Does anyone go to the pub anymore?

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andya700

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Just asking this question because of the huge cost of eating/drinking out. I find it impossible to justify paying £6 for a pint of beer or the same for a very average glass of wine. I can get perfectly good beers from Lidl or Aldi for aroung £1.20 a 500ml bottle and a decent bottle of red for between £5 and £8. I can think of nothing nicer, than sitting out on the patio, looking at the river valley, with a nice, cold beer or chardonnay, chatting to the missus.
 
Rarely and almost never for a drink. When we do visit pubs, it's usually for lunch and we both have a soft drink - generally a pint of squash.
 
Although I have several within walking distance, I've not been in one for many years.
It / they just doesn't interest me..
 
Yes, visit a pub once a week for lunch after playing tennis. the others drink pints of beer but I stick to water simply to keep the calorie count lower.

Dave
 
I can't remember the last time I was in a pub. We eat out now and again but not in pubs.
 
Not regularly but yes I do. I was in Ireland in April and we were amazed how busy the pubs were, even mid week there was a really good atmosphere.
 
Very rarely now, too many pubs stink of cooked food especially fish.
Spent many hours in public houses over the years, but just not the same these days.
Went in one the other week in Liverpool called The Baltic
Reviews said proper old pub, but they were trying too hard to be and it wasn't

I like places such as the old style Brown bars in Rotterdam, no food just beer and people
having a chat.
 
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A lot of the time!

My local every fortnight or so as it's a great pub, another local weekly to meet with friends. Then at least 1-2 pubs a week mainly to see bands or meet with someone.

Not a huge fan of drinking too much at home. Beer always tastes better in a pub.
 
Yep, once a week. £10.25 for a pint of decent ale and a medium white wine with soda.
refuse to buy crisps at £1.25 a packet.
 
yep, but not our local rip off pubs.
meet up with our friends a lot in spoons in huddersfield or brighouse and leeds.
fair price for a decent pint
 
Craig1912 said:
Yep, once a week. £10.25 for a pint of decent ale and a medium white wine with soda.
refuse to buy crisps at £1.25 a packet.
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just take your own in :-) i take my sarnies all the time
 
Mr Bump said:
just take your own in :) i take my sarnies all the time
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Just after lockdown when we could first meet in bars with suitable social distancing my tennis mates and I went to a wine bar which did not serve food but they recommended a sandwich bar nearby which made them fresh to order. Not only could we eat these sandwiches at the wine bar but they always cleared away the packaging etc. They did sell beer as well for our beer drinkers. This week on our regular lunchtime visit to the pub, we noticed that numbers had increased slightly. There were five of us (usually 4) and this week there were 8 other customers; it had not been more than 3 more since Xmas. Very few pubs locally will serve food on Mondays to Wednesdays due to too few customers and lack of staff.

Dave
 
Mr Bump said:
yep, but not our local rip off pubs.
meet up with our friends a lot in spoons in huddersfield or brighouse and leeds.
fair price for a decent pint
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We don’t have a Wetherspoons near us but I’d drink there if there was. Was in Loughborough a few months ago and I couldn’t believe £1.48 for a pint of decent ale
 
Dave Canon said:
Just after lockdown when we could first meet in bars with suitable social distancing my tennis mates and I went to a wine bar which did not serve food but they recommended a sandwich bar nearby which made them fresh to order. Not only could we eat these sandwiches at the wine bar but they always cleared away the packaging etc. They did sell beer as well for our beer drinkers. This week on our regular lunchtime visit to the pub, we noticed that numbers had increased slightly. There were five of us (usually 4) and this week there were 8 other customers; it had not been more than 3 more since Xmas. Very few pubs locally will serve food on Mondays to Wednesdays due to too few customers and lack of staff.

Dave
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for me its also diversity , local pubs just sell the same garbage, they may have a from a local microbrewery and then its just onto the old same old , carling, guiness, strongbow yadda. nothing ever changes.

i love spoons for that alone tons of choice and always a few nice boxed ciders like black dragon, old rosie etc
 
Dave Canon said:
Very few pubs locally will serve food on Mondays to Wednesdays due to too few customers and lack of staff.

Dave
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One of our locals does 50% off on a Monday. Another non food real ale bar has different food “trucks“ on. Thursday night where you can buy food and bring it in the pub. You can also get a take away and bring it in. Sample beer menu
IMG_0324.jpeg
 
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Craig1912 said:
We don’t have a Wetherspoons near us but I’d drink there if there was. Was in Loughborough a few months ago and I couldn’t believe £1.48 for a pint of decent ale
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they have beer for all pockets if you just fance a budget ale then yeah it starts from that money
 
Last time I was in a pub for a sesh with the boyos would be back in the 90s. Had various outings to eateries since moving to Scotland as the MIL enjoys them, although I've not even done that since before Covid.

I didn't do crowds, even before Covid, now I avoid 'going out' at all costs, if I can.

Quite happy with a few beers 1 or 2 nights a week, particularly a Saturday as the 3 of us are here as a family, so we have beer, film and a curry. (quick edit....my 11 year old doesn't get beer of course).

It got me thinking though, we have minimum pricing in Scotland for a unit of alchohol. Not long ago, you could get very decently inebriated if you chose to for less than a fiver. Now, the same amount is £11. A 2 lt bottle of Strongbow for example is £5.50. It varies a little but that's ballpark. 4 pint cans of a decent beer is over £7 in the main. You rarely see the likes of White Lightning or even Dry Blackthorn, a 3 litre bottle of those can be upto £10
 
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Every Sunday I’m out to play snooker and have a pint or six, out once a week at lunchtime for lunch and a couple of beers, since it’s warm and sunny here still wife and I might wander down to the local for a couple and something to eat. None of the places we regularly visit smell of food cooking as the have decent ventilation in the kitchens I suppose, a pint around me -ignoring Spoons etc- are £4ish.
 
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We go every couple of weeks, either for a drink with friends or for a meal. We go to a pub quiz every month too.
 
tijuana taxi said:
I wouldn't go in a Wetherspoons even if the beer was free.
Again everyone eating and need a guide to find the toilets.
The pub version of Poundland, full of p*** heads that get started at breakfast time.
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the local pubs near me are just the same full of scuz spoons is good as they don't play music as well or have s***e TVs on blaring so you can have good chats with friends and the app and table service is amazing , i hate local pubs for the queing at the bar thing no thanks
 
Our local pubs are rarely busy enough for queuing, in some the staff are good enough to register when glasses are getting empty and will pop round to offer “same again” no need to visit the bar too often.
 
Dale. said:
It got me thinking though, we have minimum pricing in Scotland for a unit of alchohol. Not long ago, you could get very decently inebriated if you chose to for less than a fiver. Now, the same amount is £11. A 2 lt bottle of Strongbow for example is £5.50. It varies a little but that's ballpark. 4 pint cans of a decent beer is over £7 in the main. You rarely see the likes of White Lightning or even Dry Blackthorn, a 3 litre bottle of those can be upto £10
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I just drive down to Carlisle and stock up there…..:)
 
Dale. said:
Last time I was in a pub for a sesh with the boyos would be back in the 90s. Had various outings to eateries since moving to Scotland as the MIL enjoys them, although I've not even done that since before Covid.

I didn't do crowds, even before Covid, now I avoid 'going out' at all costs, if I can.

Quite happy with a few beers 1 or 2 nights a week, particularly a Saturday as the 3 of us are here as a family, so we have beer, film and a curry. (quick edit....my 11 year old doesn't get beer of course).

It got me thinking though, we have minimum pricing in Scotland for a unit of alchohol. Not long ago, you could get very decently inebriated if you chose to for less than a fiver. Now, the same amount is £11. A 2 lt bottle of Strongbow for example is £5.50. It varies a little but that's ballpark. 4 pint cans of a decent beer is over £7 in the main. You rarely see the likes of White Lightning or even Dry Blackthorn, a 3 litre bottle of those can be upto £10
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I think that is shocking, what they have done in Scotland with the minimum pricing, the government up there are totally joyless creatures.
 
RIR said:
I just drive down to Carlisle and stock up there…..:)
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I have friend who often comes down to England with work and usually goes back with half a van full of beer that he then "sells on" to friends.
 
andya700 said:
I think that is shocking, what they have done in Scotland with the minimum pricing, the government up there are totally joyless creatures.
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I have to disagree with you.

As a child in Glasgow, I too often saw people falling down drunk in the street. There were kids at my school who had alcoholic parents - we knew who they were just by their appearance. Minimum pricing is not a cure but it is a start.
 
The band I play with often does pub gigs - we had a long residency pre-covid, though that pub has changed hands since. I also do a once per week oral French class in a pub. But other than that, a pub isn't somewhere I would choose to go now except if in need food and drink away from home.
 
Mr Bump said:
for me its also diversity , local pubs just sell the same garbage, they may have a from a local microbrewery and then its just onto the old same old , carling, guiness, strongbow yadda. nothing ever changes.

i love spoons for that alone tons of choice and always a few nice boxed ciders like black dragon, old rosie etc
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I have never been in a 'spoons and never would hand money over to Tim Martin. I find the use of the term "diversity" in the same sentence as support for a massive hegemonizing pub chain a bit incongruous TBH.
 
AndrewFlannigan said:
I have to disagree with you.

As a child in Glasgow, I too often saw people falling down drunk in the street. There were kids at my school who had alcoholic parents - we knew who they were just by their appearance. Minimum pricing is not a cure but it is a start.
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I think that the same could be said of most cities in certain areas. I see the minimum pricing as simply harming the poorest in society.
 
Still go in pubs mostly for live music and also for a lunchtime drink sometimes at least here in North Wales prices are reasonable, in our favourite pub called locally the Polish embassy you can take in your own food and they are so friendly and the beer is excellent same goes for the local spoons decent beer staff are excellent
I was shocked on my last trip down south when they asked for more than £6.50 for a pint and the food restaurant service was expensive and appalling
 
andya700 said:
I think that the same could be said of most cities in certain areas. I see the minimum pricing as simply harming the poorest in society.
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Minimum pricing on anything will always hit the poorest harder. But does that mean we shouldn't do it? Tax on cigarettes has gone up constantly, but the rate of smokers has dropped (we won't go into the whole E cigarettes thing) That tax clearly effected the poorer the hardest, but it has worked. Minimum pricing on Alcohol is relatively new so I have seen very little on how effective it has or hasn't been. But of course it will have hit the poorest harder. As does any tax increase. Does that men we shouldn't put up any taxes?
 
andya700 said:
I see the minimum pricing as simply harming the poorest in society.
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In more ways than one. Those that can't afford to support their drinking habit are now buying hand sanitiser, which is 70% alcohol (or more) and measuring it out into soft drinks and consuming it that way to get their fix.

The world just gets madder.

The minimum pricing doesn't concern me personally, as I don't drink excessively but my weekly beer bill did double overnight. It's a hit I will take if it eases the pressure on alcohol related hospital admissions but more importantly, keeping people safe in the first place.

Minimum pricing is still a relatively new thing, so it will be interesting to see as time goes by, how effective it is, but I feel with poorer people resorting to extreme measures for their fix, that effectiveness will be a clouded reality and I don't think we will ever really know.
 
andya700 said:
I think that the same could be said of most cities in certain areas.
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Agreed
andya700 said:
I see the minimum pricing as simply harming the poorest in society.
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I think of it as a crude attempt to help the poorest by persuading them away from excessive alcohol consumption. Of course, there are other, possibly better, measures that could be taken but this is probably as good as we can get at the moment.
 
One advantage of using the train to go on my longer walks is being able to have a drink on my travels.
Having said that, the only time I go in our local is for community group meetings.
 
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