Apart from pint glasses and sachets of ketchup or mustard, what else have you nicked from a restaurant or pub, and where do you draw the line?

27 comments

1. A beer glass I think is ok nick. Probably a chair’s not a good idea lol

2. A lot of our local craft places post regularly on social media begging people to stop stealing their glasses – the ones that are commissioned for a bar can be quite expensive, so if you’re going to steal them, be *certain* that they are mass-produced, free-to-the-retailer glasses, and not ones that are undermining the profits of a small business.

   Other than that: I’ll take a couple of condiment sachets as they’re handy to have in the camper van (ditto sachets of wet wipes), but that’s it.

3. I was in a pub down London way a couple of years back and managed to steal a big bust of Queen Victoria’s head

4. In 1993 my student housemates and I liberated an indoor plant from a pub by passing it along a windowsill until it could be taken from the outside. It was being used as an ashtray and we decided in our drunken state to save it. The pub is long since knocked down and turned into flats, but the plant is still going strong in my mates living room.

5. I worked briefly in a rather salubrious pub in York. In the space of a month we had two toilet seats, one Johnnie machine, a cigarette machine and a big co2 bottle stolen. Oddly enough, the charity bottle, which was stuffed full of money including some notes never once got pinched.

6. I pinched a fork from a wetherspoons once – normally I take a fork and knife if I’m going away for a couple of days, in case I fancy a hotel picnic instead of eating out in the evening, but on this occasion I’d forgotten.

   Went to Spoons for breakfast and ‘oops’ the fork fell in my handbag after I’d eaten.

   I feel no shame.

7. My mom used to pinch ashtrays back when you could smoke indoors. They were always tiny, often branded, and kept fairly clean so she liked swiping them.

8. I have one of the chickens on a stick you get from Nando’s. Haven’t been there in years so no idea how (or when) it came into my possession.

9. I had a pub stool for years, can’t remember where I got it from now. Must be in my genes, our sun umbrella for the garden as kids was a fosters one

10. As a teen I stole a brass Green King IPA figure from my local pub. Felt so guilty about it that I took it back the following week. They hadn’t even noticed and I got told off and laughed at at the same time. The shame of having the entire bar area full of regulars who you see week in and week out laugh at you is not good

11. My friend stole a tortoise from a strip club if that counts.

12. When we were students we’d nick toilet roll.

13. Nothing, because I’m not a scab.

14. When I used to run a pub, I ended up spending an unholy amount replacing salt and pepper grinders.

    Also, if you’re going to nick from a pub, nick something branded as those are usually provided to the pub free of charge and replacing them is usually as simple as asking for more

15. Ashtrays and beer mats. Had a truly amazing collection of both, once upon a time, back when I could afford the time and money to frequent such establishments.

16. Cocktail menus.
    Mostly from holidays abroad when I was a jack the lad.

    I love making cocktails
    And drinking them lol

17. Dunno what the real name for them is, but the things on the front of the tap that tells you what beer is in it, I have a Punk IPA one of those. It came flying off somehow at a festival I was at and I quickly pocketed it before the barman could come round and claim it back.

18. My parents explained to me when I was a small child that stealing is wrong. Did you miss that lesson?

19. Some fancy hand soap.

    Drinks with some work friends in Leeds, went to some fancy pub chain and got charged stupid money for a pint.
    Went for a piss, they had some fancy hand soap in the bogs so the whole bottle went into my pocket.

    Also used to have the bad habit of taking knifes from restaurants, never forks or spoons for some reason.

20. This is why you don’t put nice expensive things in your pub. My boss once had a tip jar which was an antique stein worth £200. It was stolen, and found smashed round the corner. Only had about £1 in copper at the time. Boss learned an important lesson that day about your average pub customer, it really is just day care for adults.

21. On a work night out the new guy came back with the tap from the gents in his pocket, he wasn’t even drunk! The bar ended up flooded and we all had to leave, as we were making our way to the next pub he proudly produced the tap as if he was a comedy genius. Thankfully he didn’t last long with us.

22. I went through a period where I’d buy every Starbucks Christmas ornament when they release them each year. Alright, the ‘period’ is actually right now. Last Christmas, I nicked one off of the actual Christmas tree they put up in the store. They’re the only ones not for sale, and I need them all Goddamnit!

    Disclaimer: Fuckers are price gouging right now, so they deserve it.

23. I once went to a Christmas meal with work colleagues and they stole all manner of things from table decorations to cafetieres.

24. Ashtrays and a reserved table sign

25. On the first night of uni many years ago, me and my housemates liberated a 6 seater bench from the student uni bar. We took it around campus and offered free seating and a comforting chat for the other day 1 freshers we came across. It then somehow stayed in our kitchen for the next few days, and we got caught 2 minutes into taking it back. Fun times.

26. I took a table from outside a pub and left it in the middle of a rugby pitch. At the time I thought it was some situational statement, but in reality I was just very drunk. Twat.

27. The little packets of brown sugar.