My first pub experience under the new rules yesterday. I went to one of the few pubs near me that is still open. Greeted at the door by one of the barmen. "Are you here for a beer?" Me: "No, I'm here for a meal, and a beer to wash it down!"
I'm not going to name the pub, but the food is cheap and substantial and the beer is excellent and reasonably priced. It was pretty quiet, but it was mid-afternoon and the weather was rather damp and off-putting. After about an hour another drinker came in and took a seat. The barman went to take his order. The chap started to haggle. "Can I order food now but not have it until 6? I had a bacon sandwich before I came out and I'm not ready to eat yet." He was told that that wasn't an option. He could have the food on his table and they would keep on supplying beer while his plate was still there. (Not sure this is strictly within the rules or guidelines, hence why I'm not identifying the pub.)
The new arrival went on to say that he'd been in Wetherspoons this week (he didn't say which one), and they let you have a cheese toastie and up to four pints of beer, then you can take the sandwich home with you. I've no means of knowing how accurate this is, but a cheese toastie is certainly not a substantial meal, and having it to take out is surely also not right.
Anyway, the good news is that I don't seem to have caught any germs while I was in the pub, so it seems that having food with your beer is having the
protective effect that the government predicted...