A group of women heading out on a hen party in Edinburgh were barred from entering a city centre pub due to their clothing, and they weren't best pleased - according to a review made on TripAdvisor.
The George IV Bar were quick to respond, after one of the group made their opinion known online. The woman claimed the group was rejected from entering because they had ‘a tie and glasses’ on, and says the bar was the first stop of the day for the group.
In response, the pub said they have a strict no fancy dress policy and were not ‘casting aspersions’ but have often found hen or stag groups ‘acting like animals’.
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The complaint, which was made a week ago, reads: “If you are a large group on a hen party do not think you will be welcomed here.
“I understand this policy for late night groups, but we arrived at noon for lunch and were refused because we had a tie and glasses on so ‘fancy dressed’. This was the first place we were in and had consumed no alcohol.
“The pub is large and only had two other customers. The organisers of our party had also tried to call a few days earlier to check and no one answered.
“The poor waiter was obviously uncomfortable and tried his best but unfortunately was told no. Ridiculous.
“But, you can get fantastic food and a very welcoming atmosphere at Greyfriars Bobby up the road.”
Quick to respond, the pub said: “Since we have the museum and National Library either side of us attracting lots of families, we have a strict no fancy dress policy especially at weekends.
“I’m not casting aspersions on your groups character but hen/stay groups in fancy dress in the past have acted like animals so we have said policy in place.”
Despite this review, the George IV Bar has proved popular with customers. With an average score of four and a half stars, the pub has picked up 316 ‘excellent’ reviews and only 21 ‘terrible’ ones.
A recent review describes a ‘welcoming’ atmosphere, stating: “We were in Edinburgh for the weekend and decided to try this place as the menu looked nice and my partner really wanted to try haggis.
“From the minute we walked in we were made to feel incredibly welcome. The service was amazing and the food even better.
“Gorgeous, I would definitely recommend it.”
Another was in agreement. They said: “Love this place. The food was great and the drinks were generous.
“The staff were all very attentive and nice.”
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