The Lyceum, Strand

I'll give this a 2 due to the price, nice location and relaxing booths you can sit in. However it could warrant a '0' as there is a young barman who serves in this pub (we were there on a Monday evening) who is a disgrace to Sam Smith's and a good enough reason never to go to this pub.

Having set foot into the pub with my girlfirend (clearly not in a group) I ordered a drink and was ID'd. Fair enough, i'm 25 but probably look younger. Having shown my driving license it was reviewed suspisciously, at which point the barman asked for my girlfriend's (who at this point was sitting down) ID also. Fairly pissed off at this point, however my girlfriend proved she was 25 also and on we went.

Clearly holding my credit card (prior to and during my order), the young lad then, in a dismissive manner, declared having poured 2 drinks that there was a minimum �10 card transaction, in addition to a small surcharge. Not his fault, presumably, but this is different to most Sam Smith's i've been to. At the end of the transaction, the young lad then suspisciously asked 'are you in a group'? No, just with my girlfriend i replied, as he presumably had clearly seen. He then aired his suspiscions that we were smuggling in other drinkers and would need to see their ID's if so. How many 25 year old's smuggle in U-18s to pubs?

Pissed off, and mistakenly, we stayed in the pub. A short time after which the young lad overtly inspected our (enclosed) seated area and smugly and suspisciously eyeballed my girlfirend and the surrounding area, apparently still strangely convinced that we were hiding young drinkers.

We left before we finished our drinks, mainly in response to the attitude of this upstart. But the whole situation became ridiculous when we got up to find that in the booth next to us the young lad was stood there interrogating (in a patronising, rude and smug mannner) a group of 3/4 men, demanding IDs from a group (of i think tourists) who were clearly about 30 years old.

With this argument ongoing we left, and on the way i complained to another member of staff behind the bar about this kid's conduct.

I've never written a pub review before, however i've felt the need to provide warning to potential punters about this joke of a barman/boy (who has presumably only recently turned 18) who puts a dampner on the good name of Sam Smith's through his unbelievable rudeness and pathetic behaviour.

12 Jul 2011 10:05