Pub food - why is it frequently so bad?
Discussion
Hoofy said:
Frankthered said:
Hoofy said:
Interesting restaurant - well, I tried a Polish one the other day. Very tasty stuff! Or did you mean some d
head pub serving 3cm large quail's egg scotch eggs balanced carefully on triangular pieces of slate and charging £8?
Yes, there are some of the dhead pub serving 3cm large quail's egg scotch eggs balanced carefully on triangular pieces of slate and charging £8?head pubs where we are - lovely Basingstoke - or at least nearby! In terms of restaurants, other than Indians (not really my thing), Chinese (several, all average) and a Thai place (also pretty average), the options are really Wagamama, Pizza Express, Ask, Giraffe, Zizzi, GBK and one place called Coal that i believe is a small regional chain (and pretty average).Not really sure about the food in the pubs in town, but there are a few around and about that do decent, freshly made stuff at a reasonable price.
Hoofy said:
Wetherspoons - that sounds disappointing; it's standard menu stuff but should be fine unless you're expecting celeb chef stuff.
It was just a bit dried out - felt like it had been sitting around a bit too long - maybe it was a bit too quiet on the day!Frankthered said:
Hoofy said:
Frankthered said:
Hoofy said:
Interesting restaurant - well, I tried a Polish one the other day. Very tasty stuff! Or did you mean some dhead pub serving 3cm large quail's egg scotch eggs balanced carefully on triangular pieces of slate and charging £8?
Yes, there are some of the dhead pub serving 3cm large quail's egg scotch eggs balanced carefully on triangular pieces of slate and charging £8?head pubs where we are - lovely Basingstoke - or at least nearby! In terms of restaurants, other than Indians (not really my thing), Chinese (several, all average) and a Thai place (also pretty average), the options are really Wagamama, Pizza Express, Ask, Giraffe, Zizzi, GBK and one place called Coal that i believe is a small regional chain (and pretty average).Not really sure about the food in the pubs in town, but there are a few around and about that do decent, freshly made stuff at a reasonable price.
Hoofy said:
Wetherspoons - that sounds disappointing; it's standard menu stuff but should be fine unless you're expecting celeb chef stuff.
It was just a bit dried out - felt like it had been sitting around a bit too long - maybe it was a bit too quiet on the day!
Frankthered said:
The Italians are fine, but they're a little generic. Personally, I find the pubs a little more interesting, is that OK? The good ones have a bit more variety on their menus.
That's the thing with chain anythings is you get very little variety. I go in about 20 Prezzos for work, and the menu, the decor, even the muzak and the wall art is the same lol.That's why I despair at little tenant pubs because they have the chance to be different that chain places don't.
Regarding a comment a few above about wanting "restaurant quality food"... I don't, I just want nice pub food that isn't fatally compromised in some way.
The two pub lunches in two days that started this whole debate off for me as an example:
Pub one: Lamb's liver where the lamb had been cooked to the consistency of a blackboard eraser, followed by ginger & treacle tart out of the fridge, so rock hard. Mrs had a steak & ale pie, which was a pie for once, but the crust had been burned to a point where it was impossible to cut, and the innards had been almost caramelised.
Pub two (maybe 10-15% higher price), we both had chicken in a cider and celery sauce. Really plain dish for about 12 quid, but the chicken had been cooked from raw (I know this because they warned us it would take a while) and was quite simply delicious.
Pub one was a managed brewery pub, pub two was a free house.
Yipper said:
Brits can cook breakfast. But they just cannot cook lunch and dinner.
Salads are always the international benchmark. Italy, France etc. = creamy, crunchy and coloured... UK = a bunch of green dry leaves lobbed on a plate...
Yeah you're right, that's why there are no good restaurants or internationally acclaimed chefs in Britain.Salads are always the international benchmark. Italy, France etc. = creamy, crunchy and coloured... UK = a bunch of green dry leaves lobbed on a plate...
I will say that most cities are short of pubs that do decent pub food. I know of pubs and bars that'll do good burgers, barbeque, pizzas I even know one that does amazing Chinese steamed buns. It's hard to find a place that'll do a well made pie or just a bowl of decent soup.
Saying that my missus works in the kitchen of a chain place in town and the food is better than you might expect. The head chef gives a s
t so she tries to find the best balance of making stuff from scratch and buying in to stay on budget.ZedLeg said:
Yipper said:
Brits can cook breakfast. But they just cannot cook lunch and dinner.
Salads are always the international benchmark. Italy, France etc. = creamy, crunchy and coloured... UK = a bunch of green dry leaves lobbed on a plate...
Yeah you're right, that's why there are no good restaurants or internationally acclaimed chefs in Britain.Salads are always the international benchmark. Italy, France etc. = creamy, crunchy and coloured... UK = a bunch of green dry leaves lobbed on a plate...
I will say that most cities are short of pubs that do decent pub food. I know of pubs and bars that'll do good burgers, barbeque, pizzas I even know one that does amazing Chinese steamed buns. It's hard to find a place that'll do a well made pie or just a bowl of decent soup.
Saying that my missus works in the kitchen of a chain place in town and the food is better than you might expect. The head chef gives a s
t so she tries to find the best balance of making stuff from scratch and buying in to stay on budget.Stopped at a roadside cafe near Grenoble last month. Got a creamy salmon salad dished up in minutes. Stopped at a roadside cafe near Glasgow last week. Got a pile of dry lettuce leaves thrown on a plate with some token chewy tomatoes.
As others have said, if I'm in a unfamiliar location I always go straight for Tripadvisor. I don't think I've ever been disappointed.
Also, I live in a tourist resort (Torquay) and there are plenty of great places to eat and plenty of dross too. Again, all the great places where we go are at the top on Tripadvisor.
If you wander down the main street and go in somewhere it will, in all likelihood, be a chain or somewhere not that good. The better restaurants are around the harbour or a little bit off the beaten track.
Also, I live in a tourist resort (Torquay) and there are plenty of great places to eat and plenty of dross too. Again, all the great places where we go are at the top on Tripadvisor.
If you wander down the main street and go in somewhere it will, in all likelihood, be a chain or somewhere not that good. The better restaurants are around the harbour or a little bit off the beaten track.
BigMon said:
As others have said, if I'm in a unfamiliar location I always go straight for Tripadvisor. I don't think I've ever been disappointed.
Also, I live in a tourist resort (Torquay) and there are plenty of great places to eat and plenty of dross too. Again, all the great places where we go are at the top on Tripadvisor.
If you wander down the main street and go in somewhere it will, in all likelihood, be a chain or somewhere not that good. The better restaurants are around the harbour or a little bit off the beaten track.
Do you like No. 7?Also, I live in a tourist resort (Torquay) and there are plenty of great places to eat and plenty of dross too. Again, all the great places where we go are at the top on Tripadvisor.
If you wander down the main street and go in somewhere it will, in all likelihood, be a chain or somewhere not that good. The better restaurants are around the harbour or a little bit off the beaten track.
It's a in interesting question posed by the OP.
We went for an impromptou meal and drink with friends at our local, because it was easy and 3min walk away. I live in a very rural area of Wales but with a decent summer tourist influx.
Previously the menu was far from inspiring but done pretty well, -and this was fine fine for us; sausage/steak/fish and chips done competently is perfectly acceptable when you're not after michelin star fare. New management has arrived more recently so we were interested to try it out.
Really disappointing sadly, more or less the same menu but shoddily done and echoed by a similar experience in another local pub further down the road a few weeks back.
So, I realise that I have no insight into running a pub business but as someone who can cook I've been thinking what can be done cheap but remain memorable enough to bring some return custom. Truth is, there are so many basic recipes that if done well would bring people back. there are lots of us who don't feel we have time for the slower-cooked one pot dishes, but yearn for that taste with a pint or two and maybe a bowl of rustling chips. Hotpots, pies, cassoulets, good curry, a decent burger, maybe a bit of home-made bread. -The apparently lost art of really good mash. None of these things require vast amounts of cooking finesse or great cost.
I don't need masterchef food. I want to bring friends/parents in for a reliable feed from time to time. Other days we want to bring the kids down with a pack of cards or a little board game so that it's a bit of a treat for them and I don't have to cook tea. I won't be going to the local pubs though, I'll go to the little family pizza place where they do care about food, or the the Indian where they work hard to give you great service, or the little bistro place where the bloke keeps the menu small and simple but tries hard to turn out a decent plate. -Why don't pubs get this?
We went for an impromptou meal and drink with friends at our local, because it was easy and 3min walk away. I live in a very rural area of Wales but with a decent summer tourist influx.
Previously the menu was far from inspiring but done pretty well, -and this was fine fine for us; sausage/steak/fish and chips done competently is perfectly acceptable when you're not after michelin star fare. New management has arrived more recently so we were interested to try it out.
Really disappointing sadly, more or less the same menu but shoddily done and echoed by a similar experience in another local pub further down the road a few weeks back.
So, I realise that I have no insight into running a pub business but as someone who can cook I've been thinking what can be done cheap but remain memorable enough to bring some return custom. Truth is, there are so many basic recipes that if done well would bring people back. there are lots of us who don't feel we have time for the slower-cooked one pot dishes, but yearn for that taste with a pint or two and maybe a bowl of rustling chips. Hotpots, pies, cassoulets, good curry, a decent burger, maybe a bit of home-made bread. -The apparently lost art of really good mash. None of these things require vast amounts of cooking finesse or great cost.
I don't need masterchef food. I want to bring friends/parents in for a reliable feed from time to time. Other days we want to bring the kids down with a pack of cards or a little board game so that it's a bit of a treat for them and I don't have to cook tea. I won't be going to the local pubs though, I'll go to the little family pizza place where they do care about food, or the the Indian where they work hard to give you great service, or the little bistro place where the bloke keeps the menu small and simple but tries hard to turn out a decent plate. -Why don't pubs get this?
Oddly enough OP my wife and I had the same coversation over the weekend.
I like standard pub grub, chicken and chips, pies, scampi etc but only if its done well.
You seem to either get restaurant quality food, which is lovely, or total st, there is no middle ground.
I konw of a few pubs where the food is simple, but well prepared and not totally frozen.
What really annoys me is that i used to run a chain of fish and chip shops where we made about 95% of all our products from scratch every day- to a massively higher volume than a pub. Its not impossible, it just need some care.
If just one of hte chains decided to start making food that was reasonable qualty and freshly prepared then i suspect they would clean out the opposition!
I like standard pub grub, chicken and chips, pies, scampi etc but only if its done well.
You seem to either get restaurant quality food, which is lovely, or total s
t, there is no middle ground. I konw of a few pubs where the food is simple, but well prepared and not totally frozen.
What really annoys me is that i used to run a chain of fish and chip shops where we made about 95% of all our products from scratch every day- to a massively higher volume than a pub. Its not impossible, it just need some care.
If just one of hte chains decided to start making food that was reasonable qualty and freshly prepared then i suspect they would clean out the opposition!
Last two posts echo exactly what I mean.
All I want from most pubs I go to for a meal is half decent food that hasn't been fatally and needlessly compromised in some way.
When some pubs can do this and some can't (and their table occupancy reflects this) it annoys me that the bad ones just don't seem to be able to grasp what's wrong with their menu.
All I want from most pubs I go to for a meal is half decent food that hasn't been fatally and needlessly compromised in some way.
When some pubs can do this and some can't (and their table occupancy reflects this) it annoys me that the bad ones just don't seem to be able to grasp what's wrong with their menu.
Agree most pubs are very hit and miss.
Either going for the Gastro Pub style where it's a bit poncey as well as expensive, or the middle ground where everything is generic, overcooked and out of the freezer.
My main problem though is that I know of not one Pub (near me) that does a decent Ploughmans anymore! On a fine sunny day with a good pint a Ploughmans is bliss, but is alas a distant memory.
Either going for the Gastro Pub style where it's a bit poncey as well as expensive, or the middle ground where everything is generic, overcooked and out of the freezer.
My main problem though is that I know of not one Pub (near me) that does a decent Ploughmans anymore! On a fine sunny day with a good pint a Ploughmans is bliss, but is alas a distant memory.
Uncle John said:
Agree most pubs are very hit and miss.
Either going for the Gastro Pub style where it's a bit poncey as well as expensive, or the middle ground where everything is generic, overcooked and out of the freezer.
My main problem though is that I know of not one Pub (near me) that does a decent Ploughmans anymore! On a fine sunny day with a good pint a Ploughmans is bliss, but is alas a distant memory.
They do seem to be dying out, yet I love them.Either going for the Gastro Pub style where it's a bit poncey as well as expensive, or the middle ground where everything is generic, overcooked and out of the freezer.
My main problem though is that I know of not one Pub (near me) that does a decent Ploughmans anymore! On a fine sunny day with a good pint a Ploughmans is bliss, but is alas a distant memory.
Must be all those pesky fresh ingredients and customer demand...
48k said:
This is my local: https://www.thenavigationcosgrove.co.uk/
It was taken over last year and transformed. It is absolutely heaving particularly at the weekend.
But I've never eaten there, I go to a pub nearby because all I want when I go to a pub is pie, or sausage and mash, or gammon egg and chips etc
Use to be my local not been inside in years.It was taken over last year and transformed. It is absolutely heaving particularly at the weekend.
But I've never eaten there, I go to a pub nearby because all I want when I go to a pub is pie, or sausage and mash, or gammon egg and chips etc
BigMon said:
Frankthered said:
Do you like No. 7?
Yes, it's superb. Never had a bad meal there.Substantial seafood broth followed by oven roast monkfish with black pepper.
227bhp said:
What I really hate is when you get charged £20 - £25 for steak in a pub, that really is a ripoff.
Beef does seem to have shot through the roof, and to be honest, as starter of the steak thread on here, you can cook it better at home. As you are not a lowly underpaid short order cook trying to juggle most things.Best to find a pub that does a proper pie, with pastry just not on top but all around the damn filling.
Go to a pub that has a nice atmosphere where you don't really care about the food, but the environment. Order a starter and see how it is, if ok, then order a main course but something you wouldn't normally have. Do it all ad hoc ! suck it and see. If it is still bad then never go there again.
Talking of which I am doing a rolled breast of lamb, plus cheapest chips and mushy peas for tea from tesco's, cost about £5. I will put it on the dinner thread.
Now if you really want to go top notch local go to Frantzens in Stockholm
https://www.google.com/maps/@59.3232876,18.0694779...
doesn't look much but fantastic food.
https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g1...
Not sure classed a pub though, More graffiti dive. I think they are moving to new premises. Had a great meal there though last year. Cost £700
In summary, you get what you pay for......
Edited by Gandahar on Saturday 1st July 18:23
me and her indoors went to whitby for the day today and on the way back stopped off at a lovely pub near pickering just over the north york moors on the way home to leeds. called the fox and rabbit. i had roast beef yorkshire puddings and the trimmings and the other half had a steak in peppercorn sauce with veggies etc. the food was fantastic and all fresh no frozen. beef cooked beautifully and the steak was as asked medium. food bill was i think about 20 quid for the 2 of us and that included a glass of red for her and a shandy for me. i would happily go back there. it isnt a chain pub and possibly the best pub food ive ever had.
Gassing Station | Food, Drink & Restaurants | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff