It’s rare for a country’s leader to just casually drop into a cafe for a snack. Rarer still for them to be turned away.

But that is exactly what happened on Saturday when the New Zealand prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, was turned away from a popular cafe in Wellington which was full due to coronavirus distancing measures.

“Omg Jacinda Ardern just tried to come into Olive and was rejected cause it’s full,” a Twitter user named Joey wrote at about midday.

His tweet was accompanied by a ghoulish emoji, suggesting he was horrified that space was not made for the Labour leader, despite restaurants being limited to a maximum of 100 people and at least 1 meter between seated groups. A quarter of an hour later, he added: “Never mind they sorted her out.”

Arden’s partner, Clarke Gayford, responded to his tweet a few hours later, taking the blame for the brief hiccup to their day.

“I have to take responsibility for this, I didn’t get organized and book anywhere,” he wrote. “Was very nice of them to chase us down st when a spot freed up. A+ service.”

While leaders in other countries may send staff ahead to make arrangements, a spokesperson for Ardern’s office said waiting at a cafe was something anyone could experience during New Zealand’s virus restrictions: “The PM says she just waits like everyone else.”

Without providing his name, the restaurant’s owner told the New Zealand Herald that he was pleased to be talking about “something light-hearted and fun” following “the drama and stress” of the previous two months.

He confirmed no exceptions were made for Ardern and that she and Gayford were initially turned away by the restaurant manager. However, the manager then ran down the street minutes later, after a table became free, which he stressed is a courtesy extended to other customers.

“She had a lovely brunch and left half an hour later,” he told the paper. “She was lovely with all the staff ... [and] she was treated like a normal customer.”

Refusing to reveal what the prime minister ordered, he confirmed that the couple did not have their 23-month-old daughter, Neve, with them. “[It was a] date brunch,” he said.