To expect barman to know what a lemon and lime is.

[girlfriend44]

Couldn't believe it today. Had this drink loads with no problem.

Barman had no clue what a lemon and lime was. Gave up and ordered something else, a coffee instead.

Not many but some do! The place I worked there would be the odd customer that would drink it all night, and you wouldn’t be asked for it again for months. Same with the lemon & lime which would be asked for in any of the ways people have mentioned on this thread lol. We also had fresh lemons and limes, so I think my first time I did have to ask someone who had worked there longer. And for lime & soda

If he were a Cockney barman, he'd tell you to look at your watch

Never heard of it.

Because then the OP could not come onto MN and try and sound superior.

He must have missed that day at bar tender school.

On a serious note, it happens. I would have just told him can I have a lemonade with a splash of lime cordial please if he hadn't understood the original order.

I’ve been asked for really silly things in a bar before. People always ask for things differently. Different terminology and they also mean different things. Some people want a lot of lime in their lemonade and others don’t. It is stressful. One man asked me for a ‘shovel of coal’ thankfully was wise to that one and knew it was a coke. Another asked for a ‘shovel of coal and ginger’ which is a coke and ginger ale - I didn’t know that was a drink!! I let him mix that himself!

Another mad thread. Even if you work in a bar and don't know what a lemon & lime is (I do, only I call them lime & lemonade), surely if you say "It's a glass of lemonade with a dash of lime cordial in it", then any reasonable competent person should be able to make one without a crowd building up. It's only two ingredients fgs!

I’ve absolutely no idea what a lemon & lime is. I used to work in a hotel and I’ve been to a lot of pubs and bars and restaurants and I still have no idea what it is.

Why couldn’t you have just explained it??

Why didn’t you just ask for a lemonade with some lime cordial??

”I’d like a pint of lemonade with a splash of lime cordial in it, please.”

He seriously didn’t get that?

I’ve never worked in a pub with tea / coffee on the menu unless they serve food, and during food service times they usually have waiting staff in addition to bar staff. Tea & coffee during a busy drinks only service is often a massive faff.

I’ve never heard of it

Surely there aren't many bars that don't have lemonade and lime cordial???

St Clements is oj and bitter lemon, not lemonade

I wouldn’t know what that is ? Why don’t you just say lime and lemonade ?

They do, but it's rare enough that I've had to explain it to some of the young 'uns, however I have been asked for lager & lime and the person wanted a pint with a slice of lime - which is what the young 'uns usually think lager and lime is - and a reasonable assumption now we have a lot more continental lagers on offer and things like Sol & Desperados which are served with a wedge of lime in the bottle neck.

I mean people get so twisty about stuff like this, it's hardly the end of the world is it, but then for some they do love an opportunity for an eye roll and a good affected sigh and twitter to anyone who'll listen about how they are a victim of such poor service and what's the world coming to?!

I said "bar staff" not "pub owners". Because any pub that isnt independently owned, will usually not have a choice what they offer on their menus. It is all decided at corporate level.

As fewer people drink alcohol, and fewer people socialise in pubs, the chain pubs were losing out to the coffee shops. So in order to maximise profits they started selling hot drinks, but the shareholders are not the poor sods being run absolutely ragged on a mad shift and then being asked to make a cup of tea.

North west here, 40, used to work in a bar, never heard of it or even thought about it as a drink.
But it sounds quite nice 😊

If the pub has a facility that dispenses boiling water and a stock of tea bags, then putting a tea bag in a mug or even a tea pot and adding hot water is far less of a faff than pouring a pint of draft Guiness or making a cocktail.

“Tough titty” is the phrase that springs to mind.

It’s absolutely pathetic to complain about customers ordering something that’s actually on the menu. If staff are really so “run ragged”, why aren’t they feeding that back to the big bad corporate team? What if those customers do go to Costa instead? Or stay at home and make their own tea? The poor downtrodden staff who had to actually flick a switch on a kettle will soon be complaining of their shifts are cut.

I've had a waitress who didn't know what a shandy was.

My husband and I explained it to her. She was quite young, but we were surprised she hadn't heard of it.

I told my sister and she said, young people don't drink shandy, that's probably why.

I never heard of a ‘lemon and lime’, was about to say YANBU, yes they should know the difference between 2 fruits.

I would expect to ask for a lemonade and specifically request they add some lime cordial. If they can’t do that on clear instruction, yes I would think that is unreasonable.

In the U.K. it’s the same with tequila and coke, not a common drink here

Love a vodka lemon and lime!

Ah a Henry! Haven’t heard that for years. I stopped calling it that as no one knew what I meant. Are you in SW England by any chance?