Would you pay £7 for poached eggs on toast?

[SunshineLollipopsAndRainbows]

We have quite an upmarket garden centre near us. It’s lovely to look round but I definitely wouldn’t buy my plants there! The food in the cafe is lovely but a bit pricey. I was looking at the breakfast menu & all the egg dishes came with something else eg smashed avocado, eggs Benedict etc. I prefer my eggs plain so messaged to ask if they could just do poached eggs on toast. Bit shocked by £7! I know everything has gone up but would you be happy to pay that?

No, not for 2 eggs and 2 bits of bread. I'd pay £4.50 tops. They can't charge it if no ones pays it.

£6.95 for the exact same in the brunch place we like. £7.95 with smashed avocado.

Sounds fairly normal. You are paying to sit at a table and be served, eat at home if you don't want to pay for that.

No I absolutely would not pay £7 for poached eggs on toast. I can rustle that up at home any time.

Was it good value for money? I don't know. Depends where in the uk you are and as others have said was it large organic free range eggs on good quality bread etc. ?

I don't think it's extraordinarily priced but I would expect of good quality. By which I mean the bead isn't from a supermarket sliced pan nor should the egg be poached with vinegar or in those silicone poachers

Altrincham market, with sourdough toast and well poached runny eggs - yes
garden centre, not if its on sliced plastic bread and the eggs aren't runny

Yep. If you want it cheaper than that you’ll need to go to the supermarket and cook it yourself.

After transporting the food, paying the staff, rent, overheads, wastage etc I can’t imagine there’s much profit on that.

Seems a little in the high side but prices have increased a lot lately .Smart Beachside Cafe near expensive beach huts in our area ,Scrambled eggs on toast £6,00 .Med breakfast eggs,bacon ,sausage ,tomato and toast£8.00 .So a lot more there for the extra couple of quid really.Poached eggs a bit fiddly too ,,so maybe cost includes the extra work /plus not being on menu?

I think it’s a fair price to be honest as I’ve seen what it takes to properly poach an egg.

eating out has just got so expensive. Burgers that were £10 not so long ago are £15 now. My brain just hasn't caught up with the new pricing yet.

Sounds perfectly reasonable.

Honestly, if you use their resources as some form of day out and never actually buy something, you can’t complain if they try and make some profit off your visit in some small way.

I had a kids picnic box and a pot of tea for one at our local garden center the other day £14.95 . I didn't even get a cake. I mean honestly, it was half a sandwich. It certainly wasn't artisan or organic. Pom bears were part of it. I had to go up to order and take it to my table for that.

I reckon if they're good quality ingredients that would cost £1.50 for the doings. Then 10 mins labour at Living Wage and you're already at £3. Fuel, rent, decor, business rates, marketing before you even get to profit - I think that's really reasonable.

And this.

Very well put.
It’s the all-round experience that you are paying for… And if they do avocado, and eggs Benedict then I’m imagining a very pleasant experience.
If you are short of money then make your own breakfast at home?

Nothing surprise me anymore, kids portion on plain pasta cost me £13.50 last week! I wouldn’t of ordered it if I’d know it would cost that much ludicrous! £7.50 seems a bit much but people seems to be paying it.

If the garden centre's plants are too expensive for you to buy, then they are targeting different people. So, in that case, £7 isn't too unreasonable for people who can buy expensive plants.
You said yourself it's an upmarket place, so either enjoy the environment and pay, or go somewhere else.

I've not lived in the UK since 2016 and I'd have expected to pay around that for eggs on toast before I left! Considering prices are supposed to have gone up, I'd say that's not bad or shocking.

To me that would be fine. I'd be happy to pay for that in a nice environment rather than a cheaper version in a kip.

How much do you think you should have paid?

That's standard 'nice brunch' price round here but as others have said I'd only pay it if it was nice, salubrious atmosphere and good quality food.

I've just paid £37 for a nice brunch for 2 sitting outside in the sunshine, a full English with toast and scrabled eggs and avocado on sourdough with a milkshake and a smoothie. It would have to be a nice garden centre for me to want to do the same there. There are some round here where I would.

Sounds standard, even cheap to me. What did you expect to pay?

That’s pretty much what it costs around here. I’d pay it without really thinking twice.

Sounds a little pricey to me, but it depends on the eggs, the bread, the restaurant, the location, etc. And you have to take the overheads into account, so there´s that, too.
The place near me charges £5.40 for two poached eggs on two toast, with bacon and grilled tomatoes, but I don´t think the eggs are free range, and the bread is white or brown ready sliced supermarket own brand stuff.
Still delicious, though.

Seems about standard to me

I wouldn't because I can get more food than that for about the same price and I don't think it's especially good value but considering the cost of just about everything, it's probably about what I'd expect to pay.

I just looked up a local garden centre and they charge £6.95 for toasted sourdough bloomer with smashed avocado and poached eggs.

But in the same garden centre I can get sausage, bacon, black pudding, potato scone, beans, mushrooms, fried egg, toast, coffee or tea and a glass of orange juice for £8.95 or 2 breakfasts for £16 which is much better value to me.(Though obviously not much use for vegetarians)