Pub food and more.

[LifeOnEarth]

Hi all, I’m a long time lurker, sometimes poster but I’ve changed my username for this occasion.

if you went to a pub restaurant for lunch or dinner, what would you like to see on the menu? Would you always go for classic pub grub or would different types of food entice you in? What would make you visit the pub if you had to drive. Would you even visit a pub if you had to drive?

What would you prefer on your table? Mayo and ketchup in their original bottles or decanted into ‘nice’ bottles. Or would you prefer to have your condiments served in a separate dish?

If you’re a woman, would you feel happy walking into a pub on your own? If not, what would make you do that, how would I make you feel comfortable?

Would you take your young children into a pub for a parent toddler meet up? Would you go to an out of town/rural/village pub for a business breakfast (probably via the local chamber of Commerce).

What could I offer you to make you feel comfortable?

Thank you 🥰

My one piece of advice is - if you have a table with multiple children, all eating food served with chips, when I ask the server for ketchup then for the love of god do not disappear for five minutes and bring us back tiny pot of decanted ketchup to share. I want the bottle. Ideally each child would have a bottle each. There should be more ketchup that it's possible to eat. Please. I just want five minutes peace.

Thank you and good luck.

You're in luck, I'm v bored & love pubs:

if you went to a pub restaurant for lunch or dinner, what would you like to see on the menu?
A lot of pubs used to do lots of variations on a special, which I liked & which keep costs down e.g.
5 different types of sausage with 5 different types of mash:
Cumberland with cheesy mash
Pork & leek with colcannon etc...
Or a few types of burger, w/ different cheese options and really good chips
Or even just a decent boozer that lets you order in deliveroo

Would you always go for classic pub grub or would different types of food entice you in?
What would make you visit the pub if you had to drive. Would you even visit a pub if you had to drive?
I don't drive but if in a rural boring food type area I'd get someone to drive me to anywhere that did reasonably authentic Thai or Indian food

What would you prefer on your table? Mayo and ketchup in their original bottles or decanted into ‘nice’ bottles. Or would you prefer to have your condiments served in a separate dish?
The whole bottle and if it's not Heinz I won't come back for food.

If you’re a woman, would you feel happy walking into a pub on your own? If not, what would make you do that, how would I make you feel comfortable?
Yes, I walk to the pub on my own all the time. If you have regulars who are sexist/ sex pest-ish, throw them out or keep them under control. Don't put up an England flag outside your pub, don't put GB news on the TV. Sport only for national events.

Would you take your young children into a pub for a parent toddler meet up?
Yes, I used to do this all the time when my kids were little, also took them to various locals which had playgrounds when they were in primary school. They're now teens and it's still a regular family outing.

Would you go to an out of town/rural/village pub for a business breakfast (probably via the local chamber of Commerce).
No, but only because I'm not a business person.

And peace you shall have 😊 Thank you for your input 🥰

I’d like a gluten free option that isn’t vegan, nor gammon and chips. I like fresh vegetables, and proper home cooked food. I don’t mind paying extra for it, but please don’t serve a £1.50 ready meal pretending to be home cooked, and then charge 18 quid for it.

Sauce in a squeezy bottle please.

I went to a country pub recently and whilst it was lovely I was a bit miffed there was literally one vegetarian option on the menu - a Greek salad!
Not what I fancy on an autumn evening, I wanted something hot. When I asked if they had any options they said no. I get that it’s my choice to not eat meat but a lot of meat eaters I know also sometimes fancy a light veggie option. I ended up ordering 2 of the kids pasta meals and asking them to put in one adult dish.

If you’re going a to do a Sunday roast don’t pile it up into some ridiculous tower, just put it on the plate like your Nana would and provide LOTS of gravy in a jug.
if you’re going to have a salad garnish make sure it’s really fresh.
plenty of good veggie options - not just a veggie burger.
Good choice of Mocktails for drivers.
Free bread and butter on the table as soon as people have ordered the way they do in France - doesn’t need to be loads but it looks generous and is really handy if you’ve got hungry kids.

I'm quite happy walking into a pub on my own. Food wise lite bites for lunch....so toastie sandwich and soup or chips. Prefer sauce in the original bottle but doesn't mayonnaise need to be refrigerated??
The biggest bonus for me would be easy access/no steps or a ramp. And a easily accessible disabled toilet where I don't have to ask for a code or fight with the door. I use a Zimmer frame and sometimes its a struggle to use the loo!!

Nicely cooked traditional pub grub.
Not all tarted about with unnecessary fancy named extra ingredients.
Sensible portion sizes and sensible prices.
Some half size desserts.

No children..... or if there are..... in a separate place and only during certain times, a 'cozy' corner where a single woman/ man could go with a good book and read/study with easy to eat finger food (dips, breads, halloumi fries etc), healthy foods, create your own poke bowls, salads etc. Great puddings.

Our local a few doors down has just been refurbished and honestly I’d say it’s now the perfect pub. I go in on my own often, have never felt weird going into a pub alone though. They have proper, thin glass, tall stemmed wine glasses, not the chunky stubby ones a lot of pubs have and which wine always tastes worse from; the bar staff are efficient and great at recognising and engaging with locals; during certain hours (their busiest periods) they won’t make a mixed drink with more than three ingredients, so there isn’t a huddle of restless people waiting to be served whilst the bar staff fiddle about with complicated cocktails; they have a rotating menu of about six items, which means their chef is familiar with everything he makes and can do it well and quickly. And best of all, they’ve turned a former storeroom at the back into a playroom, and designated a part of the pub next to it off as the family area, so adults in for a quiet drink don’t have to get frustrated about being next to a family with shouting toddlers and it just works better for everyone.

At least two vegetarian options (not vegan, e.g. a lovely vegetarian lasagne with loads of cheese is great).
Plus two vegan options.

Classic British pub grub is expected, unless the pub/restaurant is specifically advertised and signposted as being e.g. Italian, Indian, Mexican, etc.

Don't have a menu with 30 different dishes from all nationalities - that just shows that none of them are cooked from scratch, they are all microwaved crap.
A minimal menu suggests it might be food that is properly prepared and cooked from scratch (though I would expect a lasagne to be microwaved to be honest).

The driving / not drinking alcohol is not an issue. We are very happy to drive to a good restaurant. As a society we have had many decades now of it being totally normal to have a "designated driver" who is not drinking alcohol.

I probably wouldn't go into a pub on my own - just because I would only be going out alone to work or read, so a café would be a more 'normal' choice. To me pubs are for socialising in the evening.

To attract a modern diverse audience, especially daytime, consider the décor - don't go for traditional pub furnishings and clutter on the walls like pictures of dogs playing pool / farming implements / a collection of pint jugs / a 'theme' like music or cars - you know the kind of thing.
Make it look more like a modern restaurant or café with neutral-ish minimal decoration - but watch out for dreadful noise if you have hard chairs on hard floors and no soft furnishings to damp down the echoes.

Have chairs with good cushions - I leave early if the chair is uncomfortable.

Love pub grub, would like to see more filled omelette and chips/ good salad, which I’ve enjoyed for lunches abroad. Interesting soup that isn’t tomato with nice bread. I like to use a knife and fork, so burgers in buns are out. Sausages are great.

I’m happy to walk in by myself, but if I see noisy children or dogs at more than one table I’ll walk back out again.

Please don’t serve anything on a roof slate.

I’d like to see a menu that doesn’t serve everything with chips (I love chips, but I also love fresh veg, and mashed potatoes)

If I had a pub, I’d have things on the menu like local butchers sausage and mash with onion gravy, some grilled fish with ratatouille as a tasty healthy option, a good lasagne etc.

I like stuff to be home made. Doesn’t have to be fancy, but home cooked.

If you do a Sunday roast, don’t put it on a board, or even worse a “sharing board” like our local restaurant does, then wants you to carve your own joint with a blunt knife while the rest of it goes cold, for £40 a head. Please include plenty of gravy and cauli cheese in the price.

Vegetarian food that is not Quorn or soya.
Nice wine glasses.
If serving ketchup or dressing in bottles, please wipe bottles as they can be sticky.
A cheesecake on the dessert menu please.
Coffee not made from pressing one button only
Salads that are not merely lettuce, tomato and cucumber.

I want to see proper vegetarian food not upf or veganised rubbish. Whole bottles of condiments please .

I want a really good roast. With decent freshly cooked potatoes. And bread sauce.

Most pubs really fail on this front. As for weekday food I would just be happy with some decent chips that can be ordered alone without an eye roll from staff. That and toasties/panini/jacket spud would be fine.

I don't have kids so don't really want loads of them around. But I wouldn't really pay much attention to the other customers.

Plenty of comfy chairs and sofas and clean female toilets. I would happily go into a pub alone. Though some you do get the impression you stand out like a sore thumb as a solo woman.

Don't get me started.<cracks knuckles>

I like to see vegetarian lasagne! And it's becoming rare. I want to see vegetarian options that are not fake meat (especially beyond meat burgers, which are repulsive) not all vegetarians want to eat vegan when they go out especially not vegan, so called, cheese.

I like quite traditional options, but something different is nice as long as it's still pub food iykwim? A place near us does Nepalese pub grub, it's brilliant. If you are selling ham, egg and chips it's easy enough to offer egg and chips too. (>£) Sausage and mash- why not glamorgan sausages?

Condiments are fine in original bottles or decanted, just not the mini pots! If a meal comes with colslaw- don't be stingy, don't serve it in a thimble.
Please indicate on the menu whether items are vegetarian, including side dishes starters and dessert. Seems obvious, but so many places do not.

Since the dc were little I never go to pubs that you need to drive to.

I am a woman and am happy walking to the pub on my own.

When the dc were little I would happily take them to family friendly pubs with nice gardens or soft play.

I have never had a business breakfast anywhere, no idea if a pub would be suitable.

Proper sandwiches with proper fillings, not just bleeding paninis and wraps
Bring back the ploughmans lunch!
Decent vegetarian dishes with eggs and cheese and vegetables, not just vegan alternatives.
As a PP said, egg and chips is good.
Oh and a small selection of lower carb dishes.

Don't lie about the food you sell. I don't want to be made to feel like a nuisance because I want real butter, real orange juice (carton is fine) and no artificial sweeteners in my drinks

Do not serve any food straight from the fridge, room temperature please.

I just want things nicely cooked, anyone selling food should be doing a good job of it.

I don't eat ketchup so do what you like with that.

Firstly plates not slates!

Dogs and kids in a designated area and/or designated times. Better when you're with them, better when you're without them.

I live rurally and can walk to 2 pubs but usually drive to one because the menu is so good.
They have a short fancyish specials menu which changes regularly. Seasonal, freshly cooked, imaginative and always at least 2 really good veggie options (not salad or boring pasta or crappy fake meat. Of it's just what I cook myself on a week day then I'm not paying 18quid for it). They also do theme weeks where a guest chef does the menu, for example this, which is great as that's not really an option anywhere nearby.

But then they also always offer their (cheaper) pub classic menu, and the best thing about this is lots of it's customisable which means you've got loads of options for what in reality is probably a pretty straight forward freezer to fryer situation. So for example:
Pick your burger - beef, chicken, falafel, Quorn, fish.
Pick your burger topping x2 - Stilton, cheddar, fried egg, coleslaw, salsa, avocado etc
Pick your side - chips, wedges, roasties, salad, beans.
Same sort of deal with fish/scampi/halloumi/bannanablossom and chips/salad/peas/mushy/beans/coleslaw.
Week day stuff "in a basket" (actually a box). Sounds old fashioned but if you can get chips or a decent salad and scampi/nuggets/cheese bites/aranchini for UNDER A TENNER, then that'll tempt me to indulge on a lazy weeknight.

Squeezy bottles of condiments (glass gets gross and some yucky fuckers stick their knives in there).

Ok. I am, of course, very interested in your feedback. And I love that you love pubs 🥰

When you say a ‘variation of specials’ what do you mean by that? Different kinds of food nights? (Eg Mexican, Greek, Thai etc). I’m not sure that ordering a Deliveroo will be on my list of priorities, unless it’s ordered to a letting room. Or are you referring to the sausages?

I absolutely LOVE colcannon, and leek as well. Thank you for those ideas. As a local pub I think there would always be a burger on the menu. Maybe like Five Guys where it’s a basic burger and you add whatever toppings you’d like.

Thai and Indian, very much noted.

i would never serve cheap alternatives to Heinz. I may also offer a homemade ketchup alternative though.

No sex pests, I promise and definitely no flags. I’m inclusive to everyone. There is no way that I would ever allow someone into my home and business who I think might cause a problem. And if they do, I’ll deal with it.

i don’t plan to be hosting weekend football. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but I’d much prefer to do Ladies Day, Halloween, Christmas, Christmas markets. I want the local community to feel welcome and the further community to want to visit. I am very happy with sports fixtures but that not all that I’m about.

Like a few of the posters, some vegetarian options that aren’t vegan. Preferably no separate lunch menu or remove it from view after 5pm - some people would really like the sandwich/toastie and chips option after 5pm especially when the only thing on the menu for them is a fake meat burger with vegan cheese. I do like proper pub grub, such a vegetable lasagne, cheese and onion pie etc.

Condiments in bottles - original or decanted.

Happy to go into a pub alone as a woman, but fussy about which ones. Also happy to drive for good food.

I would never serve anything other than a home cooked meal. Please don’t worry about that. I’m confused as to why anyone would do that! Have you experienced that before?

I’m fully aware that food costs are high but that shouldn’t make a difference with the quality of the food. I will absolutely make sure that we cater to gluten free and all other food intolerances.

I think what I'd like to see is a small menu that reflects the individuality and the passion of the chef. That could be lots of different things and doesn't have to be grand or expensive. What I hate is when you go to a pub and they have a huge menu where everything is obviously bought in frozen.