A couple who identify as queer have said they were told they should not sit together or kiss because they were in a “family restaurant”.

Lydia Cawson spoke in an interview with London Live to say that she and her partner Rubyyy Jones went to a branch of chain restaurant Canteen on the South Bank in London for dinner after work.

Cawson said after she moved to sit next to Jones in the booth seats to console her because she was upset, a waitress came up and told them they had to “stop what you are doing” because they were in a “family restaurant”.

Saying they kissed on the cheek and lightly on the lips, Cawson said they did not notice “any adverse reaction” from punters in the restaurant. She said it was “an intimate moment”, but that they weren’t being “overly affectionate”.

When the couple asked whether the waitress had asked them to stop because they are a same-sex couple, she said no.

Cawson told London Live that Canteen has apologised, and admitted that the reaction was inappropriate.

PinkNews has been unable to contact Canteen for comment.