Actor John Barrowman has claimed he was kicked out of a restaurant in Tacoma, Washington on Friday evening.

The Torchwood star, 56, had entered McMenamins Elks Temple with a friend hoping to grab a bite to eat. 

However, in what he described as 'the weirdest thing', it appears he and his companion were led out of the establishment just minutes after entering.

The acting veteran took to Twitter to post a video to explain the incident to his 480,000 followers.

He said a restaurant server had guided the couple into another restaurant owned by the franchise, before convincing them they shouldn't eat there either. 

John captioned the post: 'Not a very good impression McMenamins.

He continued: 'We were basically escorted out and told politely you can’t eat here.'

He gave further detail in the 43 second video, saying: 'Hi everyone, we've just had the weirdest thing happen to us,'

The Doctor Who alum continued: 'We're at McMenamins Elks temple... and in a polite way, the gentleman guided us out of one restaurant into another. And he kind of persuaded us not to come in.'

He panned the camera to his dinner guest who said: 'They kicked us out'.

John agreed: 'They kicked us out'.

He finished off his video by telling his followers: 'So Tacoma...not a good recommendation. McMenamins...McNot.' 

Fans were quick to rally round the star and show their support. 

One wrote: 'Omg... I will not eat at any of their restaurants including Woodinville now! I'm sorry John!'

Another penned: 'I'm so sorry that this has happened to you John as you're a legend on [and] off camera.'

A third chimed: 'I'm so sorry they did that John. Thank you for being an amazing celebrity today! It was great meeting you!'. 

McMenamins is a family-owned chain of brewpubs, breweries, music venues, historic hotels, and theater pubs in Oregon and Washington. 

Founded in 1983, one of their unique selling points is that many of their establishments are rehabilitated historical properties. 

At least nine are on the National Register of Historic Places

MailOnline has contacted McMenamins for comment. 

John issued an apology in 2021 after responding to historical claims of 'inappropriate behaviour' on the set of BBC drama Torchwood, an admission that led to him being dropped from popular mainstream show Dancing On Ice.

In November 2021, John - who was replaced by Oti Mabuse on Dancing On Ice - insisted the controversy surrounding his past antics was 'exaggerated' as he gave his first interview since being sacked.

Speaking in an interview with Lorraine, he said: 'All the people that are making the fuss about it, they weren’t there, they don’t know the context of things that were done.'

John described his past actions as 'silly behaviour' and insisted that he would 'never do it now' after previously admitting to 'tomfoolery' on the sets of Doctor Who, where he began playing Captain Jack Harkness in 2005 and spin-off series Torchwood a year later.

He explained: 'I think that if it was now, it would be crossing the line. I think that something that happened 15 years ago, it was bawdy behaviour, silly behaviour, it was being done in the confines of the set, and we were like a family, working together.

'The fact that it was stories that I’ve already told. I’ve been telling them for years. I haven’t hidden anything, they’ve been exaggerated, and they’ve tried to turn them into sexual harassment which it absolutely is not.'

He added: 'The one thing for me, all the people that are making the fuss about it, they weren’t there, they don’t know the context of things that were done. The continued bashing is not good. We've moved on.

'Like I said, I would never do it now but what we’re not allowing people and myself to do… we’re not allowing people to learn to adapt and to change, and that’s the most important thing.'