Hackney pub's child‑free rule sparks debate

A Hackney pub has banned children after staff said youngsters were increasingly being left unsupervised.

The Kenton in Homerton had previously been "more family-friendly" when it served hot food, but this changed after the kitchen was converted into a karaoke booth in 2022, leading to a change in the pub's overall culture.

General manager Morgan Ryan said: "You'd have incidents where children would just be running ragged around the corners, bumping into people, falling over, jumping off furniture, particularly out in the beer garden."

While much of the feedback from regulars has been positive, staff say they have been surprised by the scale of the debate the decision has generated online.

The landlord initially allowed children in the pub before 17:00, but has now implemented a full ban.

Owner Egil Yohanssen, who has run the pub for 17 years, said: "I have a child myself, an eight‑year‑old, and we love children.

"This whole becoming an adult pub has nothing to do with the children themselves, it is more about the lack of supervision of children."

In England, children are generally permitted in pubs, but must follow rules around supervision and alcohol consumption.

Under the Licensing Act 2003, the law centres on the "protection of children from harm", while giving landlords considerable discretion to set their own house rules.

Ryan said the pub simply was not designed with families in mind.

"I understand from a parent's point of view how difficult it is to try and contain a bunch of hyperactive children on a Saturday afternoon, but the reality is that the place isn't child‑proofed."

The pub has also decided to ban dogs after 18:00 on Fridays and Saturdays - a move staff say has prompted more pushback than the child‑free policy.

The rule change has prompted a wider conversation about the industries position on children in pubs.

Ash Corbett-Collin, chair of Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA), said children had not always been welcome in pubs, but a cultural shift, which he describes as "fantastic", has helped pubs "survive the hardships they have had in the last few years."

He added: "It is important publicans have that choice. There are plenty of pubs locally where kids are welcome.

"I think it is also very good that publicans can say my pub is not an environment for children, that is not the market we are looking for, and we just do not have the capability to make it suitable for them.

"It is just whatever works best for that publican and that community."

Beer writer and Sunday Times beer columnist Pete Brown said landlords had to manage all kinds of disruptive behaviour, whether it involved children, adults who had drunk too much, or even dogs.

He noted that it was ultimately a landlord's right to remove anyone "causing hassle".

"No pub wants to stop people from coming in and [turn] people away," he added.

However, he said disruptive children could put off other drinkers and diners, and that this was often what led to a decision to introduce a ban.

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