The man was denied entry after his black Kappa tracksuit bottoms were deemed ‘inappropriate’ (Picture: JoPitch24/TripAdvisor)
A French couple was refused entry to a pub in Edinburgh as the husband fell foul of a policy against admitting people in tracksuit bottoms and ‘jobby catchers’.
The pair of tourists were feeling peckish after arriving in the Scottish capital, and decided to find somewhere charming to eat for their first night.
They tracked down the George IV Bar in the heart of the city’s famous Old Town after reading online reviews praising its live music and ‘absolutely delicious’ meals.
But they were unexpectedly turned away by the door attendant after the man’s black Kappa tracksuit bottoms were spotted.
In a one-star review on TripAdvisor, his wife – who gives her name as Jo – wrote: ‘My husband was refused at the entry by the security guard that deemed his pants “inappropriate for a restaurant”.
‘These are thin sport pants yes, but we’re tourists, we’re not supposed to know about some clothing policies, especially for a pub that is supposed to be popular, and most of all my husband’s outfit was overall very correct.’
To underline her disappointment, she added: ‘I definitely won’t recommend.
‘We’re currently eating at a pub that doesn’t have live music, too bad for us, but at least we are welcomed and we’re eating well.’
The George IV Bar is a five-minute walk away from Edinburgh Castle, in an area popular with tourists (Picture: Google)
The general manager of the pub, found on George IV Bridge near the National Library of Scotland, has replied to her review defending the decision.
Ruairi O’Neill wrote: ‘We have a policy of no tracksuits/cottons/jobby catchers in the bar in the evenings. Many bars in Edinburgh have the same policy.
‘We work hard to cater for our clientele.’
The George IV Bar is not the first pub in the city to take a firm stand against jobby catchers – the Scottish term for leisurewear trousers that are elasticated at the ankle.
Three years ago, the Dreadnought Bar in Leith included them in a Facebook post listing the fashion they would not accept.
It said: ‘We do our best to keep the place looking reasonably smart.
‘If the first you see when you walk in is a group of lads wearing matching grey marl jobby catchers, we may as well have installed a beaten-up bus shelter in the corner and invited folk to take a slash against it.’
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The man’s black Kappa tracksuit bottoms were deemed ‘inappropriate’.
