⚙️ Table Talk #154: Why Straight Lines Make for Flat Pints 🍺
|Written by Luke Hemsley
TABLE TALK #156
If there’s one thing the British do well, it’s queueing. Bus stops, bakeries, airport gates - we’re pros. But there’s one sacred place where a single-file line just doesn’t feel right: the pub.
That’s the point Pete Brown makes in a Sunday Times piece that really struck a chord. Forming an orderly queue at the bar may be efficient, but it’s also a crying shame. It replaces the merry chaos, the glances and nods, the quiet social ballet that makes a pub what it is.
🍝 MAIN COURSE 🍝
Before Covid, we operated by a kind of unspoken code. Everyone somehow knew who was next - and if you didn’t, someone nearby would tell you. It wasn’t perfect, but that was part of the charm. You learned patience, observation, and the subtle art of catching the bartender’s eye without seeming desperate. A neat, human system that worked precisely because it wasn’t written down.
Then came the floor stickers and the one-way systems, and the art of the bar crush all but vanished. Suddenly, people were standing in straight lines as if waiting for passport control, shuffling forward, heads down. Efficient, yes - but stripped of the easy warmth and spontaneity that make pubs what they are.
Because really, the pub was never meant to be optimised. You go not just for the pint, but for the theatre of getting it: the chat with the person next to you, the sweet satisfaction when someone says “no, you were first,” the way strangers bond over the long wait for a Guinness to settle. The bar is as much a stage as it is a counter - and the throng around it, not so much chaos but connection.
Photo Credit - Graham Morris | Getty Images
And the rituals don’t stop once you’ve got your drink.
There’s the shared understanding that buying a round isn’t just about manners - it’s about generosity, rhythm, and inclusion. You buy for your mates because you’ll be bought for later, and because it’s nice to feel like a host, even in a place that isn’t yours.
Then there’s the universal packet of crisps, opened flat and placed in the middle for everyone to share - Britain’s most democratic snack.
Together, these tiny gestures create a sense of belonging that no loyalty card or self serve machine ever could.
Photo Credit - The Telegraph
🍮 SWEET ENDINGS 🍮
One of our favourite cities in Britain for pubs, pints and people is Glasgow, and this city guide reminded us quite how much we love the place.
Think independent dram shops, tap rooms in former mills, and bars where the only line you’ll likely see is the one to the jukebox. The kind of city that feels alive whatever the hour - and always makes you want to stay for one more.
🍷 WHAT'S NEW FROM WEDNESDAY'S DOMAINE?🍷
On the innovation front, we’ve been quietly tinkering away behind the scenes exploring something a little different, but very much in the same spirit as our current range.
We won’t say too much just yet, but the new wines are about balance - the kind that gives you a little lift, a little looseness, and yet keeps everything under control. Different moods to what you know from us now, but built on the same ethos: choice that looks and feels good.
