Prince William’s trip to Poland has been kept relatively quiet, so it was quite a surprise for diners when he plopped down for dinner at Buetero, a “queer” bistro in Warsaw. On Wednesday night, the future king of England was spotted tucking into a meal at the establishment, which bills itself as a “queer space and inclusive bistro” on it’s Facebook and Instagram. William chowed down with a group of Kensington Palace staff, as seen in photos here, which were taken by a local, who adorably captioned them, “Warsaw can surprise. I ate dinner today with the Prince,” per Daily Mail.
A source for the outlet said the Palace employees had made a reservation at Buetero and the Prince of Wales inquired if he could join them. “He asked them what they were doing and then asked to come along,” the source continued. “It was a great night by all accounts, the team really appreciated him asking to join them.”
The owner of Buetero, Paweł Zasim, told the outlet that it was a complete shock to have a member of the royal family walk into his restaurant, which he described as an “inclusive space where everyone can feel good.” He divulged, “We had absolutely no idea they were coming. We had a table booked for 12 people under the name of Daisy. It was supposed to be a Daisy birthday party. But then a bodyguard appeared and said that this wasn’t going to be a Daisy birthday party and then Prince William walked in.”
Zasim added that William and his entourage stayed for about three hours and that they “said they had a good time”. As for what was on the menu for William? “He ate our sandwich in a braided roll with pulled pork. And he ate everything so I think he liked it,” added Zasim.
The show of LGBTQ+ support is nothing new for the William, as he comes from a long line of allies. His grandmother, Queen Elizabeth’s, 70-year reign saw incredible changes in the UK in regards to LGBTQ+ rights, including the partial decriminalization of homosexuality in 1967 and the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act in 2014. With his dad, King Charles III, maintaining a similar stance, William has been exposed to the advocacy at an early age.
In 2019, Prince William he would be “absolutely fine” if his children were to come out as gay or lesbian, but he worries about the pressures they may face. “I think you don’t really start thinking about that until you are a parent, and I think – obviously, absolutely fine by me,” reported the Guardian. “I fully support whatever decision they make, but it does worry me from a parent point of view how many barriers, hateful words, persecution and discrimination that might come.”
Meanwhile, it appeared Buetero and its staff are still basking in the afterglow of the royal visitor. On Thursday, via the bistro’s Instagram, a cute clip (above) showed a server taping a piece of paper with Prince William’s name on it to the back of the dining chair he sat in! Too cute!