Bottomless Brunch

[OP83]

I will qualify my 'AIBU' by saying that I believe strongly in personal freedom (and responsibility) but...

My partner showed my a video yesterday of a 'Bottomless brunch in the buff' (or something like that) that someone had shared.

In summary, it was a bar/restaurant, absolutely PACKED full of women of all ages, all drinking, some (many) seemingly drunk, being served by (and pawing over) young men in, effectively, underwear. It genuinely looked like a scene from the last days of Rome, except this was in the UK, in 2022, before lunchtime and actively promoted.

I don't like to be one of those 'what if it was the other way around' types but I'll make an exception. Can you imagine a bar packed full of men, drunk before lunchtime, touching up half-naked young waitresses...and this being sold as a concept?! Not saying this doesn't happen anywhere but certainly not publicly advertised in high-street bars!

This aside, with all the 'responsible drinking' messages about, how is the promotion of limitless booze to be consumed before lunchtime even allowed?

On a more practical note, if you goto a bottomless brunch and get your money's worth (which most of the time you have to drink like a sailor to achieve), what the hell do you do afterwards? I like a drink but can't imagine wandering out of a bar half-cut at midday...what do you do with the rest of your day?

I guess I don't really know what my AIBU is except: Am I being unreasonable to think that bottomless brunches are a shameless marketing ploy to fill venues with non-typical clientele and shift loads of booze at a time when nobody would usually consider drinking?

Gotta make sure you get that judgement in!

I had to go to one of these on a hen recently. I was dreading it but actually the men were all circus performers and it was really cool, watching them do acrobatics and circus skills. Then taking their tops off was the least good part, but their actual performances were really impressive. Nobody touched the performers or pawed at them in any way, and all the screaming was people cheering their skills in the same way people would at the circus or similar?

In that case, why call them brunch?

Because there isn't a catchy portmanteau for Lunch and Dinner!

Bottomless brunches in the UK are weird. In Asia, where I used to live, it was all you could eat and drink and it was usually 3 or 4 hours 11-3pm. We used to have competitions on who could eat the most lobster tails 😂 The fact that the only bit of the brunch that’s bottomless is the UK is alcohol encourages binge drinking.

I’ve never had brunch that starts in the afternoon. Early lunchtime sure, but never mid afternoon. Clearly I’m doing it wrong.

Oh saucer of milk at table 2

Well, if if was a judgement, frankly I’m happy to take it. It describes many of my weekends and my life is a hundred times better than that of all the MNers up at the crack of dawn to change shitty nappies and moan at useless husbands before spending the morning miserably standing in the playground or at the side of a sports pitch.

Besides, brunch is just the meal which comes between breakfast and lunch. If you ate your breakfast at midday in between snorting a line of coke off your friend Rachel’s boobs and having your first drink, then you can absolutely still have brunch at 4pm.

I don’t think it’s exactly the same if you reverse the sexes,

But either way, totally lacking in class and dignity and grim. Ugh.

Why can’t the concept be sold the other way around? So long as

• People employed have capacity to agree and understand the job role
• No touching is allowed

Same as the men one. They shouldn’t have women touching them.

I did laugh at your bewilderment of being shocked at people during at brunch. What do you do with the rest of the day … last one I went to we went to watch an ice hockey game afterwards. Or usually I’ll drive more. I hold my drink very well.

But the sams regulations apply. If someone is drunk then an establishment can refuse to serve more. It’s not bottomless brunch so you can sit there all day and get totally wankered and the establishment is forced to keep serving you and if you’ve been for a few boozy lunches yourself it’s no different.

Kinda sad that they're illegal in Scotland, I quite fancy the idea of one. Not so much the half naked waiters though.

Such a defensive tone on here. If you like day drinking, knock yourself out, if you don’t, don’t. Doesn’t mean you have a crap life either way, based on whether or not you enjoy a bottomless brunch!

Hooters might have girls in tight tops etc, but it is a restaurant, not somewhere people go to get drunk! You certainly can't touch the waitresses
No unlimited drinks, and they have a kids menu. Not the same thing at all

Do people really ever go to hooters for the food? 😂

You realise OP is conflating two things, a bottomless brunch and a bottomless brunch in the buff.
A bottomless brunch is just a menu option in a restaurant that includes bottomless fizz (usually) between set times, not dissimilar to a pre-theatre set menu.

Bottomless brunches do not all have waiters in underwear.

Many of them are probably restaurants that also have kids menus.

If someone invited me to a bottomless brunch I'd assume it was an all you can eat late breakfast at about 11am. Maybe with unlimited cups of tea and orange juice.

I feel a bit sad to discover that the word brunch has been stolen and reinvented into a daytime meal with lots of drinks. We used to call them boozy lunches. Or just lunch.

Afternoon tea can involve a glass of fizz, but surely it's a civilized affair with sandwiches, scones and cakes mainly?

The people working in the establishment choose too do that, thats like going to a strip club and being appauld on behalf of the stippers that the boss 'makes' them parade around in underwear on stage.

Plenty of people enjoy that type of work, choice is about letting someone do with their body and life something that you wouldn't and its not hurting anyone else if some bloke is happy to let Sandra feel his pecks when hes in his skimpies for an extra tip - if it was a no touch place they would likely kick Sandra out sharpish.

Now if this was a 'normal' venue and Sandra just randomly assaulted a male waiter who was just bring drinks thats a world of difference but its not and if you don't like the idea of buff brunch simply don't go.

I don’t think pawing the strippers is allowed though?

So it’s brunch mixed with male stripper vibe - like a hen party might have a male that women touch

I haven’t done that kind of thing but is that what it’s marketed as?

A brunch can just be without the undressed part I suppose

Have you BEEN to hooters?

It's women in vests, shorts and thick flesh coloured leggings with tennis shoes, thats all HARDLY X rated... we go their with our kids often (it is a family resteraunt).

So yes plenty of people go for the food, I'm not sure what else you think is going on there to attract people but its nothing like buff brunch and the girls arent in bra and knickers being pawed at.

I would have been dead disappointed to see the emphasise was on booze and not food. I’ll have food over booze any day.

Whereabouts is this - asking for a friend.

When I first heard of bottomless brunch, I thought it meant like breakfast foods, so fry ups, pastries, cereals, and that they'd be unlimited along with unlimited drinks.

That is my dream.

So imagine my surprise when it's not that at all, food isn't even unlimited, it's just normal menu food, and it's served all day .. so how is it brunch at all?!

You carry on drinking, enjoying yourselves, dancing and then you're home in bed for 10pm with no hangover the next day. Ideal. No one is forcing you to be interested in bottomless brunch.

Bottomless brunch's are neither really.

They usually start at noon at the earliest and most places now have rules and give a timeframe around when you can drink (usually 1.5 hours).