Odd non-refund on booked meal. Is this legal?

Fen1

A friend's OAP group has booked a meal at a local restaurant. The full cost has been paid ( deposit plus difference.) Two members of the group have now said that they cannot make it to the meal. They understand that they cannot get back the deposit, but are perplexed that they cannot get back the difference to the full cost. Given that the meal is at the end of the week they might have to lump it.

However, the odd thing is that the restaurant is saying that my friend can take her own crockery to the restaurant and take food back to the two no-shows. Why on earth would my friend want to carry plates of food around with her ( with all the mess and hassle involved)? And why would the recipients want now-cold food later that day ( or quite possibly the following day )?

The meal is a carvery, so it's not even fancy dishes made specifically for those two diners. 

Very, very odd. No refund, but take the food and all the mess that goes with it.

Sandtree

Presumably they really mean bringing tubs/containers as you'd be taking the food away and they presumably don't offer takeaway normally. 

The question will be if they can resell those two seats both theoretically with Covid considerations and practically in the timescales. 

Generally for a breach of contract you have to cover the businesses losses, if they cannot resell the seats then you may find that the cost to the business is the full cost of the food or more... some restaurants sell food effectively for a loss/break even and make the profit from the drinks sales 

sheramber

As the meals are paid for the buyers are entitled to have them.

They no doubt meant that your friend's group  could take the paid for meals away in containers if they so wished.

What they did with them would be up to them. They could be heated up to eat the next day, for example. 

Or give them to homeless person who would no doubt be very grateful.

Or feed them to the dog.