Pub prices

[Whatsthesituation]

Just like people’s thoughts on this , our local pub just reopened after a spruce up, new owners nice little pub, me and the wife sometimes like to pop in on a Saturday late afternoon for a couple of drinks, they don’t do her favourite drink which is Pinot blush dry , they do a nice Provence which I was horrified to learn was £12 for a large glass, so I had a couple of pints at £6.30 each she had 2 glasses of wine, so today i refused to go to said pub because I will not pay £12 for a glass of wine, she said Iam being tight, I said even if I was a multimillionaire I still wouldn’t pay out of principle, thoughts please.

Its not the drink you are paying for its the experience. I love going to the pub meeting friends having a catch up and a few drinks. Obviously things are cheaper to do yourself in your own home just like going out for a meal vs cooking a meal at home. Or going home to your own bed instead of staying in a hotel. Life is short, live it

If you think it's bad now, wait until April. I can see the business rates assigned to my local are going up from 4.5 to 8.7k a year. And if you want to see a jaw dropping amount, have a look at the pub Jeremy Clarkson opened, and its rate increase:

https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/business-rates-find/valuations/start/14917507000

As an aside, I watched the latest season recently, and they were quoting him 1K a month for broadband.

Costs are completely out of control.

I dont drink at home so agree that you are paying for the 'experience ' of going out unfortunately i dont seem able to enjoy said experience just drinking softies! So I continue to drink in bars, but whereas pre pandemic I'd have cocktails its strictly pints now to get more bang for my buck.

How much is a bottle? It might be better value.
Or I sometimes have a beer if wine is too overpriced.

That’s my thinking.

I am a multimillionaire and hell would freeze over before I paid those prices a second time. £12 per 175ml glass is over £50 a bottle and when you're being fleeced you simply feel unwelcome.

An industry which prices itself out of existence doesn't deserve to exist.

They are in a bit of a doom loop. They have to charge higher prices because of increased overheads. Fewer people then go which means they have to charge even more to cover their fixed costs. We have never been keen on just going out to drink which means food is important and in most places it’s standard stuff at too high a price.

Agree that when you feel fleeced it puts a dampener on the experience. Its happening more and more. Recently paid £150 for a spa day only to be told I needed to upgrade by £20 to access the relaxation room and herbal tea... resented paying extra on top and it spoilt the experience, wont be going there again. A few years ago it would have been included in the headline price.

If your wife likes to drink wine - you are always better to buy a bottle - there are approximately three large glasses to a bottle. Take home what doesn't' get drunk.

Pubs have to be able to make money but wine buy the glass is always expensive.

It's getting far too dear to drink in pubs regularly. My wife and I met another couple in Glasgow City centre last July and it was over £27 for four drinks. Add on a bite to eat later, maybe, and you're talking well over a hundred odd quid. That's just unsustainable for working class folk.

It’s too expensive . I would go once in a while for a special occasion and would do only one glass of wine. The logic of “but you can afford this price” doesn’t work for me. I can afford it but can I afford this price and all other prices - it’s a different issue.
There are a lot of other things e.g bills, mortgage, food, health costs like dentist, glasses, prescriptions. So wine is not a priority. I can have a nice time with my friends chatting over a small soft drink.

It's sometimes cheaper to buy a bottle but not always, sometimes it's a matter of the bottle is 4 x the cost of a 175 ml glass or 3 x the cost of a 250 ml bottle, so you're basically paying £40/50+ for wine that will cost £8-12 in the supermarket.

Spirits are even worse. I would have a G&T but they've taken to pricing them per 25 ml, with the tonic separately, so it's often £15 for a double and mixer so they're charging over £100 for a £20 bottle of gin.

Beer at £6/7 a pint, that probably takes longer to drink, doesn't feel quite as overpriced.

At Christmas you could get a 1l bottle of Bailey's for £11 in the supermarket next to our local, where we were charged £5 a glass (50ml).

Nearly 90% mark-up. I appreciate overheads - staff wages (kids on minimum wage at our local), gas, electric etc, but it's daylight robbery!

Why does she need you to pay for it @Whatsthesituation ? Does she not have her own money?

Are there other pubs nearby?

What is each of your spending like otherwise? Any expensive hobbies?

Can you afford it?

I’d rather have two coffees and a slice of cake, with an hour and a half of chat with mates. Pubs are clearly not for me.

I genuinely couldn't afford those prices. Thankfully it's not as daft where we are. We are pub regulars and in one of the nicest pubs in our town, two pints costs exactly a tenner. Unless I'm in London, I refuse to pay anything over £6 a pint.