The Duke of Kent, Ealing

Since moving to Ealing 12 months ago, my family, friends and I have enjoyed a number of visits to this pub. A good selection of beers, good food, great beer garden and friendly bar staff. However, if you want to enjoy birthday drinks with your best friend or be treated fairly and with respect by the bar manager, find somewhere else to go.

Here�s what happened to me:

My 46th birthday with my best friend was cut short on a Thursday afternoon in late May by the manager, who decided that we had had enough to drink and instructed his bar staff not to serve us any more. He was right because we had more than we would usually have, but we were encouraged to drink by the manager and his bar staff who regularly approached our table to ask us whether we wanted another round. As the drink flowed, we became noisier and the manager asked us to keep it quiet. We tried but in reality we were two friends out celebrating a birthday and it proved difficult. But were we really doing any harm? It is a pub, after all. There were no more than a handful of customers present at any time, we were not aggressive to anyone, nor was our language foul at any time. I�ve never been refused a drink before. My birthday was spoiled. This is not the pub to go to, if you want a good time.

However, imagine returning a month later and before having a chance to ask for anything other than what was their selection of non-alcoholic beers, being told by the same manager, in front of your heavily pregnant partner and 12 or so customers at the bar �After your behaviour last time, it�s just one warning for you this time�. This is what happened to me on Friday evening. But if the manager felt that he needed to do something, wouldn�t it have been better to talk to me discreetly or perhaps just keep a watchful eye? The manager�s officious behaviour unnecessarily humiliated me in front of someone I care deeply about. I had no choice but to leave again. This is not the pub to go to, if you want to be served by a fair and courteous manager.

Needless to say, neither my partner, family nor I will ever set foot in this pub again.

29 Jun 2009 10:03