna (better known as Vascos), and of course that entourage had it all.

According to Times LIVE it included “a large security detail‚ armoured cars and even a personal chef”, which didn’t sit well with some patrons:

After the visit Cape Town writer Herman Lategan took to Facebook. He claimed that the royal party was escorted to the venue by a fleet of 4×4 Mercedes Benz vehicles that blocked off the street outside the restaurant from the top and bottom. The post also suggests that the vehicle’s lights were left on‚ “beaming and flashing”.

He went on to lament the king’s over the top security policies – guests were allegedly told “not to make eye contact” and the king’s bodyguards stood in the kitchen overseeing the food’s preparation along with a private chef who ensured that all meals met his very specific dietary requirements.

“The place was cleared out‚ all customers had to pay up and go‚ or move to a separate section‚ out of sight‚” the post reads.

Several Facebook users described the incident as “disgraceful” and one suggested that “there is no place for such grandiose behaviour anywhere on our planet”.

And you thought that vegan, lactose intolerant, gluten-free friend of yours was a nightmare to deal with.

Restaurant manager Rosie Lemmer has a rather different take on how things unfolded, though:

[She said] it was “terrible to hear” that guests had been offended by the king’s presence but that she and her staff had considered it “a very pleasant experience”.

The king’s private chef accompanied him but she said he did not cause a disturbance in the kitchen.

“The King was a perfect gentleman‚” she said‚ adding that the bodyguards had not intimidated any of the guests‚ nor were guests asked to leave.

Vascos did offer an apology, via their Facebook page, to Lategan:

And now for the question everyone wants answered – how much was the bill?

Lemmer also explained that the bill was surprisingly modest for such a wealthy party.

“I’m not sure why such a pleasant evening has caused such a stir‚” she said.

“Maybe they were offended that it was a Zulu King? They wouldn’t be so upset if it was the Queen of England!”

Nah, I don’t care much for the British royals either.

Perhaps the King’s bill is so modest because he feels guilty about that new R1 billion palace we’ll all be paying for in the near future.

[source:timeslive]