Just announced. All of London will come out of lockdown in Tier 2.
That means no mixing of households indoors including in pubs and restaurants but the rule of six applies outside. Most importantly, non-essential shops will be able to trade and return to normal service delivery. However, pubs must serve food in order to trade. That won’t help the All in One or the Blythe Hill Tavern. 
edited to remove Blythe Hill Tavern.
The Blythe has the pizza set up, hopefully that’ll be enough to get the beers in.
Now could be a great time for the @AllInnOne to host popup kitchen… kinda short notice though to arrange I guess, and who knows what happens next.
Didn’t know that. Excellent news. I saw that the All In One confirmed on Twitter they won’t be able to reopen.
The tiers will be reviewed every two weeks this time. Fingers crossed.
Looks like the Government website is back up and the full list of regions is here:
Only the Isle of Wight, Cornwall & Isles of Scilly are tier 1, the lowest risk level.
For many of us Tier 2 doesn’t look any different to lockdown!
Well we can get haircuts and play tennis.
But for pubs and restaurants - Tier 2 is essentially the old Tier 3. If they followed the letter of the law there is little to no point opening as only households and bubbles can be inside and they have to eat.
Those that do open will I imagine not ask too closely whether the 2 people coming in for a meal or in the same household. Be interesting to see how pubs play a “drink with a substantial meal”. Does a panini at the Captiol effectively give you entry for several drinks!?
It seems London only just made Tier 2 (almost in 3) so can’t say I’m too hopeful for a rapid rush to Tier 1. I dare say Dr Whitty will move everything into Tier 3 in January to safeguard against the Christmas relaxation.
Just have to hope that the vaccine gets rolled out quickly in Q1.
the pub no longer has a kitchen - it was removed a while ago.
Yeah, sad that. I was thinking of someone that would bring some equipment in and get setup in a bit of space. Or perhaps a portacabin \ Van Dough \ Route 66 \ Raastawala in the carpark at the back or something.
Back at the height of business Deliveroo had the perfect drop-in kitchens:
Unfortunately the setup costs are probably too high to stomach given the uncertainty over future tiers and pandemic development
Yes going to be interesting…
I think the rules are going to be a bit stricter this time.
We usually go up the Brockley Jack Saturday evening & have a couple of drinks before we eat, but am wondering if we will have to eat as soon as we get there this time, which will not please my OH. You have to leave as well as soon as you have eaten, that we do, do, but not 30 mins after we got there!
By the letter of the law it seems to be a drink with the meal and then offski. Maybe a couple of drinks at home before a visit to the Jack. It will be interesting to see if pubs follow the letter of the law.
To me it seems peculiar to allow pubs and restaurants to open but in a way that makes no sense either financially or as a customer experience.
Either pubs and restaurants are a clear and present danger and they don’t open at all, or you allow them to open with some flex and responsibility. What we have is a very unsatisfactory half way house which is making a mock of authority (as increasing number of backbench MPs recognise)
Anyway, I am sure Dr Witty’s spreadsheet explains all.
I was out in town today and ended up at the Spoons in Cannon Street Station. This has a very limited kitchen, but it was interesting how they did things. So with the first drink you had to buy a “substantial meal”, in my case not very interesting chicken and chips. But you could then stay for another 2 or 3 drinks. So basically the “meal” gets you the ability to stay for a few sherberts.
Whether the Capitol or Crofton Park Tavern will do that who knows, but its a benchmark!
Spoons does have a FAQ on how they are enforcing guidleines re people being in one household. Their answer is “It is our responsibility to make customers aware of guidelines (which we will do through entrance signage), but it is not our responsibility to enforce them. The designated staff member responsible for monitoring social distancing will also monitor groups and gatherings, taking account of any guidelines.” So basically if anyone does go to a Spoons, I would work on the basis work on the basis that people inside are not necessarily from a single household.
Mind that is probably the case for any pub and restaurants as the rule of ensuring that people are from the same household/bubble is not easy for a pub to enforce, and bluntly is not in their economic interests to enforce.
And then the cases will rise and we’ll be in lockdown again!
It makes me so angry that when I’ve gone through the pain of sticking to the rules and only meeting up with friends on 3 occasions since March when it was summer and we could be outdoors in their garden or at a restaurant with outside space that so many others are just doing whatever they want.
Are Spoons taking contact details for track and trace?
Just to update about the Brockley Jack. You have to order a substantial meal with your drink as soon as you get in there & then leave! I haven’t been up there, but my OH did & was not impressed, even though I did pre-warn him!
The Crofton Park Tavern allows you to have a drink whilst ordering, drinks with the meal and a drink after the meal (hic). Yay. But food is a lot more more expensive than the Jack, its the old Jam Circus (just beyond Rivoli Ballroom), but is now more of a bistro tbh. But I was very impressed by the food (sea bass, brown shrimp sauce) and you are not rushed. I will go there again in normal times for the food - as a treat!
I did try the Jack. Essentially don’t let go of your plate! There was a drunk on the night I was there who must have had several drinks to a panini and chips (one chip left!) Or order a sweet. I sympathise with them they are trying to stick to the rules.
Anyway, if we end up in Tier 3 its academic of course.
