Alinea chef Grant Achatz in crying baby controversy It costs $US250 to get on the waiting list for a table at Alinea. SHOULD babies be allowed in fine dining restaurants? One top chef is rethinking his policy after a couple brought their crying 8-month-old to dinner. Grant Achatz, from Chicago restaurant Alinea, did not ask the couple to leave but tweeted about the incident afterwards. This sparked a flurry of retweets and responses, with most punters saying that babies had no place in a restaurant that costs around $US250 ($279) upfront just to get on a waiting list for a table. Alinea chef Grant Achatz. Screengrab via ABC Source: Supplied Mr Achatz told Good Morning America that the baby ruined the experience for other diners. "I could hear it crying in the kitchen," he said. We want people to come and enjoy and experience Alinea for what it is, but we also have to be cognisant of the other 80 people that came in to experience Alinea that night. Alinea's 86 components of lamb. Since the furore a parody account pretending to be the baby in question has popped up on Twitter. Should babies be banned from fine dining restaurants or should parents be allowed to bring their children?