An Eltham High Street venue has been slapped with new licensing conditions following a “rebranding event” where a man was hit over the head with a bottle of brandy.

Greenwich Council’s licensing committee imposed the new conditions on the Playhouse Lounge, formerly known as the Yak and Yeti, following investigations from its licensing team and police.

It stemmed from an incident in December during a grand opening event which was held as the venue transitioned from being the Yak and Yeti to its new identity as the Playhouse Lounge.

A police statement said they were called to the venue at 2.30am on the night of the event to reports a man had been stabbed.

When they arrived police found the bleeding man hadn’t been stabbed, but had been hit over the head with a bottle of Hennessey brandy.

Police went on to state they had “serious concerns” that the event, which was being held on a Temporary Events Notice to enable its late opening, had been run improperly. 

However, at a January 6 meeting of Greenwich’s licensing sub-committee, members decided not to revoke the premises licence.

While the sub-committee ruled “the injury to the victim could have been much more serious having been struck on the head with a brandy bottle”, the previous good history of the premises worked in the licence holder’s favour. 

The authority did slap some new conditions on the venue; including that it must be clear of all customers no later than 30 minutes from closing time, and that alcohol would only be sold to seated patrons who had ordered a meal.

In a statement, the managers of the Playhouse Lounge said the grand opening was “not a reflection on how we run the business”.

“This opening was an open invitation to the whole community in and around Eltham. That incident that happened that night was very unfortunate as this was not a reflection on how we run the business,” they stated.

In their statement, they said there were four security guards to cover the event, and that the venue under their management “will always be trouble free”.

“The incident that happened was a shock to us and this is not how we wanted the night to end. We wanted to bring a positive vibe to Eltham. The venue under our management has and will always be trouble free.”

Management added they were “very happy” with the result.

“We are very happy with Greenwich Council for giving us a opportunity to present our case. The owner Posh and the team at Playhouse Lounge would like to take this opportunity to once again thank Greenwich Council for there help and cooperation.”