This was expensive?

[constantnc]

Local garden center..

2 toasted sandwiches with tiny side salad. The sandwich consisted of 2 pieces of bread with meat/cheese.
2 teas
1 fruit tea
£32 😬 for a quick bite to eat...

Christ even in weather spoons you’d struggle

It's still absolute extortion to charge almost £4 for a cuppa.

lol yes I was thinking which chain is that 😅

The cats in those places always look really miserable. We call it the 'cat brothel'

Eating out is expensive but that’s hardly surprising given the rises in food and energy prices. As well as all the other costs associated with running a cafe or restaurant such as rent, rates, staff wages, insurance etc etc. I personally don’t mind paying high prices if the food is very good, but if I can make it better at home then I don’t bother.

Really expensive. I would say a toastie should be £7 max and £3 max for a tea.

@ColinOfficeTrolley , If they had something tasty in a pleasant environment then I don't think it was expensive.
If you're comparing it to the same made and eaten at home, it is expensive.

Spoons you can get a pub classic and a drink for £7

I’ve gone back to asking for a glass of tap water, like I did when I was a student! I usually do take a flask of tea with me.

I met someone for coffee at the local leisure centre recently - we took our own flask-mugs and a cereal bar each, and sat in the lovely huge foyer. We cleared up nicely and didn’t bother anyone. It was really nice to have a catch up out of the house that didn’t cost a fortune!

I have started wondering if this would work elsewhere… would a hotel actually challenge you sitting in their reception area?!

Should have thought that was bleedin obvious

We had a huge tuna mayo jacket potato, scampi chips, peas, three teas from a pot fo £20 this morning. It was very nice.

That would make £29, not £32.

Wow! Yes just looked that’s an incredible menu.

They have really made the effort there.

And unlimited refills on lavazza coffee for £1.85! Count me in 😂

OMG there's always one! 🙄

(a) because they went to the garden centre to eat, and
(b) you can hardly take your flask and sarnies into the garden centre cafe, can you?

The question isn't "is it a good idea to go out for lunch"? or "am I permitted to get a snack at the garden centre while I'm there buying plants". The question is" was it expensive?"

And the answer is yes it was!

But I guess it's how the garden centre keeps afloat. My DP is very insistent about supporting our local garden centres when I have to admit I would happily get plants / compost / etc from Asda or B&Q (at lower prices)

I would suspect so if they noticed you, but I wouldn't be enough of a CF to try it.

It used to be that a trip to the garden centre was followed by a light lunch or afternoon tea type thing in the cafe. A cup of coffee is the most we’d have these days.

£32 is half a weekly food budget. I find it so depressing that we can’t afford these small off the cuff treats any more.

Yes but you don't just pay for the food. You pay for the location, the labour, the waitress and general ambience plus convenience. Yes, it is quite steep but you are not just paying for a couple of sarnies and 3 teas.

Everywhere is insanely expensive now. I went for a weekend in Brighton with my daughter that cost me the same as the whole week-long camping trip I've got planned in France this summer. Probably more, actually.

And it just cost me nearly £300 to get my poor sick cat put to sleep. I was upset enough at her dying without the massive bill on top of it.

I genuinely don't know who has this kind of money any more. Is everyone secretly minted? I'm not. I'm on an above-average salary but I am broke now. I am going to have to become a hermit! More than likely as it seems my employment is also struggling so I'll probably end up getting made redundant. Arrrgh!

Sorry, this turned into a random vent. But the cost of everything SUCKS.

I'm afraid you're right

That said, the family run place near me has been going for a couple of generations and they're still doing very well. Yes the prices have gone up, but not to anything like that level, so unless OP's in a very expensive area I do suspect some gouging's going on

At my local garden centre (nearest equivalent items)

2 x cheese & caramelised onion paninis - £19.90
2 teas £5
1 fruit tea £2.50

(all types of tea same price)

Total £27.40 so not much in it.

That has to be one of the most depressing things I've read in a long time.

I think that’s outrageous. And I live in London so am used to high prices.

Cheaper prices would mean more customers, more money. Businesses lose out when they overcharge because people can’t afford it.

It's not just the cost of the food - national minimum wage and NI has gone up a lot and that's added loads to hospitality/retail businesses' costs. They're low margin industries anyway so don't have much option but to pass the costs onto the consumers. The only people who can get away with not doing that are one-man bands who are basically paying themselves.

But I'm guessing you'd pay ANYTHING for buttered toast! 😁