The Eldon — Restaurant in Leeds

DISCRIMINATORY AND ILLEGAL DOOR POLICY

After a day following the Otley run, my friends and I decided to visit this venue.

However, I was bluntly and ashamedly stopped in my tracks by a gent working on the door.

For what reason? Simply for being a wheelchair user. As cut and dry as that!

It’s the sad reality that people like me face discrimination involuntarily or otherwise daily. Having said that, this instance left me feeling completely bereft and worthless.

This is the first and hopefully the last time I will be compelled to write such a negative Google review, as I frankly have better things to do. This incident simply crossed too many boundaries both from a moral and legal perspective.

If you are reading this and other reviews on this matter, you will be able to see that management at the Eldon describes this merely as an ‘inconvenience’ to the night out.

No! I can assure you without a shadow of a doubt, I am an individual who lives with a condition completely out of my control. I am not an inconvenience to your venue or your bigoted and unethical door staff.

If it can happen so easily to me, it can happen to anyone if their face doesn’t fit. In 2025 I expect better. I would be horrified at the thought of this happening to any other person never mind a minority.

Rest assured that this incident will be escalated further and your sincerest apologies...

Absolutely disgusting experience at The Eldon.

We came here as a group and my friend, who has cerebral palsy, was refused entry. The staff told us it was “policy” that he couldn’t come in. Let me be very clear: refusing access to a disabled person because they’re disabled is not “policy” – it’s discrimination.

In the UK, the Equality Act 2010 makes it illegal for venues and service providers (including pubs) to deny service or refuse entry to someone because of a protected characteristic like disability. A pub has a legal duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled people – not turn them away at the door.

To be told, to our faces, that someone with a disability isn’t allowed in is shocking, humiliating for him, and honestly disgusting in 2025. We were all completely stunned and had to leave together because they wouldn’t let him in.

If this really is their “policy”, then that policy is unlawful. If it was individual staff attitude, then it’s appalling training and management need to address it immediately.

I cannot believe the owner has responded to another review saying they have a disabled ramp and fully encourage it's use. This is a blatant lie.

I would strongly warn anyone – especially anyone with an impairment or caring for someone disabled – to think twice before coming here. We will not be back, and we’re taking...

I’m writing this review after witnessing something incredibly disappointing at this pub. I saw a wheelchair user being denied entry because of accessibility issues. Rather than offering any assistance or a reasonable solution, the staff seemed dismissive and unhelpful.

It was upsetting to see someone treated this way in 2025, when inclusivity and accessibility should be a basic standard — especially in hospitality. A public venue should welcome everyone, and it’s unacceptable that someone was excluded simply because they use a wheelchair.

I am absolutely disgusted by what I witnessed. A wheelchair user was flat-out denied entry. There was zero compassion, zero effort to accommodate, and an attitude that screamed discrimination.

There is no excuse for this kind of behavior. Watching someone be treated like they don’t belong simply because they use a wheelchair was infuriating and heartbreaking. Accessibility is a legal and moral responsibility, not an optional extra.

If this is how the management allows their staff to treat disabled people, they should be ashamed. Until they address their blatant disregard for inclusivity and basic human decency, I’ll be warning others to stay far away...