> > Probably not, Steve. Pub and Carvery restaurants are part of a chain and > we > have one in our village. From Monday to Saturday inclusive, you can get a > carvery for £3.50 and very good it is too. On Sundays the price goes up to > £6.50.
I'm sorry, I wasn't being funny, Anne. I really thought it was a typo. Part of it's because I live in the centre of London, but part of it's because I have some little knowledge of catering. At those sort of prices, and with overheads being what they are, the quality of the meat has to be very low to achieve the neccessary mark up. Some places if they're owned and not tenanted may run food as a loss leader to make money on drinks, and the Inn by the Sea may be one of these. Otherwise I would be very cautious on what you're eating, particularly poultry. Steve I've survived so far, Steve! Being born and brought up on a farm I know about quality meat and I am quite careful about what meat I buy to cook and what I eat when out for a meal. I can't understand how the Pub and Carvery chain can produce meals at this price and still be in business. I don't know if the price of drink is dearer than elsewhere ( I am not the one who goes to the bar) but it must have something to do with economies of scale. As I said, it is always packed and as people don't tend to linger after their meal as you would in a proper restaurant, they must serve a huge numbers of meals in a day. Because they concentrate on a few items, this possibly reduces the variety of cooking devices needed (no evidence of much use of microwaves which most other chains seem to use exclusively). Because it is self service, you don't need so many staff as very few meals have to be ordered and delivered to your table. Whatever they are doing, long may it continue! It is great having such a facility so near home for those occasions when you just can't be bothered to cook. Ann
