Musafir in the wake of the controversy: the restaurant has acknowledged its mistake in the incident involving the soldier and promises to improve staff training
2 January 18:07
The Musafir Crimean Tatar restaurant in Kyiv has apologized for an incident that occurred on New Year’s Eve, when a table occupied by a military serviceman was left unattended. Restaurant management attributed the incident to staff negligence and promised to hold additional discussions with employees regarding sensitive issues in dealing with guests.
Restaurant representatives told the Informator publication about this following a wave of criticism on social media, reports "Komersant Ukrainian".
Before the holidays, one of the patrons reported that a waiter had not approached their table for a long time, where he was sitting with a friend who is a military servicemember. The situation quickly gained attention, as the incident occurred amid heightened public scrutiny of how businesses treat military personnel.
Musafir management claims that there was no malice in the staff’s actions.
The restaurant’s explanation
Restaurant manager Oksana Dokanova explained that the guests had found themselves in a so-called “busy spell”—a moment when the waiter was occupied with other tables and did not notice that no one had approached these customers.
According to her, it was “silly inattention,” not deliberate disregard. The restaurant manager tried to apologize to the customers on the spot, but, according to the restaurant, this could not be done in time.
Musafir stated that they are already holding internal meetings with staff to specifically address such sensitive situations. The restaurant emphasizes that supporting the military is one of the priorities of their policy: service members are allowed to skip the line, receive discounts, and the restaurant regularly contributes to fundraisers for the army’s needs.
The management publicly apologized to customers and acknowledged the mistake, calling the incident a “slip-up” that occurred at an inopportune and inappropriate time.
