Letter: Ban pub grub, it is spoiling serious drinking

Sir: Luxury] I used to dream about ordering pub food before 2.30pm (Letters, 16 and 18 August). On arriving on a Saturday at 1.25pm, hungry and thirsty (at what Robert Botkai would no doubt describe as a 'so-called 'country pub' ') in the Cotswolds earlier this year, I stood at the bar being ignored by the far from overworked staff for 10 minutes before eventually being served a drink. I then inquired about food, only to be glibly informed that the kitchen closed at 1.30.

Not only do standards of service need to be improved in our pubs, but I agree wholeheartedly that our licensing laws are badly in need of review. I suggest that pubs offering food should be obliged to do so for specified minimum periods during their hours of opening, for example, 12-3pm and 6-10pm.

Yours faithfully,

ANDREA S. HILL

Walton-on-Thames, Surrey

19 August