Restaurant pricing

[slimpersoninside Profile]

That's helpful thanks Sue as we were planning a meal or two out whilst on our self-catering holiday.

Due to hubby's allium intolerance we don't eat out often and when we do we usually stick to the places and menu items we know are harmless......looks like I'm going to be doing all meals then! Seaside fish & chips will be the exception .

[Stokey Sue Profile]

the gripe i would have is that a phone is crap for looking at a menu where your eyes would naturally scan and then home in on the things that you would be interested in.

Spare a thought for those of us who have trouble reading a phone screen, possibly simply because without our reading glasses!

Also so many places have taken it up the mob2go server keeps crashing

[herbidacious Profile]

I sometimes struggle with paper menus if the lighting is low.

edit: have be known to use the torch on my phone

A lot of places round here still have a very reduced menu which basically means vegan burgers and a salad as the only option. It's depressing and definitely a step or two backwards.

Initially I was of the frame of mind that it's such a treat to be able to eat out at all after various lockdowns, but that wore off pretty quickly. The determination to not eat out unless it's good/gastronomically and calorifically worth it has not worn off, but sometimes if you are out for the day you have no choice.

[Sloe-Gin Profile]

I've had little to contribute to this chat, as we now eat out so infrequently.
However, it's hub's birthday a week tomorrow, so the quest began 2 days ago to find somewhere that
a) felt safe for us to eat
b) offered more than burgers
c) was easy to get to/park
d) wasn't a chain

To be fair, we have quite a few Brunning and Price around here, which offer a decent choice, but the menus do get 'samey'.
So we've settled on here and booked a table in 'the Greenhouse'. We have been a few times before, but the last time was ages ago

https://plashafod.co.uk/

I hope it lives up to expectations

PS I live in hope of a proper steak, kidney and Guinness pie...

[WWordsworth Profile]

Sorry you had a mediocre gastronomic experience in Lancaster, Sue.
Must admit I was there a couple of weeks ago visiting my brother and his partner. We arranged to meet an old pal at Merchants 1688 for lunch but the kitchen was closed due to pinging.

We ended up at the Print Room cafe which was nice if not outstanding.

My dad was a stone mason and did some work at the Music Room before Atkinson's took it over.
Wish I could remember what it was.

[Stokey Sue Profile]

It wasn't mediocrity that was the issue WW - it was lack of anything

I genuinely liked Molly's, and would go if it were local to me

As far as I could tell Print Room were only doing cakes and snacks this week

Food at the Sun Hotel itself was decent, but very slow to arrive and meat heavy

I considered The Brasserie at Kings Royal Hotel, but the stench of rancid chip fat put me off (there's one in every town)

If I'd been confident about eating meat I'd have had more choice

I had a nice lunch (filled jacket potato with salad and coffee) at the Old Bell on the gloriously named Bashful Alley, obviously been redecorated during lockdown, very well priced, recommended, but not open in in the evening

[WWordsworth Profile]

I will PM you the original name of Bashful Alley.
If I made it public I would be banned!

[Sloe-Gin Profile]

We went to our fave pub yesterday, which has only been offering a very limited menu, but we love the surroundings and village. We were pleased to see the return of the old menu and a different, more efficient waiting crew.

[scullion Profile]

I will PM you the original name of Bashful Alley.
If I made it public I would be banned!

i was intrigued - you can find it here - http://theanorakspeaks.blogspot.com/2016/06/whats-in-name.html

[scullion Profile]

Spare a thought for those of us who have trouble reading a phone screen, possibly simply because without our reading glasses!

i don't need to spare you a thought!
that's the other reason our daughter read out the menu - i'd forgotten to put mine back in my bag earlier.

[Stokey Sue Profile]

It has to be said, the student types currently waiting tables are generally very good and patient about reciting menus - I say reciting, they do it so often they don’t have to look

[KeenCook2 Profile]

I will PM you the original name of Bashful Alley.
If I made it public I would be banned!

i was intrigued - you can find it here - http://theanorakspeaks.blogspot.com/2016/06/whats-in-name.html

[herbidacious Profile]

Sorry if I have said this before but one thing I have noticed round here is that a lot of 'gastropubs' have now outsourced their catering (as I think we now have to call it) to chains. So the local, which used to do rather good food, now just does pizzas, and its sister pub's food is done by 'Meat Liquor'. There are numerous other places that now just do burgers or pizzas. I don't know what you call this arrangement. It's nto quite a franchise? The lack of variety, and the type of food fixed upon is a bit depressing, frankly.

[WWordsworth Profile]

WWordsworth wrote:
I will PM you the original name of Bashful Alley.
If I made it public I would be banned!

i was intrigued - you can find it here - http://theanorakspeaks.blogspot.com/201 ... -name.html

Spookily, The Moat, the first item on the list, is about 25 steps from my house.

[Meganthemog Profile]

OH and I ate at the Marco Pierre Whites restaurant in Swansea last week. The steaks were fine - nothing to rave about but the macaroni cheese was absolutely dire. It was a single layer of pasta on a plate the size of a side plate, it had no seasoning and the parmesan cheese on top tasted like the nasty stuff you get in tubs. The final rub was that it cost £13! I had to question the waitress to make sure it was a main course! Won't be going back there in a hurry.

[Earthmaiden Profile]

That sounds dreadful!
Our local Marco Pierre White restaurant was 'rebranded' in 2019 as a bistro bar cafe, still run by the same company but without MPW's name emblazoned everywhere. Their kitchen is closed at the moment because they can't get staff.

[scullion Profile]

apart from the lack of staff, maybe many restaurants etc are thinking that people are so desperate for a bit of normality that they'll accept anything served up to them at the moment.
if so it's short term thinking.
we rarely return to a place we've had a poor meal.
over thirty years later there are two local pubs (at least) that we haven't been back in. i would imagine that they've changed hands a couple of times since but the memory remains.

[Earthmaiden Profile]

Spot on scully. There is a pub here which did really superb food. The couple sold up and moved to France and the new people sold really abominable food. It was so sad. I've no idea who owns it now but won't be going back.

[aero280 Profile]

There was a local restaurant in the village that we went to years ago that we stopped going to. It's changed hands a few times and has been a chinese and Italian, but the memory lingers...

We went there for supper. They had a regular set menu and on Wednesday is was coq au vin. We ordered the set meal, but a slice of dried up steak pie arrived! We queried this and got the answer "Steak pie is the set meal for Tuesday, but we didn't sell all of it, and it won't keep until next week"

[Pepper Pig Profile]

Jay Rayner on restauarant wine pricing.

https://www.theguardian.com/food/2021/a ... jay-rayner