The Old Thameside Inn, London Bridge

It�s such a pity that the staff of this lovely pub located on the bank of the Thames is so rude and unpleasant!
A friend of mine and I called in to have lunch after seeing a performance at The Globe, so it was after 3 p.m. We managed to find a table on the terrace and were going to enjoy a pleasant lunch enjoying the view of the riverside. I went to the bar since at that time waiters didn�t take orders. After waiting a quarter of an hour in the line I was queue-jumped by a guy just before my turn. The barman called Darren served him the beer, but I didn�t say a word avoiding confrontations. Then I started ordering.
To begin with, I asked the bartender to recommend me an English beer, but he served me an Italian one, since �as he explained- he hadn�t heard the part of �English� and the Italian was his recommendation. He didn�t want to serve me another pint since the Italian one was already put in the glasses. When I was going to ask for the meal he asked the number of the table, which I didn�t know and I told him I was going to check this. He replayed that he wasn�t going to wait for me because of the queue. I asked whether he could take my order when I�m back without making me wait all the line again, but he said no. I asked for a complaints book, and he answered that I had to wait till he attend all the people in the line. That Darren guy was unhelpful, rude and unpleasant all the time.
I went back to the table and find its number, it was put in a small dot on the corener of the table. It seemed to be a normal practice in English pubs, but we weren�t avare about this. Eventually my friend and I decided not to drink the Italian beer we paid for and to have lunch in another pub enjoying local food and beverages.

7 Aug 2011 15:07