You are joking of course? Three quid for a cup of coffee that has no government duty on it, in a cafe, not good value to me NY.
Depends how you judge it - I can't make a coffee at home that tastes as good as one made by a proper espresso machine so I don't see say £1.90 for a large Americano to be excessive - infact it is a cheap 'luxury' item. I don't care that their margin may be higher than the pub landlord's because I can't recreate the experience myself.
Meanwhile I paid £4 for a pint of Peroni in a pub last week and it tasted worse (flat, warm etc.) than the bottled version I can buy for less than half that price and consume at home at the right temperature.
I don't want to drink a bottle of Peroni at home though. I want to be able to go to my local or wherever and drink in a traditional British pub atmosphere. I don't mind paying a premium over the cost of a home bottle but the prices being asked now are killing pubs. Ordinary blokes like me can't afford it any more. I think that's a shame.
You are joking of course? Three quid for a cup of coffee that has no government duty on it, in a cafe, not good value to me NY.
Depends how you judge it - I can't make a coffee at home that tastes as good as one made by a proper espresso machine so I don't see say £1.90 for a large Americano to be excessive - infact it is a cheap 'luxury' item. I don't care that their margin may be higher than the pub landlord's because I can't recreate the experience myself.
Meanwhile I paid £4 for a pint of Peroni in a pub last week and it tasted worse (flat, warm etc.) than the bottled version I can buy for less than half that price and consume at home at the right temperature.
Okay, I will bite. Peroni is also overpriced tasteless poo, it tastes bad warm, because it tastes bad full stop. If you want a proper pint of real beer served at cellar temperature from a hand pump, you cannot recreate that at home. Equally, you can get a terrific cup of proper, individual coffee in any cafe here in Portugal for a euro.
Give me a backstreet spit and sawdust boozer over a corporate, sterile, American wannabe coffee "store" every time. It's all about heart and soul at the end of the day for me. Each to their own though.
No-one has mentioned the explosion in the number of coffee shops - plenty of social interactions from dates to business meetings which previously would naturally have taken place in the pub now take place in Costa or Starbucks.
There is no pressure to drink alcohol, the food options are good, they are more female-friendly than pubs, you don't run the risk of having your experienced ruined by odious drunks, and arguably they are better value too.
If someone asked me on a date and wanted to meet in a coffee shop, the alarm bells would be ringing straightaway.
No-one has mentioned the explosion in the number of coffee shops - plenty of social interactions from dates to business meetings which previously would naturally have taken place in the pub now take place in Costa or Starbucks.
There is no pressure to drink alcohol, the food options are good, they are more female-friendly than pubs, you don't run the risk of having your experienced ruined by odious drunks, and arguably they are better value too.
If someone asked me on a date and wanted to meet in a coffee shop, the alarm bells would be ringing straightaway.
why? ..it's no more difficult slipping Rohypnol into a Baileys as a cuppa coffee .. (:->)
No-one has mentioned the explosion in the number of coffee shops - plenty of social interactions from dates to business meetings which previously would naturally have taken place in the pub now take place in Costa or Starbucks.
There is no pressure to drink alcohol, the food options are good, they are more female-friendly than pubs, you don't run the risk of having your experienced ruined by odious drunks, and arguably they are better value too.
If someone asked me on a date and wanted to meet in a coffee shop, the alarm bells would be ringing straightaway.
No-one has mentioned the explosion in the number of coffee shops - plenty of social interactions from dates to business meetings which previously would naturally have taken place in the pub now take place in Costa or Starbucks.
There is no pressure to drink alcohol, the food options are good, they are more female-friendly than pubs, you don't run the risk of having your experienced ruined by odious drunks, and arguably they are better value too.
If someone asked me on a date and wanted to meet in a coffee shop, the alarm bells would be ringing straightaway.
Decent pubs have a chance of surviving but many more will go. The cost of a drink has just got out of reach for people to go for a night out. Dont see things changing in the near future.
As a bitter drinker I think the future may be the micro-pub. I was in Tankerton last night and one has recently opened there. My parents live there and my Dad and brother had been enthusing about it. I must admit I was a bit sceptical about it but was pleasantly surprised. No music, no TV, no cooked food, no mobiles, no fruit machines. no spirits and NO LAGER! Just ale, mostly local independent stuff and real local ciders plus limited wine. It's not a micro-brewery, just basically a room that serves bloody good beer and the emphisis is on local people socialising. All a bit middle aged and middle class but then I guess that's me!
The biggest problem with most pubs is the people who drink in them. ;-)
This, as well. There's a certain non-football-going permanently drunk regular in a certain match-day pub in Charlton who exudes such an angry ready-to-fight-anyone menace at 2.30pm, that it puts me off going in there.
Just think it's a cultural thing. Society changes and the traditional pub is gradually disappearing. My grandad was a pub person so much that in his later years he used them to earn his keep (selling fruit and veg to the regulars). For dad the pub was entirely social, meet up with mates after work, Saturday watching the races (betting slip in hand) and football scores. For me I was never really a pub person but I used them in my twenties because it was where my friends or colleagues were (when a student and employee). I stopped hanging out in pubs the moment I graduated because it was frowned upon at work and socially it felt like it was a place where time stood still and I liked to move forward. I also met my wife in a pub (Earl of Chatham - Woolwich) and I'm not sure whether that one has worked out!
As a bitter drinker I think the future may be the micro-pub. I was in Tankerton last night and one has recently opened there. My parents live there and my Dad and brother had been enthusing about it. I must admit I was a bit sceptical about it but was pleasantly surprised. No music, no TV, no cooked food, no mobiles, no fruit machines. no spirits and NO LAGER! Just ale, mostly local independent stuff and real local ciders plus limited wine. It's not a micro-brewery, just basically a room that serves bloody good beer and the emphisis is on local people socialising. All a bit middle aged and middle class but then I guess that's me!
As a bitter drinker I think the future may be the micro-pub. I was in Tankerton last night and one has recently opened there. My parents live there and my Dad and brother had been enthusing about it. I must admit I was a bit sceptical about it but was pleasantly surprised. No music, no TV, no cooked food, no mobiles, no fruit machines. no spirits and NO LAGER! Just ale, mostly local independent stuff and real local ciders plus limited wine. It's not a micro-brewery, just basically a room that serves bloody good beer and the emphisis is on local people socialising. All a bit middle aged and middle class but then I guess that's me!
Go to France and many are just bars/tabac ..... clinically lit under fluorescent lights, 30 foot long, 10 foot wide. Like going for a drink at the dentist.
As a bitter drinker I think the future may be the micro-pub. I was in Tankerton last night and one has recently opened there. My parents live there and my Dad and brother had been enthusing about it. I must admit I was a bit sceptical about it but was pleasantly surprised. No music, no TV, no cooked food, no mobiles, no fruit machines. no spirits and NO LAGER! Just ale, mostly local independent stuff and real local ciders plus limited wine. It's not a micro-brewery, just basically a room that serves bloody good beer and the emphisis is on local people socialising. All a bit middle aged and middle class but then I guess that's me!
From the photo it looks close to the Seychelles chippy or whatever it's called these days.
It is on the opposite side to that chippy Len but further up towards Tesco. It's opposite the Chinese take-away, Lucky House. It used to be a tattoo parlour so I'm sure you'd know it........ ;-) Right up your street I'd say Len.
I know Tankerton fairly well, although I've not visited for a couple of years for various reasons, so was just trying to get an idea of EXACTLY where it is!
There will always be a place for decent pubs. Most of those that closed down have been pretty awful to begin with. Not many decent pubs have closed down.
Am interested to hear of Eaststand's Britannia. Haven't been there in a while, but when I was, I liked it. Can't be easy, deep in Millwall territory.
As a bitter drinker I think the future may be the micro-pub. I was in Tankerton last night and one has recently opened there. My parents live there and my Dad and brother had been enthusing about it. I must admit I was a bit sceptical about it but was pleasantly surprised. No music, no TV, no cooked food, no mobiles, no fruit machines. no spirits and NO LAGER! Just ale, mostly local independent stuff and real local ciders plus limited wine. It's not a micro-brewery, just basically a room that serves bloody good beer and the emphisis is on local people socialising. All a bit middle aged and middle class but then I guess that's me!
Just after Christmas peeps were deliberating on the "end of the high street"
But just like footy, shops and music venues the good pubs (and chains) thrive and the bad ones die
Many valid reasons mentioned here including demise of intra generational socialising... One that isn't mentioned is large screen TV... and multi channel TV / internet...
The basic explosion of home entertainment systems coupled with ultra cheap supermarket booze is big competition.
I remember the Pelton Arms well from the days when the surrounding streets had burnt out Cortinas and not BMWs - some pubs have a touch of class and people see it ... both entrepreneurs and punters... same as with CAFC in my book
I think the reasons for this have been well covered i.e. cheap supermarket booze, smoking ban, extended hours etc. but good pubs still survive because they offer something different. We use The Robin Hood in Bexleyheath and it thrives mainly because the beer is good, the atmosphere is friendly and non-threatening as the govenor doesn't tolerate pissed up half heads and he keeps to the traditional opening hours. On top of that they serve good pub grub at sensible prices (not cheap) so all in all they have positioned themselves to be a cut above the other other pubs in the area and they prosper.
But apart from the odd exceptions I think more and more pubs will close due to all the reasons stated in this post of course you could argue that there was too many and supply has now outstripped demand and this is an adjustment in the market.
Just after Christmas peeps were deliberating on the "end of the high street"
But just like footy, shops and music venues the good pubs (and chains) thrive and the bad ones die
Many valid reasons mentioned here including demise of intra generational socialising... One that isn't mentioned is large screen TV... and multi channel TV / internet...
The basic explosion of home entertainment systems coupled with ultra cheap supermarket booze is big competition.
I remember the Pelton Arms well from the days when the surrounding streets had burnt out Cortinas and not BMWs - some pubs have a touch of class and people see it ... both entrepreneurs and punters... same as with CAFC in my book
I lived in Pelton Road and went to school in Pelton Road. I don't ever remember seeing any burnt out cortinas. It was never a rough area. Predominantly working class but never rough. How very dare you ;0)
Comments
Meanwhile I paid £4 for a pint of Peroni in a pub last week and it tasted worse (flat, warm etc.) than the bottled version I can buy for less than half that price and consume at home at the right temperature.
Give me a backstreet spit and sawdust boozer over a corporate, sterile, American wannabe coffee "store" every time. It's all about heart and soul at the end of the day for me. Each to their own though.
;o)
From the photo it looks close to the Seychelles chippy or whatever it's called these days.
In Tankerton...
http://www.thetankertonarms.co.uk/index.html
Like going for a drink at the dentist.
Would you want the Euro-bar coming to England?
We need to save the best of our pubs!
Right up your street I'd say Len.
I know Tankerton fairly well, although I've not visited for a couple of years for various reasons, so was just trying to get an idea of EXACTLY where it is!
;o)
Yeah you can. Brew your own. No tax!
Am interested to hear of Eaststand's Britannia. Haven't been there in a while, but when I was, I liked it. Can't be easy, deep in Millwall territory.
Yeah you can. Brew your own. No tax!
It takes expertise to brew and look after proper ale. Very hard to do at home.
Mind you, what do I know? My old man brewed his own. He'd nip to the garage to 'have a tester' and by the time it was ready, it was all gone!
But just like footy, shops and music venues the good pubs (and chains) thrive and the bad ones die
Many valid reasons mentioned here including demise of intra generational socialising... One that isn't mentioned is large screen TV... and multi channel TV / internet...
The basic explosion of home entertainment systems coupled with ultra cheap supermarket booze is big competition.
I remember the Pelton Arms well from the days when the surrounding streets had burnt out Cortinas and not BMWs - some pubs have a touch of class and people see it ... both entrepreneurs and punters... same as with CAFC in my book
It is really no different from learning to cook well.
But apart from the odd exceptions I think more and more pubs will close due to all the reasons stated in this post of course you could argue that there was too many and supply has now outstripped demand and this is an adjustment in the market.