I Needed ID to Order Cake!

[WHShit]

This happened about 3 years ago, but I was just reminded if it by reading a post about ID's.

In England, they have these pubs called Weatherspoons. They are great! They serve food and drinks at cheaper prices and never have music playing. They are good for a nice lunch and talk. At these Weatherspoons, you order at the bar. Every Weatherspoon has this rule. No one comes to your table except to bring your food out. They are also family-friendly up until 6-9, then it is adult only. So, no age rules until late.

Ok....when I was still married, my husband and I decided to go to a Weatherspoon for lunch. He ordered at the bar. We ate our food and only drank Coke. No alcohol at all. When we finished, we decided to get some dessert. We both wanted the cheesecake, as it is very good!

I went up to the bar to order and got asked for my ID. I did not have it on me, as I did not plan on drinking alcohol and, as I said, you can be any age and be in the pub. I told the barman that I did not have my ID and that I shouldn't need it as I was only ordering cake. He said that since I was ordering at the BAR I had to have my ID. I said again that I was ONLY ordering cheesecake and hadn't asked for anything that was age-related! He wouldn't budge.

Well, I got so pissed off, I didn't say anything after that. I was afraid that I would cause a scene and I hate doing that. I went back to the table and told my husband that I wanted to leave.

I regret not asking for a manager or something as I am sure I should have been served. I would have understood if there were waiters and I could have ordered at the table, but you CAN'T at these places!

I really think that this barman was either a Sucky Worker or just stupid. I couldn't believe it!

Has anyone else ever encountered this or can anyone justify it to me? I am befuddled to this day!

[GingerBiscuit]

I've never been id'd ordering food at the bar in wetherspoons. I wonder if he got the wrong end of the stick about policy, somewhere. I look quite young (although I'm 21 I can look about 16) and have not ONCE been id'd ordering food at the bar.
I could understand a little, (maybe) if the cheesecake had alcohol in it somewhere; like you now have to be ID'd for chocolate liquers and cooking ingredients extracted using alcohol (my famous incident, which I shall recount one day, no-one sucky, just bloody irritating).

[trunks2k]

I'm not familiar with UK laws, but the bar guy could have been right. At certain times of the day people under the drinking age are allowed, but it may be against the law for minors to order from any bar at any time. So they have to have someone over the drinking age order from them. Some places in the US are like that. Minors are welcome inside the establishment, but it's against the law for them to come up to the bar and order.

[strawbabies]

When I worked in Vegas, a minor couldn't even order a water from the bar. I used to have to ask my dad to order me a soda when we were at shows.

[Sliceanddice]

i dont know about uk laws either but i know in the few bars ive eaten in i could go up to the bar and order my non-alcholic items with out carding (rootbeer actually most of the ones i eat at have waitressesbut when you are srounded by drunk classmates its eaiser to g up to the bar than to wait for her to realise i need libation.) so it doenst make since.

[Rahmota]

Aroud here if its a true bar. Ie a place whose primary purpose is to sell spirits, beers or other intoxicating beverages then you have to be 21 to get in period. Regardless of what you eat or drink inside. These places thou are usually marked on the front door and or by the trucks and bikes out front.

Then there are the "clubs" or dance halls and they let anyone in and just stamp those under 21.

Then there is a tavern or restraunt with liqour liscence or bar inside. Those as long as you dont try to get alchohol you can be inside and order all or whatever you can afford.

[Liselotte]

Weatherspoons are mental with ID's in my experience. Sometimes they ID me, sometime they don't. They rarely ID my boyfriend, who does look quite a lot older than he is, but then another time they did ID him, and he didn't have it with him!

In Manchester once, they asked for ID even before my friends and I had decided what to order at the bar...so it's not just you WhShit! (I love your name by the way!)

[Naaman]

It's been a while but IIRC the law states that anyone from 14 (possibly 16) is able to approach the bar and purchase non-alcoholic drinks.

What also happens is that the licensee is able to set his own rules as to who does or doesn't get served, barring any obvious discrimination, so the landlord may well have been raided a few times (which is not an uncommon feature in most of the Wetherspoons I've been to) so was being extra careful about IDs

[rdp78]

I've ordered food and ice tea from bars and never asked for ID (I always had ID with me just in case). I think is because they are part of restuarants(mostly bar&grills) and so they can serve pretty much anyone I'm assuming. Now I do know there is one actually bar that I've walked past several times because they do have sign saying you have to 21 and over in order to go in there (I haven't bother to go in there because there are other places nearby that I rather go to eat & drink).