Would you pay £11 for a baked potato in a cafe?

[NeverAlways]

I went to a garden centre today and teen dc wanted a drink and a lunch/snack. There wasn’t much choice on the menu at the cafe apart from toasted sandwiches and cakes so dc chose a baked potato with beans which was £11. I nearly fell over. They don’t even particularly like baked potatoes. I said, No sorry I’m not paying that for a potato. I’ve got a four pack of Tesco baking potatoes at home that cost 79p. We left the cafe and went somewhere else where a proper meal was £13.

Anyway am I behind the times with prices or does that seem a lot to you?

I would if I were ravenous and wouldn't get the opportunity to eat again for hours but that's about the only scenario in which I would, and I'd be annoyed about it! Absolute rip-off.
£8.99 in my local poncy garden centre or £5.99 for a smaller one.

Weatherspoons is 10 with a soft drink so 11 sounds right for a garden center.all food is wild expensive eating out as you aren't just paying for the food are you.

Thank you so much @ohsososo for responding to my request, I appreciate that.
The use of canned corn is great as my DC's love it!
Serving it with a sprinkle of cheese on top seems to be a personal choice, but in our house everything is better with melted cheese on it :)
Thanks again!

It seems expensive but then 20% of that is VAT - add in overheads and staff costs, plus a bit of profit?

I paid £5 for a tiny ice cream in a theatre recently - that's how it is unfortunately!

I stomped out of a GC cafe where they were trying to charge £9 for a panini. Bloody ludicrous!

Add some chopped up spring onions in there too and loads of pepper… maybe even some capers if you like them. Yum!!!

I was charged £8 for a teeny tiny panini in a cafe in a crappy north east town. Drink on top.
I was starving when I went in and starving when I left. I was looking forward to lunch out. No wonder people just go to greggs etc.

Such a rip off.
I used to love eating out but now being asked ridiculous prices. Small bottle of Peroni lager was priced at £6.50 yesterday in local Italian cafe.
I had tap water!

Was coming on to recommend spring onions but I see that @PistachioTiramisuLimoncello has beaten me to it.

Mayonnaise, black pepper and a finely chopped spring onion. We had that this week for the first time in ages - I'd forgotten how simple and delicious it is. It's on the menu for this week too!

I do mine in the microwave then finish off in a very hot oven having rubbed the skins with sea salt, olive oil and some mixed herbs.

That's crackers OP I would expect two baked potatoes for that. Just ridiculous, I'm not surprised these businesses are struggling with prices like that.

No. Is the short answer.

And your child shouldn’t be embarrassed at walking out, he’s just been taught a valuable life lesson. I’ve walked out of a lot of places, or changed options, with my daughter due to things being expensive rip-offs, and when I frame things in the context of “x weeks pocket money” she totally understands.

Yesterday I had to pay £6.50 for two thin pancakes, a slice of lemon and sugar. I don't think i'll ever get over it and we won't be going back 😲

I’m in Norfolk, they are £10 for one filling regardless of what you choose at Notcutts Garden Centre.

Just checked another local garden centre where the cafe has won many food awards and they are between £10.50 & £11.

Just checked my local independent GC which has an excellent cafe and beans/cheese is £10.50 including salad and homemade coleslaw. I'd pay that I guess (except as per upthread I don't eat them in cafes for fear of microwaves, margerine and melted cheese). I am also swayed by knowing that they really do cook from scratch and are a family run business who are very inclusive at employing people with disabilities. So there is some context.

Ultimately I recognise that costs have skyrocketed and I want these places to survive so I cough up fairly frequently. They are all always packed round here and new cafes / coffee places opening all the time, our high street has fewer shops but so many cafes and restaurants now, it feels much livelier than it did a few years ago.

I live in mainland Europe now and in a fancy cafe near where we live it’s circa 9.50 EUR for a nice jacket with fancy filling and side salad. Everything is expensive now so it’s all relative. I always find the UK mega expensive in comparison.

Bloody hell! That’s ridiculous. We went to David Austin yesterday and a cheese scone was £4.95, but came with a cheese wedge and a pot of pickle. They were huge! And blooming gorgeous 😀

It is very expensive for a potato & half a tin of beans. However, if I’d asked my child to choose something without giving guidelines (under £7.50 for example) I wouldn’t have embarrassed them by walking out because I didn’t agree with their choice.

They cater for rich old people who don’t want kids making a noise so prices are high and they’ll still pay.

We have one near us, Blackbrookes. They charge that for a feckin sarnie!

I’ve walked out of a few places before.
It’s embarrassing but I ask myself, will I be more annoyed at walking out or paying that for very little.

No way.

I used to own a café and in around 2011 I was charging £3.50 for a baked potato with toppings and salad. A lady came in one day and just asked for a plain baked potato. I said it would be £1.50 and she went nuts. I asked how much she expected to pay and she reckoned 50p was a fair price. I tried to explain that the time in the oven, plus foil, butter and a takeaway carton cost more than 50p and she just stormed out.

I think there's always a happy medium.

YANBU

I'd pay £3-4, for £11 I'd expect a full meal in a cafe, rising to £15-18 for a premium meal in a more restaurant place. Garden centres are often overpriced, they are always poor quality so I would expect £8, but I'd probably always decline if more than £3.

Frankly the fact people are willing to pay it is the issue. It simply shows there is no cost of living crisis, as everyone should simply stop eating out in cafe's at that price.

I saw a sandwich in Pret the other day that was over £6, and decided I'd no longer go there again. Shame after all these years.

At £11 it basically saying it's the complete effort value paid to someone for /4 hour - thats should put it into perspective. I do wonder sometimes whether all minimum wage has done is to increase most prices in line with it.

No.

Agree on the disappointment of cafe jacket potatoes they nearly always have substandard jackets. Despite it being a food that makes a great lunch option I can never bring myself to eat one outside of my own home.

Although that said about 20 years ago there used to be an amazing jacket potato stall in Cambridge that did amazingly crispy ones and they were incredibly generous with the butter, I expect they are long gone.