Many of us still worry about etiquette in public when eating out, including whether to wear a jacket while dining, the correct spoon, knife or fork to use or how much of a tip to leave or if it’s appropriate to leave one at all.

However, there seems to be a very bad habit creeping into some restaurants and gourmet pubs, which insist on payment before dining.

No restaurant owner worth their salt would expect a person to pay before eating, yet several pubs, and others who fancy making money from food, want the cash up-front, regardless of what might be placed in front of the customer disguised as food.

The English have been brought up on the ideal that the customer is always right, but now we seem to have the fast-food ethics of a takeaway – pay your cash, get your food and go.

Also, if you are going to pay more than £5 or £6 for a pub meal, the least you can expect is real chips made with real potatoes, not frozen chips or other frozen vegetables.

It may take slightly longer to prepare, but is bound to be cost effective and tastier for the customer, which in turn should encourage repeat patronage.

So next time you go to have meal out, if they want the money first – beware.

Eddie Vee, Wenham Road, Woodlands, York.