A pub manager refused a family’s request to serve a five-year-old apple juice in a champagne glass, a mother has claimed.
Dr Renée Hoenderkamp said she and her husband wanted their daughter to be able to join in with the New Year’s Eve celebrations at the Old Bull & Bush in Hampstead, north London.
At around 7pm, they asked a waiter for the flute so all three of them could clink their glasses.
But the manager reportedly declined, saying “it could encourage her to drink alcohol and it’s not a great look”.
Dr Hoenderkamp, an NHS doctor who hosts a show on TalkTV, told The Telegraph: "We have a family habit that every meal we all cheers our glasses together, always, so we were in the restaurant and ordered two glasses of wine and we ordered her an Appletiser, because that was all they had. “For me, [the manager] made a judgment that I wasn’t capable of parenting my own child. You know, it’s just a glass.
“It just made no sense but again it’s this nanny state where parents are not allowed to parent.”
She went on explain that her child “never has a screen” but sits down and talks and plays game with her parents when they are out.
The mother compared this to other parents who “downed their champagne” while their child was “stuck on a screen”.
The Standard has contacted the parent company for the pub, Mitchells & Butlers, for comment.
A spokesman for the company told the Telegraph: "As a responsible retailer of alcohol, we do not allow the sale of alcohol-free beer, lagers or ciders to people under the age of 18, or drinks that could perceived by our team or other guests to contain alcohol.
"Our position was explained to the guest at the time and it appeared to have been accepted without question. No complaint was raised at the venue."
