Yes, it can be hard to get a restaurant table. But it can be impossible if you’re a wheelchair user | Jay Rayner

My lunch with a disability access campaigner was an eye-opener. Even booking was a problem

There are many things you can learn from a restaurant's website: what stream the trout they serve swam in, which mountain range supplies the salt, whether there's gluten-free bread. What you may not be able to establish, if you're a wheelchair user, is whether you'll be able to eat there. Courtesy of reader Jamie Hale I now know something about this. Jamie, who is a wheelchair user, advises institutions and theatres on disability access and runs the disabled-led arts organisation Criptic Arts, among other things. He emailed to request I include information in my reviews about disability access.

I often get requests to include details on vegan options, meat sourcing, piped music and so on. If I covered them all there would be little space for the actual review. Instead, I mention issues where appropriate. I'm not writing a guide book. If you're concerned, check the restaurant's website for yourself. But disability access is different, Jamie said, because websites rarely display that information. I got the point and suggested we meet for lunch. I would be responsible for booking somewhere that met Jamie's needs.