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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to think that £4.50 is a ridiculous price for a scone?

278 replies

emsyj · 07/04/2011 16:23

I have just been to a new cafe that has opened on my local high street (small town in the north west, not a big city, not central London - just a bog standard local high street).

There were 4 of us and 3 tried to order carrot cake. The waitress returned a few moments after taking the order to say there was no carrot cake left, all they had was Victoria sponge or scones. So without the benefit of the menu in front of us listing the prices, two of us went for the sponge and one for the scone.

When it came time to pay, the person who had the scone was charged £4.50 for the scone and another £2.45 for a black coffee. I thought it must be a mistake so went to ask if it was right and the cafe owner was quite aggressive in saying that yes, it was £4.50 for the scone because they are 'baked fresh every day with locally-sourced ingredients'. I said I thought that £4.50 was a silly price for a scone, even if it were embellished with gold leaf.

So AIBU? Needless to say, we won't be going there again which is a shame as the cafe is seeking to be family-friendly with buggy parking, lots of high chairs, paper and drawing stuff for the older kids etc and we had high hopes for it being a nice weekly meeting place.

OP posts:
PonceyMcPonce · 07/04/2011 16:25

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Honeybee79 · 07/04/2011 16:25

YANBU. That would be a rip off even in central london. You could bake a whole batch of them at home for £4.50. The coffee was a bit steep too!

ForeverNamechanging · 07/04/2011 16:26

Was there a diamond in the middle?Shock

LaurieFairyCake · 07/04/2011 16:26

That's insane

Did it come with clotted cream, home made jam and a pot of Decent tea?

I wouldn't pay 4.50 for a scone round here- south-east.

Groovee · 07/04/2011 16:28

I'd expect to pay £4.50 for a scone and a pot of tea!!!

Original poster
emsyj · 07/04/2011 16:29

I am planning to send a link to this thread to the lady who owns the cafe. So all views welcome, I am interested to see if anyone thinks it is a realistic price for a scone. She seemed genuinely disbelieving when I told her that it was a silly price and that she would price herself out of the market like that - she said nobody else had complained. But I think that is more likely to be because people don't like to make a fuss rather than that they thought it was a fair price.

OP posts:
stressheaderic · 07/04/2011 16:29

You ever been to Bents garden centre near Leigh, OP? Same scandalous cafe prices there.

Can't believe you were charged that for a scone though, esp in the north-west, care to name and shame?

marmaladetwatkins · 07/04/2011 16:30

Fuckinell. I can bake 24 scones for the princely sum of £1.50. Come to mine instead.

Original poster
emsyj · 07/04/2011 16:30

It did come with posh jam (which the friend who had it said tasted the same as Hartley's!) and a very small portion of clotted cream (not enough to cover both halves of the scone) but it did not include a drink.

OP posts:
ShatnersBassoon · 07/04/2011 16:30

Name and shame, I hate cafes that think they can charge the earth for something just because they handmade it. Scones are cheap and easy to make, so should be relatively cheap to buy.

Kewcumber · 07/04/2011 16:32

They are £1.20 in M&S cafe in London.

For £4.50 I expect them to be served by oiled Adonis waiters in skimpy shorts.

stealthcat · 07/04/2011 16:34

That is a ridiculous price, the cafe wont stay open if they carry on like that.

I dont know if I would be as kind as you to the owner though - doing her market research for free after she has already fleeced you for the scone. Grin

MarioandLuigi · 07/04/2011 16:34

Bet they dont get many repeat customers.

Original poster
emsyj · 07/04/2011 16:35

I would feel a bit mean naming and shaming - I want to give them the chance to put some of their teething troubles right first. Although given the reaction I got when I gave my constructive criticism today, I will be surprised if this makes any difference.

(sigh)

OP posts:
IslaValargeone · 07/04/2011 16:35

Even with 'posh jam?' and cream, £4.50 is a rip off.
Locally sourced ingredients my eye, is she seriously trying to tell you that the flour is milled down the road, and the butter is from Daisy the cow next door.
They won't last.

EmmaBemma · 07/04/2011 16:35

I had a massive, freshly baked fruit scone with butter and home-made jam in my local posh farm shop cafe yesterday - it cost £1.95. If I'd gone for clotted cream it would have been £2.50. I thought that was about right considering the size and deliciousness of said scone, but £4.50 would have left me very peeved.

grovel · 07/04/2011 16:35

Afternoon tea at the Ritz is £45. You got off lightly.

Original poster
emsyj · 07/04/2011 16:37

She didn't fleece me, stealthcat, it was my friend - if she had tried to charge me £4.50 for a scone she would have got short shrift!

I am put off returning by how badly the owner dealt with the feedback though.

OP posts:
LaurieFairyCake · 07/04/2011 16:37

If there wasn't enough cream to cover the scone then it's a rip off

coastgirl · 07/04/2011 16:39

A delicious homemade scone, with nice jam and tonnes of cream, is £1.35 at the fancy Georgian tea rooms near me.

nenevomito · 07/04/2011 16:41

£4.50???

Fecking Hell! I'm in the North West and I can't see that lasting, no matter how good the ingredients are.

BootyMum · 07/04/2011 16:43

Golly gee. I go to quite nice coffee shops all over London and would not consider £4.50 a reasonable price to pay for a scone. Maybe ok for a scone with jam and cream and a cup of tea/coffee...
And I also think £2.45 for a cup of coffee is steep. I go mainly to a very nice baby friendly cafe with highchairs right in Greenwich park and they only charge £1.80 for their coffee.

Original poster
emsyj · 07/04/2011 16:44

Oooh I miss Greenwich park - we moved up here from Blackheath two years ago. I love Greenwich.

OP posts:
Aworryingtrend · 07/04/2011 16:46

Absolute rip off. I would balk at paying more than £2.50 for one scone and it would have to be a bloody good scone.

nenevomito · 07/04/2011 16:47

For price comparison sake in the NW - Our local cafe is £1.65 for a cappuccino and £1.10 for a large scone with cream and jam, baked on the premises.

The posh cafe in town is £2.35 for a cappuccino and £2 for the scone with cream and jam.