Woman goes viral for bringing her own avocado to a restaurant. Is that OK?

Beyoncé may carry hot sauce in her bag, but a reality television star’s recent post on social media begs the question: Is it OK to bring your own food into a restaurant?

On Aug. 18, Jasmine Pineda — who has appeared on multiple “90 Day Fiancé” franchises from the original to the “Before the 90 Days” spinoff — posted a video on TikTok that’s sparking both inspiration and a conversation about restaurant etiquette.

“I brought my own 🥑 and 🔪 to the restaurant,” Pineda writes in the on-screen caption of her video.

Pineda chuckles as she cuts the avocado — which she pulled out of her bag along with a paring knife — in half, then wipes her knife clean on a basket of bread.

“I decided that I didn’t want to pay $6 for half an avocado when I can pay like $5 to get two good avocados,” Pineda tells TODAY.com about the often high prices for the fruit add-on in restaurants.

Pineda’s video has generated over 301,000 views. The TV star, who also owns vegan protein line Jazzy Fitness, says she used to do the same thing in Panama where she’s from, and that the restaurant in her TikTok — Shisho Palace — happens to be her favorite spot to eat.

While this restaurant doesn’t list the fatty fruit anywhere on its menu, the reality star says that wouldn’t stop her. “I have even done it at restaurants that do offer avocado,” she says.

“I have received weird looks, not only from servers, but sometimes when you go to a restaurant and it is fancy, people stare at you,” Pineda continues. “I was like, ‘Oh, come on, don’t look at me that way, because you have thought about it.’ It’s just that I have the courage to do it.”

Pineda’s video brings to mind a viral story posted on Reddit in 2023: A woman’s desire for ranch dressing while on a date ended her promising relationship and garnered disapproval from commenters far and wide.

Unlike the flurry of negativity that accompanied one of ranch’s biggest fans, Pineda’s video received hundreds of comments supporting her BYO-avocado.

One TikTok user called the move “super smart honestly. these places charge too much for avocado!”

“I bring my own dressing and I’m not above bringing an avocado 🥰,” wrote a second commenter, and a third added, “Same 😂.”

“I have brought my own lettuce to Mexican restaurants,” wrote one more.

“That’s a great idea, I love 🥑,” someone else said, which was a sentiment echoed by many of the comments.

But what do restaurant owners think?

Is bringing food or drink to a restaurant OK?

“The other day, one of my servers was like, ‘Chef, how would you feel if someone asked for hot sauce?’” chef Ana Castro tells TODAY.com over the phone. She laughs: “I was like, ‘Well, depends on which hot sauce.’”

Castro’s seafood-centric restaurant Acamaya in New Orleans, Louisiana, serves dishes like a Shrimp Costra and Arroz Negro with huitlacoche, mussels and squid. Still, the James Beard Award-nominated chef’s carefully balanced dishes don’t stop folks from asking for Tabasco or Crystal to pour on top.

“I live in New Orleans where we have some of the greatest hot sauces in the world, so I do have hot sauce in the restaurant,” Castro says, mentioning that she’s seen embellished hot sauce bottles which have become even more popular in recent times.

While she does stock the condiment, she says her guests don’t automatically get access: “I don’t put it at tables, I have it in the walk-in.”

“I call it self centeredness in the extreme,” Andrew Zimmern, chef and TV personality, tells TODAY.com.

He adds that he’s labeled certain behaviors unacceptable and this is one of them. “Choose something from the menu,” he says. “Why did you come here?”

Pineda is very far from the only person to sneak in food while eating out. Reddit posts have discussed bringing your own birthday cakes, infant formula and even dishes from other restaurants for a dinner with friends.

There’s even a rumor that a certain “SNL” alum brought along his own bread to dinner in at least one instance.

“It kind of depends on the situation, right?” says Douglas Keane, chef and owner of Michelin-starred Sonoma, California, restaurant Cyrus.

“If this is your regular go-to restaurant, the neighborhood place that you literally eat there three to four times a week and have a relationship with, and you call ahead and talk to them about it, then I kind of get it,” he tells TODAY.com.

Castro, Keane and Zimmern all agree that allowances can be made when it comes to health restrictions or allergies. Though, that doesn’t mean people get free reign to bring whatever they want into their local eateries.

“We’re here to make money, you know?” Keane says. “We’re a business too, and if you don’t like our prices, don’t come.”

These chefs don’t support smuggling foods like the vitamin E boost, but what about your favorite Shiraz or Gewürztraminer?

“I think it’s a misguided sense of privilege for people to bring wine into a restaurant,” Zimmern says, before mentioning an exception to his statement. “If you’ve received a gift from someone and you really want to have it with your meal or it’s your birthday and you brought a birthday year wine — which happens all the time — I have zero problem with that.”

“It’s the reason that restaurants have a corkage fee, you know?” Castro adds. “We still run, we pay money, we pay taxes. We had to get a license, you know? And you’re just bringing your own wine. Like, come on, dude.”

Castro says Acamaya charges both a corkage fee as well as a cake-cutting fee for this reason. The chef, who serves dishes with avocado at her establishment, still gives grace to folks who may have persnickety eating habits.

“A restaurant is a venture of hospitality, right?” Castro says. “You can have whatever you want at my restaurant depending on how you ask. Just be aware of your surroundings.”

In fact, she adds, if “you come in, if you pull an avocado out of your purse, I’d say, ‘Actually, let me slice it for you.’”

Pineda acknowledges that her avocado fandom is unique, but asserts that she remains nice, friendly and thankful when bringing her avocados out to eat.

“You know, I’m still eating at the restaurant — I’m still tipping,” Pineda notes, adding that it’s “harmless” to bring an avocado along for her sit-down meals.

A manager at Shisho Palace confirmed to TODAY.com they don’t mind if guests bring avocados since they don’t sell them. The Mediterranean restaurant also noted that bringing desserts is OK there, too.

But, for folks getting ideas in the comments section, please know that not every spot you go to will be as accommodating.

“I mean, it’s kind of ridiculous if you’re trying to save money from buying the restaurant’s avocado,” Keane says. “If they don’t serve avocado and you need to have avocado on your diet and it’s a place you go to, OK. But if you’re just avoiding a charge? F--- off.”

This article was originally published on TODAY.com