tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post49084974503792317..comments2024-03-28T17:11:52.333+00:00Comments on The Pub Curmudgeon: The price of successCurmudgeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02558747878308766840noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-63258142764517712862016-07-19T11:42:19.828+01:002016-07-19T11:42:19.828+01:00Just come across this piece. My local is a Brunnin...Just come across this piece. My local is a Brunning & Price pubs, one of the last developed by the founders before the sale to the Restaurant Group.<br />I think there is a danger of over simplification in some of the comments above, my local sells six cask beers, of which three are permanent, and the manager still has genuine freedom over the brands he chooses.<br />As a result 2 or 3 at least are local brands at any one time, and the "usual suspects " are nowhere to be seen.<br />It helps that there is a proper bar survey, unlike some of the more recent developments, and that the manager runs a weekday "happy hour" till 7 PM on the cask brands, making them £3.10 per pint rather than the rack rate 3.70 or 3.80.<br />From talking to staff it is clear that the Restaurant Group want to move even further in the food direction, and a recent refurb unfortunately softened some of the more "pubby" elements of the interior. <br />The food menu typically offers 15 main courses and the sales mix is apparently 70% food/30% wet; given the pub's appeal to the grey market, I suspect a number of the more elderly customers actually drink very little.Malcolm Nichollshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09120668673711485093noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-91135553927493600202016-06-22T11:57:59.585+01:002016-06-22T11:57:59.585+01:00Lack of turnover, and too big a range, means sligh...Lack of turnover, and too big a range, means slightly tired and warm beer. Never had a chilled pint to be honest, or a real duffer that you'd take back. I imagine if a group of CAMRA members turned up on a Friday evening they'd get a decent half, and be (over) impressed with the range, but a different issue on a Tuesday lunchtime. I've rarely seen cask served in my visits.<br /><br />Their food can be good, but portion size isn't great<br /><br />https://retiredmartin.com/2015/09/22/brunning-pricey/retiredmartinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15429804437739227082noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-57332218053269883472016-06-21T22:03:49.840+01:002016-06-21T22:03:49.840+01:00They certainly do in your average Spoons!They certainly do in your average Spoons!Curmudgeonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02558747878308766840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-27194633417122650802016-06-21T21:33:17.197+01:002016-06-21T21:33:17.197+01:00Does anyone actually drink Smooth?Does anyone actually drink Smooth?Paul Baileyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09678639237696546268noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-37323831119612186572016-06-21T19:07:46.787+01:002016-06-21T19:07:46.787+01:0050% above would mean £12, not £9. And how about th...50% above would mean £12, not £9. And how about <a href="http://www.sizzlingpubs.co.uk/content/dam/sizzling-pubs/pdf/pub/thebrimshamparkyate-food_menu.pdf" rel="nofollow">this</a> - Sizzling Pubs, 10 oz rump steak, with onions, chips, tomato and mushrooms, £7.99. And, unlike B&P, you can have curly fries :-)Curmudgeonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02558747878308766840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-88571286253843049872016-06-21T18:58:55.002+01:002016-06-21T18:58:55.002+01:00You only pay nine quid for a 10oz rump steak with ...You only pay nine quid for a 10oz rump steak with horseradish butter, mushrooms, tomato and chips ?<br />Does it still have a bridle in its mouth ?Syd Differentialnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-82738142953097914572016-06-21T17:57:06.457+01:002016-06-21T17:57:06.457+01:00I think, and I'm sure Martin Taylor would agre...I think, and I'm sure Martin Taylor would agree with me, that the problem is not beer that has gone off, but beer that is dull and tired due to lack of turnover.Curmudgeonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02558747878308766840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-18860600060019782982016-06-21T17:13:07.953+01:002016-06-21T17:13:07.953+01:00My mate supplies their fish cakes to their own spe...My mate supplies their fish cakes to their own specification and they are very good indeed. I've never been to one but as the food offering is supposed to be good, pubs like this are really restaurants. Very similar to, but more upmarket than M&B's Vintage Inns perhaps?ElectricPicsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-85532232965179518732016-06-21T16:24:13.029+01:002016-06-21T16:24:13.029+01:00I can only comment on the Cheshire & Shropshir...I can only comment on the Cheshire & Shropshire ones, but most around here seem to have a decent turnover of cask beer. They are pricey mind, a good 50p a pint more than any other pub in the area, but it seems to work for them. I've had a couple of pints served a bit cold, but never any that have gone off.Beermunsterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09564489130909572144noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-32162315103985834472016-06-21T15:41:48.399+01:002016-06-21T15:41:48.399+01:00The only B&P pub that I know of is the Sparrow...The only B&P pub that I know of is the Sparrowhawk in Formby. I've heard the beer is very expensive and so I haven't visited. Some fellow CAMRA members tell me the beer is in good nick, but I see little point in a longish bus journey to pay through the nose for a pint in a restaurant.RedNevhttp://rednev-rearm.blogspot.co.uk/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-72121478342150600052016-06-21T15:07:45.392+01:002016-06-21T15:07:45.392+01:00I doubt whether they open until 11 or 11.30 (like ...I doubt whether they open until 11 or 11.30 (like most non-Spoons pubs). Maybe next time he's in one, Martin Taylor could check whether they have Smooth on the bar.Curmudgeonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02558747878308766840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-71443481408597938182016-06-21T15:06:58.952+01:002016-06-21T15:06:58.952+01:00Normal gastropub prices, maybe, but I'd say 50...Normal gastropub prices, maybe, but I'd say 50% above normal "pub grub" prices around here. Curmudgeonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02558747878308766840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-68647073754236509112016-06-21T13:38:09.501+01:002016-06-21T13:38:09.501+01:00Can you get a pint of Smooth at 8am in these posh ...Can you get a pint of Smooth at 8am in these posh Spoons?Cooking Lagerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02830924433230427226noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5623537812609722663.post-54076998807403276662016-06-21T11:51:47.770+01:002016-06-21T11:51:47.770+01:00That menu looks to me to be a pretty standard rang...That menu looks to me to be a pretty standard range of pub grub dishes at normal prices.<br />Unless you're in a poncey gastropub in that their London I don't see how you can produce a menu like that without using a freezer - with the subsequent higher prices that entails.<br />Personally I can't stand eating in pubs but I know many of them would be out of business without catering for the ladies who lunch and the sales rep being given a gee-up by his area manager.Syd Differentialnoreply@blogger.com