A gay woman today told of her shock after she was allegedly asked to stop showing affection to her female partner in a trendy London restaurant.
Lydia Cawson, 29, said she was asked by a staff member at Canteen at the Royal Festival Hall to move away from her upset partner as she consoled her.
The pair had met for dinner while Ms Cawson had a break from work at the nearby Oxo Tower, where she is a wardrobe assistant for a production of Philip Pullman's Grimm Tales.
Ms Cawson said her partner became upset after a stressful week in which she had moved house, prompting her to console her with an arm around the shoulder and a "peck on the lips".
The pair were then approached by a member of staff who asked them to move away from one another during the incident on Thursday evening, Ms Cawson said.
She told London Live: "I didn't notice any adverse reaction in the restaurant, myself. Then the lady came over to us and said 'can you stop what you're doing please, this is a family restaurant'."
Her partner then challenged the member of staff, asking: "Is it a family restaurant or is it a homophobic restaurant?" according to Ms Cawson.
The staff member denied the claim but gestured for the pair to sit apart from one another, Ms Cawson said.
She added: "The first thing is that we were really shocked by this challenge.
"We didn't feel like we were overly affectionate. Yes, it was an intimate moment, but consoling her and just a simple loving reaction.
"The second comment was that it was a family restaurant and it made me feel; 'why does that matter? Is it because children are present - not that there were any children present at that time - anyway, why should it matter if it is a family restaurant?'"
The pair said they paid their bill but were left feeling "incredibly angry" about the incident. They have since said they felt unsure about whether they could be seen showing affection in public.
A spokesman for the restaurant said a full investigation into the claims has been launched.
He said in a statement: "We have been already being in touch with the two guests that raised a complaint following their visit last week trying to get further details of the visit. We have apologised to them for any issues that this may have caused them and we have started a full investigation into these allegations.
"At Canteen we train all of our staff and managers in Equal Rights and opportunities no matter the race, religion or sexual orientation.
"We are very surprised and shocked to learn about this issue, which we have never encountered before. Nonetheless this has been taken extremely seriously and a full investigation has been launched to find out what happened."
