A mother was left raging after a pub refused to let her order a children’s meal despite her recovering from bariatric surgery.

The confrontation reminiscent of the famous scene from Ricky Gervais’ Netflix comedy Afterlife took place at the Forester Arms near Fordingbridge, Hants.

Marshalla Cullum tried to order a children’s meal when she and her family sat down to eat but the waitress told the 48-year-old that she had to order an adult meal.

The mother had bariatric surgery in 2021, meaning her stomach size has been reduced and she can’t finish bigger meals.

She said she was told she could have a children’s portion but would have to pay the adult rate for it and not a children’s price.

The incident is similar to the scene in Afterlife where Gervais’ grieving character takes his nephew out for tea and tries to order two child’s portions of fishfingers and beans.

Marshalla Cullum tried to order a children’s meal when she and her family sat down to eat but the waitress told the 48-year-old that she had to order an adult meal

The waitress insists he cannot have it as it is only for children and costs less because it is for children.

After an argument with her he orders two children’s meals for his ‘hungry’ nephew and nothing for himself, only to scoff the food from one of the plates in front of the waitress when she places them on the table.

Marshalla went to the pub with family to celebrate her recent wedding at the end of May.

It was a Sunday and the pub only had a limited menu of pizza, salad and roast dinners.

Marshalla wanted to order a child’s roast dinner for £9.45, knowing she would not manage an adult’s portion.

She complained to the manager at the time and made a formal complaint by email afterwards.

The a care coordinator from Portsmouth, Hants, said: ‘We sat down and I asked the waitress if I could have a children’s meal because I’ve had bariatric surgery and I physically can’t eat a lot.

‘She went away and spoke to the manager and said she was sorry, but I can’t… 

‘Everybody else ordered and I thought maybe the waitress misunderstood.

The confrontation reminiscent of the famous scene from Ricky Gervais’ Netflix comedy Afterlife (pictured)  took place at the Forester Arms near Fordingbridge, Hants.

‘So I went and spoke with the manager and she just said a flat no to my face, if I wanted to eat I’d have to buy an adult’s meal.

‘I could’ve ordered an adult meal, but I didn’t see why I should. Why would I want to see a massive plate of food and feel obliged to eat it?

‘I had bariatric surgery because I had a problem with food and I needed to have smaller portions. And when somebody is forcing it upon you, it brings everything back again.

‘They basically said I was just being stingy and I could order a child’s meal size but pay for an adult. I got really quite upset.’

After the family finished their meal, Marshalla went back to the bar asking to make an official complaint.

She added: ‘I didn’t get a reply for two weeks, and that was only after I posted on the Facebook page. The woman was not very nice in her reply to me.

‘I’ve never had that problem before. When I go out and explain the situation, people are normally really lovely and really accommodating.

‘Or if they said no I would just pick something from the starter menu but the pub were not doing a starter menu so I didn’t have that option.

‘I feel angry, it isn’t right, people shouldn’t be made to feel like that and this is a problem that needs to be addressed.’

The Forester Arms declined to comment but in emails to Marshalla, owner Julie Daniels called her complaint a ‘pointless tirade of nonsense’.

She said: ‘You were not discriminated against you were merely not prepared to pay the stated price for an adult meal as is your prerogative.

‘We, as is our prerogative, were not prepared to sell you a child’s meal as despite the size of your stomach you are not a child. END OF.’

In another email she said: ‘Our manager was of course not happy that you had chosen not to eat anything but as you were not prepared to pay for an adult meal and did not want a pizza, salad or pay for an adult roast she was unable to accommodate you.

‘I am unsure as to why you feel we should sympathise with you as to your predicament was entirely your own making.’