‘Snaking' is the phenomenon taking over pubs — but punters say it's diabolical
If there's one thing us Brits are known for, it's queuing.
We're fantastic at forming orderly lines for the loo or spending hours standing in succession to get into a popular restaurant.
But there's one place where standing one behind the other just isn't right: the pub.
Instead, the proper etiquette is simply to waltz straight up to the bar, find a space along it and wait for your turn to make eye contact with whoever is working to indicate that you want another pint.
If you don't believe this is the 'correct' way to do it, take it up with the etiquette experts at Debrett's, who insist: 'Although it really does not look like it, a kind of queuing system is in place; everyone is loosely aware of who is in front of them and who has come after them and a competent bar tender will also be keeping an eye on the seemingly anarchic dynamics'.
But our slightly chaotic ordering system is under threat, as a new trend has been emerging in boozers up and down the country, a phenomenon Metro is coining as 'snaking'.
Instead of standing their ground at the bar, chests puffed out like proud lions, people are snaking their way around the venue like slithery reptiles in single file queues that wind around tables and sometimes even stretch out the door.
It might sound like peak Britishness to some, but it's actually driving many Brits mad.
So prevalent has this become across the UK that there's now even an entire account on X (formerly Twitter) dedicated to the behaviour. Known as @queuespub, the page has more than 13,000 followers and its description reads: 'A campaign to end the recent phenomenon of queuing single file in pubs. We queue for the bus, or for the checkout, not at bars.'
There are snaps of queues in pubs across the nation, as well as images of signs that have been put up at bars, encouraging people to go back to the ways things used to be and spread out if they want to order.
Reddit users are also fed up with this new ordering practice, with u/JamesDarlo90 recently turning to the internet to vent his feelings about it. He posted: 'This new phenomenon I've seen of people queuing single file in the pub. I can't get my head around it.'
The post garnered hundreds of responses, with many equally as confused and infuriated. A fellow pub goer, u/blainy-o replied: 'Absolutely diabolical behaviour. Spread out along the bar you thick c***s, that's what it's there for.'
And u/ThatchersDirtyTaint agreed, writing: 'It's ridiculous and should be ridiculed.'
Similarly, u/Aggravating-menu466 replied: 'Wrong, wrong, so very very wrong…' And u/Upper_Push_5860 added: 'Cultural pygmies. A bar is that length for a reason.'
Pub owners and landlords are somewhat divided over snaking, with some not seeing an issue and others getting as riled up as punters over it.
Callum Murphy, the Landlord of The Newman Arms in Fitzrovia, says he would welcome single file lines in his pub, telling Metro: 'Given the current situation, we believe any pub in England would be happy to have a queue.
'At The Newman Arms, we are delighted to be busy and will always give our guests the best experience possible however they decide to order their drink.'
Steven Smith-Hay, the co-founder of Vault City Brewing, admits that seeing straight-line queues form in his taproom feels a 'bit odd', but Andy Kerr, the owner of The Sun Tavern, Parasol and Umbrella London, didn't hold back with his thoughts, branding the practice 'completely idiotic' and 'ridiculous'.
Speaking to Metro, Andy said: 'No idea where [this trend] came from or how it started, but it's mental. People queuing up like that goes against everything a British pub is about. Bars are designed for people to stand at them, chat with the bartender, and get served. It's ridiculous.
'I've seen people queue, while others jump the queue, and get served straight away. It's absolute madness.
'If I had this happening in one of my venues, I'd probably throw them out. I like to think my punters are smarter than that, so I don't think it'd happen often, but if it did, it'd get sorted.'
He continued: 'It might be a leftover from Covid, but it's time to move on and get back to the way pubs are meant to work. Queues are for Tesco, not the bar!'
Dougal Sharp, the founder and master brewer at Innis & Gunn, also believes the phenomenon is a direct result of the pandemic.
He claims he's seen some single file lines forming in taprooms in Edinburgh and Glasgow and it's mostly Gen-Z customers who queue like this as they don't know any better.
'We have started seeing more people queuing in a neat little line at the bar and honestly, fair play to them. It's not how things have traditionally worked in pubs, but who's keeping score?
'Some folks missed out on a few formative pub years thanks to lockdowns, so they're just making their own rules – and that's kind of the joy of it.'
Dougal isn't bothered by snaking either way as he believes the most important thing is that the pub should be a 'relaxed space where everyone feels welcome' and not somewhere you feel 'worried about breaking secret etiquette'.
'If a queue forms, great. If someone wanders up and catches our eye, that works too. We'll gently keep things flowing – no drama,' he adds.
Hospitality workers and bartenders aren't as chill about it though, if the responses to a recent TikTok video from @claireeh19 are anything to go by.
The clip showed a long queue inside a pub in Wigan and prompted a woman who claimed to have worked in hospitality for 20 years to urge people not to follow suit. Known only as Becca, she said: 'DO NOT queue like this, it makes it so much harder for us to do our jobs.'
As Andy mentioned, a number of punters who feel 'p***ed off' by the queues have been ignoring the lines completely and heading straight for the bar to grab a drink.
More often than not, they claimed pub staff had enjoyed their brazen actions and served them right away.
u/happyhippohats revealed on Reddit that they always jump a queue like this, saying: 'I normally just walk past them and wait at the bar like a normal person. I'll happily let them get served first if they were there before me but I'm not joining the back of a queue, it's not a post office.'
However, it's worth noting that this isn't something every pub or bartender will encourage or appreciate. More Trending
In some venues, bar staff are actively encouraging snaking and will send red-faced punters to the back of the line if they try and skip it. This has been the case in several Wetherspoons pubs across the UK, where signs instruct customers to queue in single file at the bar.
The chain's founder Tim Martin explained that some Spoons 'prefer it' this way and it can be dependent on the layout of the pub.
He previously told The Sun: 'Wetherspoon does not have a specific policy on queuing and, generally, leaves the decision to customers. In some pubs, often due to the location of the bar and positioning of tables in front of it, customers prefer to form a single file queue.
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'Traditionally, customers wait along the whole of the bar, enabling them to see the beers on tap, the spirit range and to shoot the breeze with bar staff. Probably, most customers prefer this method.'
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