Restaurant gives Zachary Quinto’s James Corden impression two thumbs down
“Zachary Quinto—an amazing Spock, but a terrible customer,” raves the Canadian restaurant Manita
Aux News Quinto
Photo: Gregory Pace (Shutterstock)
He’s played Spock. He’s played NOS4A2. Now Zachary Quinto is receiving rave reviews for his latest role: “an entitled child.”
Proving that celebrities have learned nothing from all those non-apologies James Corden delivered during 2022's Balthazargate, the Canadian restaurant Manita has accused Quinto of taking out his “frustrations” with Manita’s reservation system on the restaurant’s staff. In an Instagram post, the restaurant claimed Quinto “yelled at our staff like an entitled child after he didn’t reply to two texts to inform his table was ready.” Of course, we could blame this on the switchover from puck-sized pagers to text messages, which has wreaked untold havoc upon the dining world, but we digress. It’s still up to the patron to treat staff respectfully, no matter their Starfleet ranking. But apparently, Quinto had more problems with Manita. He “refused to believe the empty tables in the dining room weren’t available for him despite being politely informed they were spoken for.” Quinto, the restaurant said, “made our host cry and the rest of our brunch diners uncomfortable.”
Now, we all know how painful waiting for a table can be. It is a sad fact that if we want to enjoy a meal at a popular eatery, we are at the mercy of automated reservation systems. Nevertheless, the restaurant is asking Quinto to “take your bad vibes somewhere else” because they have “many lovely celebrities join us at Manita, but you are not one of them.” Later, the restaurant elaborated on the post, writing that this isn’t the first time an “irate guest has taken their frustrations out on our staff […] 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.”
Sadly, the post curiously ignores that yesterday was Zachary Quinto’s birthday and that, as the birthday boy, it’s his right to cry if he wants to. As such, the only image on Zachary Quinto’s Instagram Stories, presumably posted hours after the incident, sees the actor blissfully enjoying a small birthday pastry as he prepares to blow out a lone lit candle. Was this photo taken at Manita? Probably not, because it sounds like he was asked to leave. Quinto has yet to comment on the controversy, but we take some solace in knowing that the birthday boy got his cake after a long day of yelling at service professionals.
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The most surprising part is that anyone recognized him.
There might have been some “You know who I am.”
“I played Sylar on the hit show Heroes, beloved by all who never saw the second season!”
I completely forgot about Spock. He’ll always be the superpower stealing psychopath to me. Very convincing.
I played Sylar on the shit show HeroesFTFY.
It certainly was shit after the first season (or maybe as Nilus says, towards the end of the first). But during most of the first season it was seen as a great show at a time when that was rare in network television.
I remember like the first season, putting up with the 2nd, and not bothering to watch anything that came after that.
I enjoyed the first season, but I mainly got into it because there was speculation that it was going to reveal itself as a stealth Lost spinoff (a spin-on?)
But even LOST (and other shows that copied that formula, like nuBSG) ended up promising far more than they delivered. It’s easy to hint that something is important and far harder to meaningfully work into the plot.
nuBSG debuted before Lost.
I guess it did. But nuBSG’s later, poorer seasons overlapped with LOST and were obviously inspired by it. All those “mysteries” that never paid off.
Or the end of the first when we clearly ran out of money
Quinto: (angrily) Do you know who I am??
Waiter: …the guy who played McLovin?
“No, wait, you’re that nerdy guy from Revenge Of The Nerds and The Red Green Show, right?”
Or … the dickish lead singer from The Wonders?
Ha! Lol.
“Seat me now or I’ll play with your brain.”
Bro, do you even Star Trek?
I see stories like this and am reminded of the Black Mirror episode “Nosedive” and its “social credit” system. It still gives me nightmares because this is where we’re going. Possibly even nobodies like me will have to be very concerned about how our reputations preceede us. All the same, there’s no reason to mistreat hospitality staff. They’re not going out of their way to upset customers even if digital errors and an exhausted server may make it seem so.And just an anecdote: I probably hadn’t eaten out in ten years, I’m so picky and frugal; but we met a couple who loves to eat out so we have joined them twice. The next time I think I’m going to have to say something about their shitty tipping behavior. They are very demanding people and she worked as a server herself as a youth. I served all throughout my college years except for the doctoral degree because I taught during the summers. These servers don’t get benefits and arguing that they should be paid more meets deaf eatery-owner ears. For those who say “Go to school and get a better-paying job,” if every server took that advice there wouldn’t be anyone to wait on those people’s sorry asses. And it isn’t remotely “unskilled” labor. It’s just classism. Even if you offered a CEO several million dollars an hour to wait tables they still wouldn’t. It’s beneath them.
Sounds like your friends are the ones who should be having nightmares about a “social credit” system.Quinto really should’ve known better. I don’t know if he thought he wouldn’t be recognized in Toronto or what, but this story could’ve easily been picked up by tabloids back in the 90’s. It’s standard celebrity gossip fare and of course not a good look for him.
I love the double-whammy of “I’m scared this presages a technocratic dystopia!” and “I haven’t gone out in a decade!”
Well, there’s always China, who, once again, have outpaced us in the West with their Social Credit system, and I can definitely see some socially-incompetent techbro thinking it’s a good idea.
It’s been tried.https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lulu_(app)What’s a girl tech bro? A tech ho?
lol people have been saying “we’re next!” about celebrities getting blasted on social media for 15 years.This also reminds me of Elon Musk claiming if Trump can get sued like he did, all of us can!
bro, if you haven’t eaten out in 10 years you are going to have a fucking heart attack and die on-sight when you look at what is costs these days.
Ugh, pon farr can be a nightmare… Or maybe he swapped bodies, like in Spock Amok.
Most likely option is that his brain was stolen by sexy space ladies and it was McCoy driving his body when he made the stink
“…as the birthday boy, it’s his right to cry if he wants to.”HE can cry on his birthday if he wants to, yes. Throwing a tantrum in anger and demeaning the wait and server staff to the point of making THEM cry? I think that’s reserved for a person’s “Being an Asshole Day.”And sadly, “Being an Asshole Day” seems to happen many more times a year than the one Birthday a year. In fact, for some people, they seem to celebrate it damn near everyday of the year.
He threatened restaurant staff by opening a can of tomatoes with his mind, Sylar-style.“That’s actually quite helpful,” said the head chef. “But you’re still barred.”
Honestly, punishing really bad customers by making them work one shift in the kitchen or waiting tables would be the ideal humbling experience that might make the lives of restaurant employees a lot easier. Not that it would ever happen, but still….
In the olden days, when people paid for restaurant meals with actual cash rather than card or phone, the joke servers would always say as people scrambled to get enough cash among the people to pay the bill was “Don’t worry; we can always make you wash dishes to pay the bill!” Don’t know if it was ever actually done.
When will he tell us that he deeply regrets his behavior and for any distress he caused and that he’s committed to learning from this mistake?
And and and, don’t forget the classic: He only has the deepest respect for (insert group) and this is not his typical behavior
And now he will be checking into anger management rehab
“I’m ready to admit I have a sex addiction.”“Uh, Mr Quinto, what does that have to do with being rude to restaurant servers?”“Oh, nothing, I just wanted to let you know.”
I’m waiting for a good old-fashioned: “This behavior, which I neither regret NOR apologize for, does not reflect ME as a person”
On one hand, abusing staff just doing their job is abhorrent. This shouldn’t happen, nobody should do it, and anyone doing so should be asked to leave. There’s no excuse, not even being in TV show that had a decent opening season 17 years ago.On the other hand, SMS notifications for diners are infuriating. I don’t make a habit of staring at my phone; its notifications are nearly unnoticeable when I’m in a noisy environment, engrossed in talking to friends; and there’s no way I’m noticing them when it’s in my pocket. So I need to awkwardly hold my phone and check it for messages every couple of minutes – which just makes the wait time seem longer. And that’s if I even have my phone with me, and it hasn’t gone flat. What’s wrong with beepers that make a violently-loud noise and try to jump out of your hands when the table is ready? They’re at least noticeable and they’ve worked fine for decades.
On the third hand, I don’t think taking to social media to “shame” celebrities achieves anything. Surely ejecting him from the restaurant was enough? Why is there a need to issue a press release about it?
What’s wrong with beepers that make a violently-loud noise and try to jump out of your hands when the table is ready? They’re at least noticeable and they’ve worked fine for decades.They’re unquestionably better for customers. For the restaurants, they’re an added cost. They have to charge the batteries, which eventually degrade over time and need to replace. They have to be stored when they’re not being used and replace them if one breaks. For the restaurant, sending SMS notifications is probably way more convenient. I’m sure they pay a third-party for the notification service, but it’s presumably cheaper than the upfront, storage, and maintenance costs of those pucks.Why is there a need to issue a press release about it?I can’t tell if you’re being hyperbolic. It was an Instagram post. The manager was probably already on the app when they thought, “You know what? That Quinto guy was a real asshole and probably thinks he can get away with it just because he’s famous. I’m not letting him get away with this.” Social media takes away a lot of the effort it used to require to send a message to a large audience. That’s what leads to most of the oversharing online.
I find it incredibly bizarre that anyone in 2024 that owns a smart phone would have a problem with receiving a text notification.
People obviously have different releationships with their phones because I don’t find the SMS option anywhere near infuriating. Even if you don’t make a habit of staring at your phone, if you’re waiting for an important message, it feels like a small inconvenience to increase the volume and turn on vibrate to make sure you don’t miss a notification. I don’t find setting your phone face up while waiting for a text to be too awkward.As for the shaming by the restaurant, I imagine it could work as a deterrent. A restaurant that attracts celebrities and other fancy people probably get plenty of divas and, if the establishment is in demand, they have some power to be selective about who they let in, especially if they have good staff they want to keep and not be abused. It probably even ups their exclusivity to be more selective.
I would also think celebrities might be much more likely to have set their phone to ignore calls/texts from unknown numbers. BUT if he made the reservations online and didn’t read or notice the info about text notifications, that’s on him. If for some reason that wasn’t going to work, let the restaurant know you need a phone call or whatever. As you said, really no need to yell at anyone about it.
This is interesting to me; I read this part:Of course, we could blame this on the switchover from puck-sized pagers to text messages, which has wreaked untold havoc upon the dining world, but we digress.
and never realized people were so shook by this transition. IMO I’d rather go for a stroll or a drink nearby and keep an eye/ear out for the familiar sound/buzz of my phone/watch going off, than hold onto a bulky hockey puck I can’t take more than 30 yards and will invariably make me jump when it goes off.
“And that’s if I even have my phone with me, and it hasn’t gone flat.”Good luck reading the QR code menu.
What is your problem with shaming rich assholes that treat waitstaff like total shut? Seriously wtf
If you are waiting for your table, and you know that they are going to let you know that is ready using a text, then your job as a grownup is to pay attention to your phone. “And that’s if I even have my phone with me, and it hasn’t gone flat.” What the hell are you talking about? Who goes out for dinner, knowing that their phone is crucial to the enterprise, and leaves it at home or had it dead?
I had no idea people found SMS messages infuriating. I mean, the puck got the job done, but I also hated handling a buzzer that had already been groped by 100 filthy hands. I’d much prefer to stick to my own phone.
There’s nothing better when an actor that you have an irrational dislike for, turns out to be awful.
No sympathy for guys acting like assholes to restaurant staff. But is this really a good move for the restaurant?
Oh well, restaurants have to take a lot of flack from yelpers, deserved or not.
Yeah, which I certainly feel for them about. But I’m just not sure name and shame customers is a good long-term business plan.
I can see where you’re coming from. Sometimes something like this can backfire. However, I do appreciate management actually defending their employees against a customer who was definitely in the wrong in this situation. I work retail and I’ve had so many spineless managers refuse to give any reasonable amount of support to their employees and they just throw their employees under the bus or refuse to do anything about a situation like this. Hell, my husband’s boss recently tried to write him up for “going too slow” (bullshit) despite the fact that they know he has a medical condition (psoriatic arthritis) that can make working eight hours on concrete floors painful. This isn’t just something in retail, either. I worked in childcare for ten years and I’ve had program managers and directors pull similar nonsense. So to conclude my rather long-winded post, maybe going public isn’t the best idea, but I respect any employers who know how to treat their employees as well as their customers.
He’s not a regular customer that they need to nurture; he’s an uppity tourist. So telling him “… and don’t come back!” is only going to endear them to the local crowd.
I’m sure you’re very concerned about this restaurant’s future
Well I never heard of them until now and I live in the GTA, so mission accomplished for Manita.
It’s a very popular restaurant. They can afford to call out a disrespectful patron. Remember, this is Canada. Manners matter!
I can’t say whether it’s a good move or not since I don’t know how the majority of people will react, but frankly I respect the call-out. Some people act like entitled assholes because they’ve internalized “the customer is always right.” Fuck that.
Nothing you say before the but matters. Your second statement contradicts your first.
But is this really a good move for the restaurant? Yes. Name & shame entitled assholes, always. Seeing the restaurant do this makes me want to go to that restaurant.
“Nothing you say before the but matters. Your second statement contradicts your first.”It really doesn’t. Maybe if you lack critical thinking skills it would. But if you’re able to hold the thought in your head simultaneously that 2 actions can both be wrong, you can see that asking the question if their response is a smart response or not in no way contradicts the first statement.
I think it’s a great idea but from the opposite direction. Shaming Mr. Quinto for his behavior isn’t important to me either way, but the restaurant standing up for its employees and saying “we’re not going to tolerate people mistreating our staff” is a VERY good look to me.
“…made our host cry and the rest of our brunch diners uncomfortable.”
Dude threw a tantrum over BRUNCH? Come on! Even the best brunch isn’t worth getting bent out of shape over. This restaurant is right by Little Italy in Toronto. Go get a cannoli somewhere and have a little think about your big morning emotions, ya ding dong.
Hey, people really like brunch.
Canada’s a big place. Some detail beyond “Canadian restaurant” would be helpful to anyone outside your “American audience” who gives a shit about the 5 Ws.
In Toronto. Very popular joint. Although im hearing the wait staff sucks. 😉
Okay so you want to head north for a while. Once you pass the third moose you want to take a left at the ice hockey ring. Then another left at the next ice hockey ring. Then a right at the next ice hockey ring. If you pass the Tim Hortons you went to far
You’re going to have to clarify which Tim’s – there’s 5 or 6 in a kilometer radius.
Hockey rink
It’s right between the Canadian Tire and the Future Shop!
What’s funny is Toronto is one of the maybe four cities most Americans know exist in Canada, and it still doesn’t get name-dropped lol.
Back in 2005 I went to visit an old friend in Ogdensburg, NY, and I remember going with them on a day trip to the Port of Johnstown in Ontario (this was before you needed a passport to cross the border). So that’s five! Five places in Canada that this American knows! Ah ah ah…(Okay, it’s not a city, but still…)
Okay, the four are Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, and what? Ottawa? That’s giving the typical US a bit too much credit for knowing that’s the capital, I think.
Calgary? The Olympics were there that one time.
Oh I wish I was back in old Canada, a land which I never shall lampoon,
How I pine for the ice covering Lake Manitoba and the beauty that is Saskatoon!
Nah, it’s fine.
Zachary Quinto, pictured above as his childrens’ entertainer alter ego Plimble.
I’m pretty sure my grandmother had those sweater flowers on the bottom of her bathtub to prevent her from slipping.
47-year-old actors can worry about slipping too!
While he did pretty decent as Spock, he’s light years behind Nimoy and Peck.
I clicked the link, so mission accomplished, but man, AV Club’s really been churning out some difficult to parse headlines lately.
Yeah, for some reason I came in expecting to read about Quinto actually doing an impression of James Corden, and someone in the restaurant (probably a Corden fan, but maybe someone who just hates singing in cars) getting all upset about it.
It did kind of read like Quinto was doing poorly received impressions at a restaurant. I can’t imagine him doing a decent Cordon impression. Well, he seemed to get the being really obnoxious part down, at least…
It’s a well-known fact that James Corden invented being an asshole to servers.
I know when I think of Spock I think of angry guy who beats people up. I just remember watching Into Darkness and wondering if JJ Abrams had ever actually seen an episode of Star Trek
J.J. has said that he was always more of a Star Wars fan than a Star Trek one. I’m sure his Star Wars movies will be great!
I still think The Force Awakens was pretty great.
This is too bad. He seemed like such a nice guy. Maybe he was having a bad day.
Nah he is a big asshole, a diva and a bitch. everyone who has dealt with him knows this. Anytime someone is a better than average actor, but doesn’t actually work a ton – you can assume this may be the case.
Well, I say! This is news!
toronto mentioned!
Jesus, when did this place become TMZ ? Ffs
Meretricious fluff. Its everywhere now. We really are doomed as a species.
This sort of feels like there’s three sides to a story – yours, mind and the truth – situation type deals. Could Zachary Quinto be a complete jerk? He sure could. It wouldn’t shock me. But the flipside is that a business that thinks the best way to handle a situation is to make an IG post calling out a celebrity when they probably had lots of bad customers in a given week also seems like a choice. Because the restaurant is getting a ton of free press in a world where everyone is taking their version of events as fact.