Racist experience at the Crown & Greyhound pub (restaurant manager)

[Jellybeanz]

I hate to post negative reviews or messages generally but I feel compelled to, given my experience today at The Crown & Greyhound pub in Dulwich Village.

My husband and I, our two children (aged 4 and 8) and their auntie went into the restaurant part of the pub today at around midday today. The place was almost deserted except for people drinking outside and a couple of people in the front bar area. There were no diners that I could see.

My husband (British but of Nigerian origin) asked the restaurant manager if there was a table for 5 but was informed they were fully booked. I queried this as I could see the list of bookings (2 at midday, 2 more at 12.30 and 1pm and so on). As this pub seats a large number of people I was surprised by this, as you'd need around 40+ diners to fill the rear restaurant.

The restaurant manager told us there would be a table at 2.30pm if we wanted to come back later.

I persuaded my husband that we should try next door at the lovely Italian Rocca restaurant and - despite the fact they looked full to bursting - we were offered a nice table and immediately seated.

I commented to my husband that I didn't believe the Crown had been full and he thought I was wrong. To prove me wrong he rang the pub whilst we sat down. He gave the typically English name of John and was told there was a table for 5 whenever we wanted it - 10/20 minutes time.

My husband then returned to the pub next door and asked to speak to the general manager. In front of this overall manager, my husband then asked why he had been able to book a table over the phone but was refused a table when we had been in minutes earlier. The restaurant manager tried to lie and say they'd had a cancellation but unfortunately my husband had already asked this question when we had all been there a short time before so this was him blatantly trying to cover himself in front of his manager.

When I went back to find my husband, I found he and the restaurant manager having a heated conversation (needless to say my husband was appalled and annoyed at this treatment) and in fact at one point the restaurant manager had the audacity to threaten to call the police.

The overall general manager asked us to calm down and tell our side, which we did in brief. He then offered to ring us tomorrow and I will update this post when I have had that conversation.

The general manager said "I can see something has gone on here and I will look into it" and was very nice.

This experience disgusted me and I simply can believe such overt racism was exercised in an area that is extremely multicultural (albeit Dulwich village is different from East Dulwich I find both very mixed and lovely on their different merits).

I read an article about a mother with a crying baby being asked to leave the Brick House cafe a while back and felt that was pretty out of order but this reached a whole new level and if this is illustrative of how customers are treated it explains why Rocca and the other eateries are always busy and the Crown & Greyhound is empty by comparison.

What a shame, is all I can say. Shameful behaviour and has left a bad taste in all of our mouths at such treatment.

[supergran]

Well done you

[malumbu]

Mate is in France looking at a time share complex, out of curiosity. A black British couple come in. The British manager of the time share says to my mate "don't worry about them, we'll put them off". My (white) mate is married to a black British women.

This stuff still happens, generally not in the metropolis. Keep challenging it.

I also need to practice a response along the lines of my wife/husband is black, or my sister in law is Asian when I hear casual racist remarks. Happens pretty infrequently, and I tend to not say anything but just be a bit gobsmacked.

[Jellybeanz]

Racism is usually so hidden or subtle, this was very shocking especially in an area which is so mixed.

Tragic really.

[rendelharris]

Jellybeanz, I'm very sensitive to racism, being married to a BAME person myself, but I can't actually see anything in your post that proves racism. If I'm wrong, I'm sorry, but this just sounds like an incompetent bit of management rather than racism - there have have been a lot of posts on this forum about how the new management of the Dog are incompetent. I've had a few pints in there recently (with my wife) and seen no evidence of racism, though plenty of incompetence, with lots of people of all races enjoying a pint. With respect, I think you're mistaking stupid incompetent behavior for racism.

ETA if it is racism, you should escalate it to the nth degree and I'd entirely support you, but again, sounds more like stupid incompetence. The alternative is that a pub in a multicultural area is actively discriminating against BAME people, which frankly seems rather unlikely.

[Robert Poste's Child]

I'm with rendel on this one. Your OP made me quite uneasy. While I can hear that you're very angry, it's a concern that you've posted this (twice, and with a third post in another thread) without allowing the manager time to investigate and come back to you. Accusing someone of racism is very serious and could be a police? matter, and I'm wondering how you'd feel if it should turn out that you're mistaken but by then your story has ended up on, say, the Daily Mail website (as in the Brick House case)?

I have no connection with the pub or anyone involved, by the way. It just feels like something you might regret later.